April, 1907 AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 153 



The Border of Hardy Plants 



By Eben E. Rexford 



HE most satisfactory garden of flowering 

 plants for small places is one composed of 

 herbaceous perennials and biennials. This 

 for several very good reasons: First, once 

 thoroughly established they are good for 

 an indefinite term; second, it is not necessary 

 to "make garden" annually where they are 

 used; third, they require less care than any other class of 

 plants; fourth, requiring less care than other plants, they are 

 admirably adapted to the needs of women who can devote 

 only a limited amount of time to gardening; fifth, they in- 

 clude some of the most beautiful plants it is possible to grow. 



I have no disposition to say disparaging things about the 

 garden of annuals. Annuals are, many of them at least, 

 very desirable. But they call for a great deal of labor. It is 

 hard work to spade the ground, and make the beds, and sow 

 the seed, and keep the weeds down. This work must be done 

 year after year. But with hardy plants this is not the case. 

 Considerable labor will be called for the first year in prepar- 

 ing the ground and setting out the plants, but after that most 

 of the work among 

 them can be done 

 with the hoe, and it 

 will take so little 

 time to do it that 

 you will wonder 

 how you ever came 

 to think annuals the 

 proper thing for the 

 flower garden of 

 busy people. 



In preparing the 

 ground for the re- 

 ception of these 

 plants, spade it up to 

 the depth of a foot 

 and a half, and work 

 into it a liberal 

 amount of good ma- 

 nure. Most per- 

 ennials will do fairly 

 well in a soil of only 

 moderate richness, 

 but they can not do 

 themselves justice in 

 it. To secure the 

 best results from 

 them, you must feed 

 them well from the 

 start. Give them a 

 good send-off, and 

 keep them up to a 

 high standard of vi- 

 tality, and they will 

 surprise you with 

 the profusion and 

 the beauty of their 

 bloom. 



Perennials, as a 

 rule, will not bloom 

 until the second 

 year from seed. 

 Therefore if you 



want flowers the first season, it will be necessary to purchase 

 last year's seedlings from the florist. 



In most neighborhoods one can secure material enough to 

 stock the border from one's friends. But if you want plants 

 of any particular color, or a certain variety, you will do well 

 to give a dealer your order. In most gardens five or six 

 years old the original varieties will have died out, or so 

 deteriorated that the stock you obtain there will be inferior 

 in most respects, therefore not at all satisfactory to one who 

 wants "the best." That is what the florist will send you, if 

 you patronize one who has established a reputation for 

 honesty. 



The impression prevails, to a great extent, that perennials 

 bloom only for a short time in the early part of the season. 

 This is all a mistake; you can have flowers all through the 

 season from this class of plants, if you select your stock with 

 a view to the prlongation of the flowering period. Many 

 kinds bloom long before the earliest annuals are ready to 

 begin the work of the season. Others are in their prime 

 in mid-summer, and the later ones will give flowers until frost 



comes. The fact is, 

 perennials will keep 

 the garden gay with 

 bloom throughout 

 the entire season, if 

 you understand 

 their habits and 

 make a wise selec- 

 tion. If you want 

 to know all about 

 their time of flower- 

 ing, read the cata- 

 logues of the dealers 

 carefully. 



On the ordinary 

 home-lot there is not 

 much choice allowed 

 as to the location of 

 the border. It must 

 go to the sides of 

 the lot, if it starts in 

 front of the house, 

 or it may be placed 

 at the rear of the 

 dwelling. On most 

 grounds it will, 

 after a little, occupy 

 both of these posi- 

 tions, for it will out- 

 grow its early limi- 

 t a t i o n s in a few 

 years. You will be 

 constantly adding to 

 it, and the border 

 that begins on each 

 side will speedily 

 overflow to the rear. 

 Do not put it im- 

 mediately in front 

 of the dwelling. 

 Lca\c the lawn un- 

 broken there. While 



Edge of Lawn there is not much 



