66 FLOWER GARDENING 
One of the most frequent errors is to make them 
too narrow—two feet or so in width. This does 
not seem narrow when the ground is prepared; but 
it is. Aside from the impossibility of obtaining 
scarcely more than a ribbon effect, there is scant 
room for the spread of the plants—which must be 
kept clear of the grass or walk, though some may 
hang over the latter if there is room enough. Four 
feet will be found a convenient minimum where 
there is access to the border from only a single 
side. 
This for small plants, either in rows or massed 
in sections of broad and drift forms. Many of the 
large plants, as well as dwarf shrubs, can be massed 
in clumps } in a four-foot border; or they can be 
placed in three rows if the plants in the center one 
are set opposite the space in the other two. 
Borders on a small place, as may be observed by 
a study of cottage gardens, are exceedingly attrac- 
tive when run along the foundation wall of the 
house, or the edge of the piazza. If the border 
turns a corner it will be all the more satisfying to 
the eye. Choose the south and east walls wherever 
possible, for the sun. If the shade is there, or only 
the west or north wall is available, you can always 
get around the difficulty by using shade-loving 
plants. Borders such as these need not come down 
to, or even near, a path if the latter is some distance 
from the wall. Lay out the border with reference 
to the line of the wall and let the outer edge of it 
be parallel or not, as circumstances warrant. 
