826 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



for such a border are Oriental Poppies, Paeonies, the boldest of 

 the Irises, Day Lilies, herbaceous Spiraeas, (Enotheras, a few of 

 the best Campanulas, Delphiniums, Lilies, three or four of the 

 best perennial Sunflowers, the tall blue Sea Holly, Tritomas, 

 Mulleins, Thalictrums, Dahlias, Hollyhocks, and a few others. 

 These are the plants that will form the great effects of the border. 

 The nearer parts and some spaces between the taller growtha 

 should have groups of plants of lower stature, and yet of a 

 somewhat bold form of foliage. Of these the broad-leaved 

 Saxifrages and Funkias are among the best. Still dwarfer 

 plants, such as Pinks and Pansies, are suitable for the extreme 

 edge. Each kind of plant in the mixed border should stand in 

 a bold group, and the groups, differing in size and shape 

 according to the aspect of the plant, should follow one another 

 in a carefully arranged sequence of colour ; keeping plants of 

 a colour together, such as Mulleins with (Enotheras, and 

 Tritomas with Oriental Poppy. In the case of the last-named it 

 is convenient to actually intergroup the two kinds, for the foliage 

 of the Poppies dies away early, and the blank space it would 

 have left becomes covered by the later-growing leaves of the 

 autumn-blooming Tritoma. 



Groups of red, orange, and strong yellow follow well, and 

 help each other by forming a rich colour-harmony. Flowers of 

 a strong blue colour, like Delphiniums, seem to ask for a contrast, 

 such as that of white Lilies, or the pale yellow of Oenothera 

 La?narckiana and Verbascum phlomoides, the best of the 

 Mulleins. In practice it is perhaps best to exclude bulbous 

 plants from the mixed border (especially in light soils that need 

 frequent enrichment), as the disturbing of the ground occasioned 

 by division of the plants and manuring is perilous to the bulbs, 

 whose foliage has disappeared by autumn, and whose places are 

 probably forgotten unless marked by unsightly labels ; but 

 exception should be made in favour of three common Lilies, the 

 white, the orange, and the Tiger. Labels must be absolutely 

 abolished in the ornamental garden. 



Some families of plants, especially those whose beauty is in 

 infinite variety, may best be enjoyed in places almost by them- 

 selves, where the eye would be undisturbed by the consideration 

 of other kinds of flowers. A garden of Lilies may be made of 

 great beauty, the groups of Lilies appearing among dwarf and 



