82 PRACTICAL GUIDE TO GARDEN PLANTS 



sheltered from the bleak cold winds of the east and north. This shelter 

 is better and more picturesque if given by means of ornamental trees 

 and shrubs, or thick evergreen hedges. When herbaceous borders are 

 made against walls and outside greenhouses care should be taken not to 

 have the back portion choked up with vegetation with an idea of hiding 

 the wall. The latter object can be secured by training various plants 

 and climbers like Ivies, Vitis, Smilax, Choisya, Clematis, Jasmine, 

 Bignonia &c. over them. 



But there is no necessity whatever to have beautiful flower borders 

 near buildings or walls of any sort, or even fringing shrubberies, although 

 all these situations are valuable if properly utilised. The flower border 

 may stand alone in the grass and may be so arranged that sufi&cient 

 shelter is afforded from a distance by hedges, trees, buildings &c. 



Width. — The width of flower borders is often so great that the 

 plants towards the back are so placed as to be too far off to be 

 properly attended to without constantly walking over the border and 

 treading the soil down into a perfectly hard state. Five to six feet 

 wide is quite enough for any border, and it should be so arranged that 

 it may be viewed from both sides. Where flowers are largely cut for 

 room decoration this vsdll be found a convenient width, as it will admit 

 of the flowers being cut from the centre of the bed without trespassing 

 on the soil or the intervening plants. 



Where very broad stretches of ground may be used for the flower 

 border, pathways of grass about 2 ft. wide may be left between the 

 borders. This will allow for the erection at intervals of trellises, arches, 

 pergolas &c., over which climbers from each side may be trained up. 

 Where herbaceous borders run parallel with greenhouses or conserva- 

 tories, as they frequently do, a pathway at the back by the walls vdll be 

 a great convenience, and will also allow a freer circulation of air among 

 the plants. The taste of the cultivator, however, will always decide 

 where the borders are to be made, how they are to be planted, and the 

 kinds of plants to be used. 



Soil.— For general purposes a rich loamy well-drained soil is best. 

 It may be leavened by the addition of manure, leafsoil, peat and sand, 

 as may be required for any particular plant grown in it. It should be 

 from 2 to 3 feet deep and, before planting, well dug or trenched as 

 occasion demands. In the following pages there is frequent reference 

 to ' ordinary good garden soil.' This means any soil which is well- 

 drained and consists of loam, sand, leaf-mould and other vegetable and 

 animal refuse, clay, peat &c., all of which have been thoroughly worked 

 with the addition of manures for years past. It would be difficult 

 without analysis to say of what such a soil was composed. 



