268 WOOD AND GARDEN 



planting some of these in isolated masses. He was 

 pounced upon by another, who asked, "What is this 

 but bedding ? " The second writer was so far justified, 

 in that it cannot be denied that any planting in beds 

 is bedding. But then there is bedding and bedding — 

 a right and a wrong way of applying the treatment. 

 Another matter that roused the combative spirit of 

 the captious critic was the filling up of bare spaces 

 in mixed borders with Geraniums, Calceolarias, and 

 other such plants. Again he said, " What is this but 

 bedding ? These are bedding plants." When I read 

 this it seemed to me that his argument was. These 

 plants may be very good plants in themselves, but 

 because they have for some years been used wrongly, 

 therefore they must not now be used rightly ! In the 

 case of my own visitors, when they have expressed 

 surprise at my having " those horrid old bedding 

 plants" in my garden, it seemed quite a new view 

 when I pointed out that bedding plants were only pas- 

 sive agents in their own misuse, and that a Geranium 

 was a Geranium long before it was a bedding plant ! 

 But the discussion raised in my mind a wish to come 

 to some conclusion about the difiference between bed- 

 ding in the better and worse sense, in relation to the 

 cases quoted, and it appeared to me to be merely in 

 the choice between right and wrong placing — placing 

 monotonously or stupidly, so as merely to fill the space, 

 or placing with a feeling for " drawing " or proportion. 

 For I had very soon found out that, if I had a number 



