222 



HARDY PLANTS FOR THE 



highest grace in early spring. The leaf is apt to lose some 

 of its beauty and fade away early in autumn, but this may 

 to some extent be retarded by cutting out the flower- 

 bearing shoots the moment they appear. Not that these 

 are ugly; for, on the contrary, the plants are fine and 

 striking when in flower. It is indispensable that the 

 Feralas, like some other hardy foliaged plants, be planted 



Fig. 81. 



Ferula communis. 



permanently and well at first, as it is only when they are 

 thoroughly established that you get their full effect. At a 

 first view, the best way to treat them would appear to be, 

 so to arrange them that they would be succeeded by things 

 that flower in autumn, and only begin their rich growth in 

 early summer ; but it will be equally wise to plant them 

 near the margin of a shrubbery, where it is desired to have 

 a diversified and bold type of vegetation. In the rougher 



