IX 



MAY 

 HARDY PERENNIALS 



The wise gardener will set aside a part of his border garden 

 for a bed for the hardy perennials — those beautiful flowering 

 plants which once established will remain from year to year. 

 In the preparation of the bed it is well worth while to go to 

 considerable trouble in order to get the best conditions 

 for the raising of flowers through many seasons. If the 

 soil can be taken out to a depth of eighteen inches to two 

 feet and the bottom filled in with a well mixed combination 

 of thoroughly decomposed barn-yard fertilizer and soil, it 

 will prove a lasting benefit to the plants. 'If this cannot be 

 done, a large amount of such fertilizer should be spaded into 

 the soil. 



There are so many beautiful flowers on the list of hardy 

 perennials that the average gardener cannot hope to grow 

 them all. It is better to choose those types of flowers that 

 will go well together. Of course, the tallest growing sorts 

 will be planted in the background and the lower in the fore- 

 ground, and some wise selections will be worth while in order 

 that the garden may have some type of flower in blossom 

 throughout the season. It is more desirable to plant generous 

 clumps of every sort chosen than to dot the garden with 

 single plants of many different kinds. 



In the case of the hardy perennials, as in the case of the 

 annuals and most other flowers, there is a very marked 



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