232 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN 



give permanence to garden beauty and are essen- 

 tials in the order and fitness of things. In every 

 garden, large or small, there is place for them, 

 and in this class of herbs there is a great variety 

 of plants of perfect hardiness and of easy culture 

 which will embellish and beautify any and every 

 site, be it the woodland, waterside, open border, or 

 the immediate precincts of the home. In a natural 

 state a majority of these showy and vigorous herbs 

 grow on the margins of woods and thickets, in moist 

 meadows, or by the sides of streams and lakes. In 

 such places the roots are kept cool and abundantly 

 supplied with moisture and in the autumn the 

 crowns are covered with quantities of fallen leaves. 

 These facts are significant and their appreciation of 

 fundamental importance in the successful cultivation 

 of these plants. If one is desirous of growing good 

 vegetables the soil must be rich and must be kept so 

 by frequent dressings of farm-yard manure or some 

 equivalent fertilizer, and this is true in the matter of 

 herbaceous perennials. In addition to a rich soil, 

 ample water supply at the root, and an autumn mulch 

 of leaves and well-rotted manure, frequent division 

 of the root-stock and transplanting are essential to 

 ensure full results in border cultivation of most hardy 

 perennial herbs. Lastly, it may be pointed out that 



