154 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



April, 1907 



Hollyhocks 



opportunity for "effect" on small grounds, a departure from 

 straight lines can always be made, and formality and prim- 

 ness avoided to a considerable degree. Let the boundary 

 curve, as shown in the first photograph, and the result will be 

 a hundredfold more pleasing than it would if it were a 

 straight line. By planting low-growing kinds in the front 

 row, and using taller varieties next to them, with the tallest 

 one in the rear, the effect of a bank of flowers and foliage 

 can be secured. This the illustration also shows clearly. 

 Shrubbery can be used in connection with perennials with 

 fine results, if bold and striking effects are desired. This, as 

 the reader will notice, was done on the grounds from which 

 the picture was taken. Here we have a combination which 

 can not fail to afford pleasure to the lover of the picturesque. 

 It shows us a border which seems to have planned itself, so 

 unstudied and informal is it — quite like the evolution of one 

 of Nature's fence-corner bits of gardening. 



For the background we have several most magnificent 

 plants. The delphinium grows to a height of six and eight 

 feet, in rich soil, sending up a score or more of stout stalks 

 from each strong clump of roots. Two 

 feet or more of the upper part of these 

 stalks will be covered with flowers of the 

 richest blue known in the floral world. 



"Golden glow" rudbeckia is quite as 

 strong a grower as the delphinium. It is a 

 more prolific bloomer. Its flowers are of 

 the richest golden-yellow, resembling the 

 decorative type of dahlia. This plant is 

 excellent in the rear, but nowhere else. 



Hollyhocks deserve a place In every 

 border. Their stately habit, their pro- 

 fusion of bloom, their wonderful range and 

 richness of color, make them favorites 

 everywhere. The illustration shows how 

 charmingly effective they are when grown 

 In clumps or masses. If their flowers are 

 picked off as soon as they fade, and seed 

 is prevented from developing, the plants 

 will bloom throughout the entire season. 

 In the Illustration only single kinds are 

 shown. The double kinds are showier, be- 

 cause their flowers are so thickly set along 

 the stalk that a stronger color effect is 

 given, but they are really no finer than the 

 single sorts, for in the latter the rich and 

 peculiar markings of the individual flowers 

 show to much better advantage than among 



the double kinds, whose multiplicity of 

 petals hides this very pleasing variegation. 



Coreopsis lanceolata, rich yellow, is a 

 charming plant for front rows, especially if 

 placed where it will have a white flower 

 for contrast. 



Phlox, all things considered, deserves a 

 place near the head of the list. It Is so 

 hardy, so sturdy, so florlferous, so rich in 

 color, and blooms during so long a season, 

 that it comes very near to being the Ideal 

 plant for the border. It varies greatly in 

 habit of growth. Some varieties attain a 

 height of five feet or more. Others are low 

 growers — almost dwarfs. In fact — there- 

 fore well adapted for places in the front 

 row. Some varieties have lilac and mauve 

 flowers, very delicate and dainty in color- 

 ing, but so out of harmony with the rose 

 and carmine and violet kinds that they spoil 

 everything if grown near them. But give 

 them a place by themselves, with white 

 varieties to afford color contrast, and serve as a foil to their 

 peculiar beauty, and the chances are that you will think them 

 the loveliest of the lot. No other perennial can give such 

 solid masses of color. 



Peonies are superb flowers. They are to the border what 

 the rose Is to the shrubbery. Hardy, wonderfully prolific of 

 bloom, rich and varied in color, delightfully fragrant, and 

 coming early in the season — what more In the way of argu- 

 ment need be said in their favor? Give them a rather heavy 

 soil, and let It be very rich. Disturb their roots as little as 

 possible. Keep the grass away from them. They will re- 

 quire no other care. 



For an edging plant, I know of nothing finer than phlox 

 sublata. It forms a thick, low, cushiony mass of pretty green 

 foliage, which its white and rose-colored flowers will almost 

 completely hide after a little. Its decorative qualities and 

 possibilities are very pronounced and always charming. 



Dicentra, better known as "Bleeding Heart," Is a most 

 lovely early bloomer. Its long, gracefully arching sprays of 

 pink and white pendant flowers are exceedingly attractive. 



A Group of Iris 



