Preparing the Beds 13 



mower. When it is desirable to face a 

 boundary border with a walk, then, of 

 course, the front line of a bed should be 

 straight. 



Some perennials require to be planted 

 two feet apart, and in some, like peonies, 

 three feet is close enough, for in time their 

 tops will meet. Eighteen inches apart is 

 enough to allow for the majority and some 

 slender ones require but one foot. All this 

 should be taken into consideration when 

 determining the width of the bed. 



Starting with the proposition that the 

 average plant requires eighteen inches 

 headroom, and that the first row may be 

 planted six inches within the bed at the 

 front nine to twelve is better and the 

 second one back eighteen inches, and six 

 from the back, we find that with rows two 

 plants deep it requires a bed two feet and 

 a half in width. This should be the nar- 

 rowest allowance you should make. In a 

 four-foot bed you can place them three 

 deep, and one five and a half takes four 



