1 6 Making a Garden of Perennials 



a plant twelve months in the year for the 

 benefit we derive from its short season of 

 bloom, and to allow it, then, to be sprawled 

 upon the ground by passing storms seems 

 cruel. Broom handles and ash rods, half 

 an inch in diameter, used by basket makers, 

 may be obtained from dealers in broom 

 material. Bamboo canes are useful, as 

 well as the painted stakes sold by seed 

 houses. The stakes should be forced well 

 down into the soil. Often, in dry weather 

 when the ground is hard, they are not 

 driven down far enough and the first hard 

 rain softens the soil around them, and, if 

 a strong wind exists, the plant may topple 

 over and carry the stake with it. In tying 

 them don't hug them as you would a long- 

 lost brother; give them some natural free- 

 dom. In large groups, place the stakes 

 around them, three or four feet apart, 

 and string from stake to stake, running 

 cross strings through the plants or be- 

 tween them. A single large plant gen- 

 erally requires at least three stakes. Do 



