48 THE LITTLE GARDEN 



such flower-planting are, however, these. Most of the taller 

 growing plants should be at the back of the border. Semi- 

 occasionally a tall grower should break the monotony of low- 

 growing ones at the front, really as if it had escaped from the 

 rear. Plants of middle height naturally take their place half-way 

 between the front and back; while low-growing things make the 

 foregrounds of form and color. 



For informal planting I have found it best to use an odd num- 

 ber of plants in a group — five, seven, nine, or even three where 

 space is very small and plants large. This gives a quality of ease, 

 of naturalness, due to the absence of all geometric suggestion of 

 the even number. Where room is available, that pretty idea of a 

 "colony," taught me by Miss JekyU, is the lovehest for informal 

 planting : a colony of plants suggests the effortless, artless look of 

 flowers in a wood or meadow. A humble instrument, or shall I 

 call it implement? — yet not so humble considered in dollars and 

 cents, — with which to get good outlines for informal borders, 

 is the garden hose. Place stakes in your grass or open ground be- 

 fore shrub-planting, to outline roughly the areas plaimed for 

 flowering plants; then lay the hose either inside or outside of 

 these stakes. The easiest curves wiU be before your eyes, so 

 readily rearranged by a pull here, a tug there, that you will 

 wonder that the hose was not always advocated as an assistant in 

 arranging for curves in the garden. 



I believe the first tall-growing plant that occurs to the mind of 

 those unversed in gardening is the hollyhock: it has been known, 

 grown, and loved so long, and in its habit, form, and range of 

 lovely color it is so desirable. In a young border, however, before 

 very low new shrubs I should not try such tall-growing plants. 

 They would overtop their background. I should set plauts of 

 medium height, such as veronicas, tall irises, phloxes, as the rear 

 ranks of this flowery battalion, gradually raising their height as 



