CHAPTER IV 



NEW AND BEAUTIFUL BORDER PLANTS 



IN building up borders for general effect there is nomin- 

 ally no need to draw fine distinctions between varieties ; 

 if a sort has a good habit and decided colours it should 

 serve. But in effect flower-lovers are particular I had 

 almost said meticulous about the age of the sorts 

 that they grow. So far as concerns the species which have 

 not -been crossed by florists to yield varietal forms there 

 is no anxiety, for they are fixed and (in the main) change- 

 less. A large number of good plants have, however, 

 been specialized by florists, and a work on modern gar- 

 dening must take account of what has been done with 

 these kinds, and point out the latest developments in 

 them. 



The interest in novelties is deeply rooted in the breasts 

 of flower-lovers. Every good gardener admires a good 

 plant, just as every good man admires a good woman. 

 But every gardener does not love the same variety 

 of that plant best, any more than every man has a special 

 predilection for one particular woman. And the loyalty 

 of flower-lovers to a variety is not the same as their 

 loyalty to a plant. The former lasts till a better sort 

 appears, the latter is lifelong. 



There is a constant ebb and flow of varieties in 

 gardens ; the old passing, the new arriving. There are 

 cases in which a variety that has done good service 



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