INTRODUCTION. 



There is a rapidly growing interest in flowers in Canada, and the increased 

 demand for information regarding them during recent years is very marked. Children 

 are being taught to care for flowers in the public schools, and many horticultural 

 societies in the cities, towns and villages are awakening a greater interest in horticul- 

 ture. There have also been lecturers sent to different parts of Canada to interest the 

 people, who have spread much useful information. Much horticultural literature has 

 been available in recent years in attractive books, and in the reports and bulletins 

 issued free by the public institutions to whoever asked for them. These have all had 

 their influence, and the result has been a growing desire on the part of Canadians to 

 beautify their home surroundings by the planting of trees, shrubs and herbaceous 

 plants. 



The Central Experimental Farm has, for more than twenty years, been a bureau 

 of information to those who sought for greater knowledge in growing plants, and in 

 order that the information should be of the most practical and reliable character, 

 experiments were begun in 1887 to determine the kinds of plants most desirable to 

 grow. 



A botanic garden comprising sixty-five acres of land was established in 1887, in 

 which it was planned to test as many species and varieties of trees, shrubs and herba- 

 ceous plants as could be brought together there. In 1899 a list was published of the 

 trees and shrubs which had been tested up to that time, with notes on their hardiness. 

 The rapidly growing interest in herbaceous perennials has made it seem necessary to 

 now publish a list of these plants, and in this bulletin 2,116 species and varieties 

 representing 280 genera tested in the Arboretum and Botanic garden are recorded. 

 This large collection has been obtained from botanic gardens, nurserymen, seedsmen 

 and private individuals in many parts of the world, and while there is a large number 

 of kinds yet to be obtained the collection is a very representative one. . In the list 

 which is here published it is probable that there are a few synonyms or duplicates, 

 but as far as possible these have been eliminated. Some bulbs have been tested in the 

 botanic garden and these are included in this list. These are for the most part; 

 botanical species, not many horticultural varieties having been tested in the perennial 

 border. 



The herbaceous perennial border in the botanic garden at Ottawa is about half 

 a mile long and twelve feet wide. It has a southern and southeastern exposure, with a 

 fine hedge of American arbor vitae, Thuya occidentalism for a background. The soil 

 varies from a clay loam to sandy loam, with a moist cool subsoil in most places, but the 

 evergreen background reflects the heat in summer, and it is very hot, especially where . 

 the exposure is southern, which makes the plants sometime suffer f rom the heat in a dry 

 time. On the other hand this hedge holds the snow in winter, and makes better protec- 

 tion for the plants than they would have without it. No special conditions are made 

 for plants which might do better with them, all being treated alike. This fact should 

 be borne in mind when consulting this bulletin, as it is probable that some plants would 

 succeed in rockeries for instance that do not do well in the border. The border is laid 



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