GARDENING FOR BEGINNERS 



GROUPS OF GARDEN FLOWERS 



TABLES of good garden flowers, with concise cultural hints, 

 appear on pp. 542 and 555 ; it is therefore unnecessary to refer 

 to them all in this chapter. There are, however, some groups 

 of plants, notably Delphiniums and Phloxes, which are of the 

 greatest importance. These are, therefore, dealt with in the 

 following pages at greater length. 



Anemones. The Anemones, or Windflowers as they are called, are 

 a race of showy plants whose value in the best garden cannot be over- 

 estimated. They include some of the choicest alpine flowers, a few 

 invaluable border plants, and the section that may be described as blue 

 Star Anemones. A. blanda, A. apennina, and their forms are effective 

 when planted in broad belts amid natural surroundings, while the Hepa- 

 ticas and Wood Anemones, if tastefully associated with Ferns, Trilliums, 

 and kindred plants in cool, shady situations, will thrive infinitely better 

 than when planted in the open border. 



One cannot expect the whole group to thrive in one garden, for their 

 natural distribution extends throughout the Northern Hemisphere, and 

 they are found in nearly all possible conditions of climate ; the higher 

 Alps, the cool woodland and moist valleys, have their representative 

 types, but such a widely-distributed group of plants must contain at 

 least a few species that would thrive in every garden, while other species 

 may be induced to grow well by selecting sites for them. 



The alpine section proves more difficult to grow than any of the 

 others, but even these are less exacting in their requirements than many 

 high mountain plants, as, once established, one may treat them more 

 liberally with excellent results. Any soil freely dressed with leaf-soil or 

 plenty of sharp grit, particularly that from country roadsides, will grow 

 Anemones well, but one must, for their more convenient treatment, 

 divide the genus into six groups, individuals of which would be likely 

 to succeed together. 



Anemone alpina and its Allies. The alpina group is nearly ever- 

 green. The majority have thick rootstocks and smaller fibrils, the leaves 

 are generally hairy, often quite silky, and branching stems of varying 



