SHRUB BORDERS AND HARDY FLOWERS. 



9 



To get the border to look- bright in May, .June, and September is easy enough; the 

 great difficulty is to keep it beautiful through July and August. Some of the plants which 

 help to maintain this brightness are Anthemis tinctoria, the blue Erigeron speciosus, the 

 strong-growing Achillea Eupatorium and Centaurea macrophylla, Telekia speciosa and the hardy 

 Alstroemerias, which grow strongest from seed, and when well established flower best il a 

 little thinned out in the spring. Uutamnus Fraxini lla, and its lovely white variety, flowers 

 in a sunny place at the end of May; but it can ho made to flower later by putting it in a 

 half-shady position. The tall mauve and white Galega officinalis are invariable, also the 



blue Anchusa italica, which 



flow el s best in \ ere dry poor 



soil, and Malva moschata alba, 

 w hu h does best in the shade. 

 All these do fairly well in 

 bur d e r s w h i c h c an not be 

 watered. 



Everyone knows that 

 the handsomest and most 

 effective of Jul) plants are 

 the be uitiful white Madonna 

 Lilies (1. ilium candidum). 

 These are unfortunately often 

 disfigured by a fungus which 

 attacks their leaves, and, 

 w hen allow ed to spread, even 

 prevents their flowering; if 

 taken in time this disease can 

 be arrested by spraying the 

 plants with Bordeaux mixture 

 early in spring. The coarse- 

 g r o w i n g b ut h a ndsome 

 Trumpet weed (Eupatorium 

 purpureum) is useful, and so 

 are Echinops Ritro and E. 

 ruthenicus with their thistle- 

 like heads, a group of which 

 would contrast well with the 

 tall Mulleins, the best of 

 w h i c h a r e V e r b a s c u m 

 phlomoides and the taller 

 V. Chaixii, and in front of this 

 group might be a mass of the 

 different Ervngiums, especi- 

 ally Eryngium amethystinum. 

 The earlier flowering and dwarfer Verbascum phoeniccum is also worth growing. The scarlet 

 Lychnis chalcedonica, with its larger flowered variety L. Haageana, and the bright red flow ers of 

 tne scarlet Bergamot ( Monarda did) ma), give a brilliant touch of colour when it is so much wanted, 

 fhe scarlet Bergamot flowers much better if it is kept well watered, and its scented leaves and 

 bright colour amply repay for a little extra care. The coo! blues and whites of the different 

 Campanulas look well in the halt-shade; of these the best are the well-known C. persicifolia 

 grandiflora, C. grandis, the tall mauve C. latifolia, which is not often grown enough, C. macrantha, 

 and C. Van Houttei, which has long pendant dark blue bells. The Japanese perennial Platycodon 



A BORDER OF HARDY FLOWERS. 



