APRIL 89 



measured distance. Height, of course, must be taken 

 into account, so that the taller plants may not over- 

 grow the lowlier; but no section of a border should 

 present a replica of another section. This is the very 

 antithesis of bedding-out, wherein the principle of 

 repetition was rigidly observed. 



Moreover, no arrangement can be satisfying without 

 thoughtful adjustment of the flower border to its back- 

 ground. One of the commonest features in present-day 

 gardens is a long, straight, broad border in front of a 

 high wall, and none is less felicitous. Tall plants in 

 such a position lose half their charm by straining 

 forward to the light. Consider, for instance, the group 

 of Nankeen lilies shown in the frontispiece. Their ex- 

 quisite grace is untrammelled by stake or tie; whereas, 

 had they been grown in front of a wall the stems must 

 have been forcibly bound to the perpendicular. The 

 ideal place for the border is on the margin of a wood- 

 land, not so close as to be in overhead shade, the space 

 between wood and border being filled with choice 

 shrubs to act, not as a foil, but as a setting to the 

 floral jewellery in front. Such an arrangement admits 

 of infinite variety. fortunatos nimium ! who can 

 command water, running or still, into the picture. 



In recognising trees as an essential element in a 

 garden landscape, whether as forming a woodland 

 background or in spacious gardens, standing here and 

 there singly or grouped, heed is due to the manner 

 in which flower borders may be impoverished by the 

 inroad of far-reaching roots. It is astonishing to what 

 a distance certain trees the ash, the elm, and the 



