HARDY PERENNIALS 23 



planting a heavy dressing of leaf mould should be forked 

 in and mixed with the top spit. Should the soil be of a 

 heavy clayey character, the addition of some road grit or 

 mortar rubbish is very beneficial. 



It is generally wise to re-make a part of a herbaceous 

 border every autumn, so that no one part remains 

 unmade for more than about four years. 



"Where possible, the border should be not less than 

 three feet wide, but, of course, everything depends 

 upon the space at disposal. The back of the border 

 should be planted with large plants of bold and striking 

 beauty, while towards the front those of lower growth 

 should be planted ; at the same time monotony should 

 be avoided by allowing the smaller plants to run back 

 here and there among the taller plants, and an occasional 

 group of plants of moderate height to break the line of 

 the front of the border. The ground should, during 

 the summer at all events, be practically hidden by 

 foliage, but at the same time every plant should have 

 ample room for individual development, and there should 

 be no suggestion of overcrowding. With the strictly 

 herbaceous plants may be used the various hardy flower- 

 ing bulbs, such as crocuses, snowdrops, and daffodils, 

 which come into flower earlier in the year than the 

 majority of herbaceous plants. 



Mr Frank Miles, who was one of the pioneers of this 

 form of gardening, at any rate as we now understand it, 

 held that every six inches of ground should contain its 

 plant so that no six inches of spare ground need obtrude 

 on the eye. His idea may be better understood from his 

 own description. 



" Supposing," he said, " the back of the border filled 

 with Delphiniums, Phloxes, and Roses pegged down, 

 and other summer and autumn-blooming plants, and 

 supposing the border to be made as I have described it, 

 I should carpet the ground at the back with spring- 



