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CASSELL'S POPTJLAK GAEDENING. 



plants. Of course the groups should he of irregular 

 form, and the numbers vary — say from eighteen 

 to three, for the taller and more rohust-growing 

 Jrinds. Another important point to he observed is, 

 that though it is imperative that the dwarfer kinds 

 ibe confined to the front of the borders, a too strict 

 line of uniformity of height should be scrupulously 

 avoided, and pains should he taken to so dispose the 

 plants as to colour that there shall be no violent or 

 jarring contrasts ; and further, season of flowering 

 of the various species should be taken into account. 

 The reason for the latter is obvious, viz. , that there 

 may be throughout the flowerijig season a regular 

 ■dispersion of bloom over the entire border. 



To carry out such an arrangement in its entirety, 

 ■we well know, needs a better knowledge of this class 

 •of plants than even the majority of professional 

 gardeners possess ; but it is knowledge that is soon 

 •acquired, particularly if there is a natural fondness 

 for the plants ; and if there is not, there soon will 

 be, if circumstances demand that mixed hardy flower 

 .gardening shall he of the highest order. Those in 

 -difliculty as to seasons of flowering, height, and 

 .spread of plants, and who have not a goodnatured 

 neighbour capable of imparting the desired informa- 

 tion, should procure the descriptive catalogues of 

 our best hardy-plant nurserynlen. We have per- 

 sonally tested such catalogues, and found them most 

 reliable and wonderful aids in the arrangement of 

 plants after this order. 



There is one other merit in these mixed arrange- 

 ments, viz., that any vacant plots there may be can, 

 with a view to increased summer gaiety, be filled 

 with tender or half-hardy flowering plants ; indeed, 

 it is a moot point as to whether vacant plots should 

 not purposely be left with that intent ; certainly our 

 view is that there should. Of course, at other seasons 

 the ground might he covered with hardy carpeting 

 plants. Pelargoniums, Heliotropes, Fuchsias, Mar- 

 ■guerites, single Dahlias, and Hollyhocks are a few 

 •of the many kinds of plants that can appropriately 

 be used in association with hardy perennials. 



Cut Plo'wers. — The arrangement of plant? which 

 are intended to afford cut flowers for decorati^fe , 

 purposes should be much after the same order as 

 regards grouping together ; but, as in this case it is 

 desirable to get at the flowers without treading on 

 the beds or borders, these should not be more than 

 six or seven feet wide, and may be arranged with 

 the taller kinds in the middle; only very tall sorts 

 ought not to be used, certainly none that exceed a 

 yard in height ; then the objection alluded to above, 

 as to unsightly naked stems, will not apply. The 

 borders of the kitchen garden are usually devoted to 

 ;such purposes; at any rate, such arrangements 



ought not to occupy a site in the flower garden 

 proper, as this latter should be held sacred to such 

 flowers as are allowed to grow in their living beauty 

 tin they die a natural death. 



The most perfect arrangement of hardy plants for 

 cut-flower purposes that we have ever seen, was a 

 narrow border each side of the central walk of a 

 kitchen garden. At the back were horizontally 

 trained espalier Pear-trees, the nearest row of 

 flowering plants being thirty inches from the trees ; 

 thus neither the plants nor fruit-trees suffered by 

 being in too close proximity to each other, and the 

 fruit-trees formed a most appropriate background 

 for the flowers. These situations, and arrangement 

 of plants for cut-flower use, may serve as hints 

 to those not having exactly similar places, towards 

 selecting others' that may serve the same purpose, 

 with a view of preventing the gathering of flowers 

 from beds, which it is desired to keep as gay as 

 possible at all times. 



Objections to this style of gardening comprise 

 only two that are at all worthy of consideration; 

 these being, labour anent the preservation of neatness 

 and support of the plants by tying, and the difficulty 

 of covering the ground. In respect of the flrst- 

 named objection, we reply that no branch of 

 gardening can be done well without labour, and 

 that there is far less of it needed in this branch, even 

 if tying and trimming up were carried to the utmost 

 extreme, than there is connected with an ordinary 

 bedded- out garden, if the labour of propagation, 

 Tiousing, pegging, and the like be taken into account, 

 not to mention the short period that it continues in 

 good condition. This really is the only logical way 

 to look at the matter; and all who consider the 

 question, from this standpoint will, sooner or later, 

 be ready to admit that the odds as to labour are 

 decidedly in favour of hardy plants. 



As to the difficulty there is in covering the 

 ground, it is purely imaginary, as we shall hope to 

 show by appending a list of plants suitable for 

 carpeting the ground under and about every kind of 

 plant used in the borders ; but meanwhile, it must 

 suffice to say that mossy Saxifrages and Sedums, 

 and plants of allied nature, that are surface rooters 

 only, and therefore do not rob the border of the 

 nourishment that is required by the flowering 

 plants, are every way suitable for carpets and under- 

 growths, and add in no small degree to the interest 

 of the general arrangement. 



There is another objection sometimes raised, 

 which is, that the great bulk of hardy plants die 

 down in winter, and then the borders look empty 

 and are devoid of interest. Here again there is 

 forgetfulnesB of what happens in every other depart- 



