CHAPTER III 



HARDY FLOWER BORDERS 



<<On this bed I read the history of the year. Here were the first 

 snowdrops ; here came the crocuses, the daffodils, the blue gentians, 

 the columbines, the great globed peonies ; and, last, the lilies and the 

 roses." — George Milner. 



The cottage garden is first and foremost a home for 

 flowers, and to make it worthy of its treasures must be 

 the aim of all good gardeners. Not only do we want 

 flowers, but we want them in endless profusion, in 

 variety, and at all seasons of the year. From January 

 to December there should be bloom and colour and 

 fragrance in the garden; flowers dying, but in their 

 death giving place to others ; green shoots pushing 

 their way through the fallen leaves of their predecessors ; 

 dwarf plants carpeting the earth ; life, movement, fresh- 

 ness everywhere ; never a moment's pause, nor a single 

 suggestion of finality. The summer garden must ever 

 be the most beautiful, because we in this grey, northern 

 climate long for warmth and colour ; but the garden of 

 winter may be beautiful too, and in spring and autumn 

 even more so. The secret of the ideal garden is its 

 perennial charm ; it exists not for a few months or 

 weeks of fleeting loveliness, but for so long as we care 

 to enjoy it. It is a sad waste of opportunity to limit 

 the real life of a garden to spring and summer days, 

 contenting ourselves with bare earth and empty borders 

 for the rest of the year. Flowers should be with us 

 always, and in seeking the best ways in which to grow 



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