THE CULTIVATION OF HARDY FLOWERS. 



447 



time to time Lave made notes about the arrangement of the 

 plants in the bed, in which you should consider how and where 

 each thrives best as much as where it looks best, because the 

 first condition generally ensures the latter. In planting observe 

 that some plants will flower from top to bottom, if not crowded, 

 and want to be seen all round, especially those of shrubby 

 habit ; others, such as Lilies, Lychnis chalcedonica, and the like, 

 flower only at the top and want less room in proportion. There- 

 fore do not attempt to plant by rule as regards distance, but 

 consider what space each plant wants in order to be seen to the 

 best advantage, and give it that space. As for filling the blanks 

 between the principal large plants with dwarf early-flowering 

 things such as bulbs, it requires careful judgment and experience, 

 or the whole border will be made a failure by it. Wood Anemones, 

 for instance, which I have seen recommended for this purpose, 

 are very exhausting to soil, and few things can grow through the 

 dense mat which they make on a surface where they are esta- 

 blished. Never replant old lumps of anything ; nearly all plants 

 are better for being pulled into small pieces when moved, so that 

 every part of the root can find its way through, to be fed by the 

 renovated soil. There are some few plants, it is true, which 

 should never be moved or divided ; of these the Fraxinella is a 

 notable example ; Giant Poppies too and some kinds of Eryngium 

 will grow for a generation in the same spot without exhausting 

 the soil ; such things may be left growing, and be dug round, 

 when a border is renewed. The feeding roots are so deep that 

 this may easily be done. 



The most convenient size for a mixed border is seven or 

 eight feet wide, when accessible from both sides, so that every 

 part can be reached without walking upon the soil. A large 

 proportion of hardy plants show a decided preference for an 

 eastern aspect, or a slope towards the east. It is not east wind 

 that they like, but morning sun ; and if they can be sheltered 

 from the wind without taking away the sun, all the better. A 

 western aspect is the worst of all. Many choice plants dislike 

 mid-day sun, and do best on the north side of a slope. In 

 recommending shade, the prevailing atmospheric conditions in 

 each district must be taken into account. Plants which do well 

 in shade in Kent or Surrey might die for want of light if planted 

 in the shade in a sunless part of the kingdom like Cheshire ; but 



