Gardening for Amateurs 



663 



Planting a Hardy Flower Border 



THE best time to plant a border of 

 hardy flowers is in October, but 

 the work may be carried out in 

 November, February or March, or even 

 during winter in favourable weather. If 

 planting is completed in October the plants 

 iiave every chance to become fairly well 

 established before winter and will then start 

 into vigorous growth in spring. A mixed 

 border of hardy flowers ought to be prepared 

 thoroughly, for most of the kinds increase 

 in beauty for years without further atten- 

 tion. Local conditions and circumstances 

 usually influence the selection of site, but 

 if there is a choice of positions one facing 



plants are put in. Deep planting is a mis- 

 take and often leads to losses during winter. 

 Spread out the roots and make the soil firm 

 about them. 



There are various ways of grouping flowers 

 in the mixed border. Some people place 

 them with the view of creating a colour 

 scheme which, beginning with the pale tints, 

 progresses through harmonious shades until 

 the gorgeous orange and scarlet colours are 

 reached in the centre of the border. Then 

 through similar gradations the pale tints are 

 again reached at the far end of the border. 

 When such a scheme is really well worked 

 out it is very beautiful, but it is difficult to 



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Plan for an autumn flower border. 



south-west is to be preferred. The character 

 of the background may easily add to or 

 detract from the charm of the flower display, 

 and should be considered. A glasshouse is 

 perhaps the worst of all backgrounds, while 

 a shrubbery or an old wall is best. 



Let the border be as wide as possible : 

 in a narrow border one of 3 or 4 feet in 

 width there is little chance to arrange for 

 a satisfactory succession of blossom. Six 

 feet ought to be regarded as a minimum 

 width, though a border of ten or twelve feet 

 offers far greater scope. If the ground is dug 

 from 2 to 3 feet deep, yard manure being 

 mixed in about 18 inches below the surface 

 and a sprinkling of bone-meal in the upper 

 portion, the plants are almost certain to 

 succeed. Planting ought not to follow 

 closely on digging. Let the soil have two 

 or three weeks in which to settle before the 



find flowers of the correct shade of colour to 

 continue the succession of bloom, with the 

 result that ugly blanks occur. A more 

 satisfactory plan for the average amateur 

 is to arrange the border primarily with a 

 view to its continuing gay, yet having an 

 eye also to the juxtaposition of colours so 

 that they do not clash. While it is a great 

 mistake either to arrange the plants in 

 lines along the border or to continue the 

 same kind at intervals of a few feet, it is 

 equally unsatisfactory in a comparatively 

 small border to plant large groups, for 

 when they have finished blossoming unsightly 

 blanks are left. It is, as a rule, best to place 

 hardy plants in groups of three of a kind, 

 arranged in triangular fashion. The tallest 

 plants should be chiefly at the back of the 

 border, though here and there one that is of 

 bold form and vigorous growth should be 



