HERBACEOUS PERENNIALS WE SHOULD GROW. 

 By Prof. Arno H. Nehrling, Amherst, Mass. 



Delivered before the Society, with stereopticon illustrations, 

 February 3, 1917. 



I am happy to have an opportunity to address you on the sub- 

 ject of "Perennials we should grow" because it is a group of plants 

 in which I am especially interested. For the last three years I 

 have been' devoting a great deal of time to the study of perennials 

 and I do not think I have ever worked with a more interesting 

 group of plants, and I wish to say at the outset, that herbaceous 

 perennials unquestionably deserve the popularity which they are 

 enjoying at the present time. 



When we think of an ideal perennial garden we usually include 

 the spring-flowering bulbs. Can you imagine our gardens without 

 the dainty Snowdrop {Galantkus nivalis), followed by clumps of 

 Crocus {Crocus versicolor), and the Showy Squill (Scilla sibirica) 

 which open their flowers even before the snow has entirely dis- 

 appeared? After these have passed away come constant changes 

 in a well arranged perennial border every week. In fact, every 

 day will bring forth something new to interest and delight the eye 

 of the flower lover. Only severe freezing weather will put an end 

 to such persistent late-blooming sorts as hardy Chrysanthemums, 

 Japanese Anemones, New England Asters, Gaillardias, Aconitums, 

 etc. 



It is not my purpose today to treat the subject in a general way, 

 because so much has been said and written of late concerning the 

 management, planting, and care of herbaceous borders. I will be 

 more specific and deal only with the perennials we should grow in 

 our gardens. Before I take up the actual materials, however, let 

 us trace briefly the evolution of gardening in this country from the 

 time the Pilgrim Fathers landed on the bleak, barren shores of New 



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