282 EDGING AND CARPETING PLANTS 



instance, the white pinks shown on plate 93. These unpretentious 

 little flowers, that crouch at one's feet, appeal to one's protective 

 instincts like helpless children. But they do their work mar- 

 vellously well. They smother all weeds ; they define the walks ; they 

 fill the air with the scent of cloves in June; they are covered with 

 flowers during their season; their silvery foliage is attractive even in 

 winter; and they soften and glorify the lines of garden paths. It is 

 no wonder that Mr. E. T. Cook says (in the " Century Book of Gar- 

 dening") that they are the most popular of all flowers for edgings. 

 My own impression, however, is that tufted pansies are the 

 favourites in England at the present time. They have one great 

 advantage over pinks in blooming all spring and summer, with the 

 exception of a fortnight's enforced rest. Pinks bloom once and 

 are gone until next year. There are several "everblooming" 

 pinks in the catalogues, but I have never seen any I cared for. 

 Either they have poor colours or poor form or else they split their 

 calyces. Doubtless there are many fine pinks I have never seen, 

 but surely tufted pansies bloom longer and they are also available 

 in a wider range of colours blue, yellow, violet, etc. These 

 tufted pansies, or violas, have smaller flowers than the ordinary 

 kinds and will actually bloom freely through our hot summers. 

 Some idea of their charm may be had from the picture at plate 94, 

 which, however, shows one of the simple old types having the 

 narrow petals of Viola cornuta, the chief parent of this race. The 

 latest varieties are decidedly showier, because broader petalled. I 

 expect to see millions of these pansies sold in America every year. 

 The only drawback to them I know of is that they are said to get 

 "sick of the soil" in two or three years, and have to be removed or 

 they will give out suddenly. They cannot be regarded as per- 

 manent edging material, but they are certainly longer-lived than 



