THE HARDY HERBACEOUS BORDER 83 



Planting. — As the herbaceous border is usually intended to last for 

 several years, care should be exercised in selecting and arranging the 

 plants properly at first, to avoid subsequent alterations. If the borders 

 are arranged as recommended it will not be necessary to have all the 

 tall plants at the back, the others sloping downwards to the dwarf ones 

 in front, thus giving a painful air of symmetrical arrangement. Many 

 •of the taller kinds may be placed in the centre, and behind or in front 

 of them the dwarfer ones may be planted, according as to whether they 

 require plenty of sunshine or shadow. In fact, the plants should be 

 ina"de to assist each other as much as possible in this respect. A tall 

 plant may be readily ilsed for shading a dwarfer one by its shadow 

 during the hotter and sunnier portion of the day. In the same way a 

 tender plant may be sheltered from the winds if arranged near 

 another of a more hardy constitution. 



Massing or Grouping. — It often happens that one plant by itself 

 fails to produce a good effect. It may be straggling in habit and small 

 in flower, and is lost amid more showy surroundings. It is somewhat 

 similar to a solitary soldier in a more or less gay uniform, and a whole 

 battalion dressed in the same way. The individual looks common- 

 place and excites no comment, but when he is one of a thousand he con- 

 tributes his share to the brilliant effect of the whole. So it is with 

 many plants. When they are ineffective as single specimens they 

 become handsome and desirable subjects in a flower border when grown 

 together in large masses. If Violets, Primroses, Saxifrages, Asters, 

 Aubrietias, Larkspurs, Anemones, Campanulas, Coreopsis, Gentians, 

 Phloxes, Pentstemons &c. were grown simply as single plants at a great 

 distance from each other, they would never produce the effect, or be 

 so much appreciated as they are when grown in masses and groups. 



Colour and Time of Flowering. — This is an important point to con- 

 sider in arranging the plants. In the following lists some of the best 

 flowers are arranged according to the principal predominating colour, 

 so that the reader will find no difficulty in making a selection for him- 

 self. The period of blooming should also be taken into consideration, 

 with a view to obtaining flowers in the open air for as long a period as 

 possible. In this way the flower border will continue to maintain its 

 interest from one year's end to another. As it is often useful to know 

 what plants are likely to bloom in the dullest months of the year, a list 

 of those which blossom between September and May is given at p. 94. 

 It is scarcely necessary to give a detailed list of those which flower 

 from May to September, as during this period there are so many, and 

 there is no difficulty in finding them. In regard to the trees and shrubs, 



however, a list of which is given at p. 107, some pains have been taken 



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