58 COLOUR SCHEMES 



picture, may want some special accentuation or 

 colouring, there is the way of keeping a reserve of 

 plants in pots and dropping them in where they may 

 be wanted. The thing that matters is that, in its 

 season, the border shall be kept full and beautiful; 

 by what means does not matter in the least. For this 

 sort of work some of the most useful plants are Hy- 

 drangeas, Lilium longiflorum, candidum and auratum, 

 and Campanula ■pyramidalis, both white and blue, and, 

 for foliage, Funkia grandiflora, F. Sieboldi and hardy 

 Ferns. 



An important matter is that of staking and support- 

 ing. The rule, as I venture to lay it down, is that 

 sticks and stakes must never show. They must be so 

 arranged that they give the needful support, while 

 allowing the plant its natural freedom ; but they must 

 remain invisible. The only time when they are tolerated 

 is for the week or two when they have been put in for 

 Dahlias, when the plants have not yet grown up to 

 cover them. 



Michaelmas Daisies we stake with great care in June, 

 putting in some stiff branching spray of oak or chest- 

 nut among the growths and under their fronts. At the 

 end of June we also nip the tops of some of the forward 

 growths of the plants so as to vary the outline. 



There are two borders of Michaelmas Daisies, one 

 for the earlier sorts that flower in September and the 

 other for the October kinds. They are in places that 

 need not often be visited except in the blooming season, 

 therefore we allow the supporting spray to be seen 

 while the plants are growing. But early in August 



