Rearranging the Hardy Border- By Peter Zuger, Err* 



MOST HERBACEOUS PERENNIALS MUST BE LIFTED, DIVIDED AND REPLANTED IN SPRING TO MAKE 

 THEM FLOWER PROFUSELY— A FEW SUGGESTIONS ON GETTING EFFECTS IN COLOR AND HEIGHT 



HPHE proper time to rearrange the hardy 

 -*- border is early in April, when the 

 young growths are just emerging after their 

 winter's rest. The fact that the subjects of 

 the hardy border are "perennial" does not 

 mean that they can remain undisturbed for 

 all time; the life of the average perennial 

 can be generally accepted as from four to five 

 years. With many of the more rampant 

 growing kinds, such as Golden Glow and 

 Boltonia, division is necessary every two 

 years, at least. Treated thus they will 

 not only produce 

 flowers of better size 

 and color, but the 

 growth can be kept 

 confined to its own 

 particular domain 

 and not permitted 

 to spread and over- 

 run less vigorous 

 but equally, or more, 

 valuable neighbors. 



Here the question 

 arises : " Which 

 plants should come 

 up and which should 

 remain?" 



In those which are 

 classed in the "late, 

 or autumn flower- 

 ing" section, the 

 original crown (gen- 

 erally speaking) dies 

 out after flowering, 

 and immediately the 

 new growths push up 

 around it. All such 

 plants can be divided 

 each spring — what- 

 ever little check they 

 may suffer is really 

 to their advantage. 



The "summer 

 flowering" section, 

 as a rule, makes the 

 new growth from the 

 root crown, and 

 should be divided in 

 the early fall; but if 

 given a good mulch 

 every fall — the same 

 being dug under' in 

 spring — can remain 

 undivided for several 

 years. 



The "spring flower- 

 ing" section requir- 

 ing division is less 

 numerous and should 

 be handled in the 

 early fall when the 

 new growth has 

 matured. 



In preparing the 

 border, the plants to 



be divided should first be carefully dug up 

 and placed to one side, the ground levelled 

 off, and a good coating of well-decomposed 

 stable manure and a sprinkling of wood- 

 ashes, or lime, applied. If stable manure 

 cannot be obtained, sheep manure or bone 

 meal can be substituted in a lesser quantity. 

 This should be dug in to a depth of from 15 

 to 18 inches, and the soil worked into a good, 

 friable condition. After the border is made 

 ready the plants should be carefully divided 

 by cutting clean through the clump with the 



The relative height of the plants is the chief factor to be regarded in the general scheme of arrangement. 

 Keep the dwaris well to the front, the tallest to the rear 





LATE-FLOWERING PERENNIALS — DIVIDE IN IN SPRING 



Alum root 



Catchfly 



Loosestrife, rose 



Rudbeckia 



Aster, hardy 



Chrysanthemum 



Mallow 



Sea lavender 



Baby's breath 



Day lily 



Meadowsweet 



Sea pink 



Bergamot 



Delphinium, Chinese 



Mint 



Sneezewort 



Bishop's weed 



False chamomile 



Phlox, perennial 



Speedwell 



Blazing star 



False dragonhead 



Plantain lily 



Sunflower 



Bouncing Bet 



Loosestrife 



Plume poppy 



Sunflower, orange 



Campion 



Loosestrife, fringed 



Pyrethrum 



Windflower, Pennsylvania 

 Yarrow 





EARLY -FLOWERING PERENNIALS DIVIDE IN EARLY FALL 



Alyssum 



Foxglove 



Moss pink 



Poppy, oriental 



Bellflower 



Iris, German 



Pansies, tufted 



Primrose 



Bleeding heart 



Iris, Japanese 



Peony 



Pyrethrum 



Columbine 



Lilies 



Pinks, garden 



Spirea 



stroke of a strong knife or sharp spade. It is 

 a mistake to think that the larger the divided 

 clump, the better the resulting plant will be. 

 Four to six eyes, on the average, will make a 

 more vigorous and better-balanced plant than 

 a larger clump. Should you desire to increase 

 your stock, the smaller growths, or eyes, 

 which are trimmed off in shaping the clump 

 can be planted out in some out-of-the-way 

 corner of the garden, and in the course of one 

 or two years will make good flowering plants. 

 To properly arrange the plants in a border, 

 some knowledge as 

 to the growing habits 

 and flowering period 

 of the plants to be 

 used is essential. The 

 taller growing kinds, 

 such as rudbeckia, 

 boltonia, hollyhock, 

 larkspur, etc., should 

 be used in the back- 

 ground ; next in order 

 will come such less- 

 vigorous growing but 

 yet fairly tall plants 

 as false dragon head, 

 bee balm, phlox, 

 campanula, balloon 

 flower, peonies, 

 columbine, etc. The 

 frontal planting will 

 naturally comprise 

 the dwarfer, pets of 

 the border. Notable 

 among these are: the 

 primrose in its many 

 types, moss pink 

 {Phlox subidata and 

 amoena), Anemone 

 Pulsatilla, Adonis 

 vernalis, sea pink 

 (Armeria), alum 

 root, Heuchera, Ver- 

 onica incana and 

 subsessils, gaillardia, 

 geum, in fact, there 

 is an almost endless 

 assortment of dwarf 

 perennials, all well 

 adapted for border- 

 ing, and one must 

 select according to 

 individual taste. 

 Without doubt, the 

 most effective way 

 to arrange a peren- 

 nial planting is to 

 plant each variety 

 in a separate group, 

 large enough to give 

 the varieties distinc- 

 tion; the size of the 

 group being in pro- 

 portion to that of the 

 border, but large 



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