8.- On Hardy 

 Herbaceous Perennials. 



By J. M. Abbott. 



Under the above heading are grouped plants having soft and 

 succulent stems, which die down to the ground each year; 

 whilst the roots live for more than two years, are able to endure 

 our English winters in the open border, and send up new stems 

 each spring. It will thus be seen that they • are quite distinct 

 from other hardy plants grown in our gardens, from trees and 

 shrubs on account of the soft and succulent (not woody) nature 

 of their stems,, and from annuals and biennials because of their 

 more or less indefinite period of existence. 



At the present day the number of hardy herbaceous perennials 

 suitable for growing in our gardens is endless, as a cursory 

 glance through the catalogues of nurserymen making a speciality 

 of these plants will show. A large proportion of plants so 

 catalogued are of interest to the botanist only, but, at the same 

 time, quite numbers are of service to the gardener, and indispens- 

 able for the embellishment of the flower garden throughout the 

 greater part of the . year. Hardy herbaceous perennials are a 

 very popular set of plants. Many of them are old-fashioned^ 

 having been grown in our gardens for a great number of years, 

 whilst others are comparatively new, and have soon become 

 universal favourites. 



Uses. — The first and most important use to which perennials 

 are put is undoubtedly the embellishment of the mixed flower- 



