Herbaceous Perennials We Should Grow 
I AM happy to have an opportunity to address you 
on the suljject of '"Perennials We Should ( irow ," be- 
cause it is a group of plants in which I am especially 
interested. For the last three years 1 have been devoting 
a great deal of time to the study of perennials, and I do 
not think I have ever worked with a more interesting 
group of plants, and I wish to say at the outset, that herb- 
aceous perennials unquestionably deserve the popularity 
which they are enjoying at the present time. When we 
think of an ideal jjerennial garden we usually include the 
spring flowering bulbs. Can you imagine our gardens 
without the dainty Snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis), fol- 
lowed by clumps of Crocus (Crocus versi-color), and 
the Showy Squill (Scilla sibrica), which open their flow- 
ers even before the snow has entirely disappeared? After 
these have passed away come constant changes in a well 
arranged perennial garden every week, in fact every day 
will bring forth something new to interest and delight 
the eye of the flower lover. CJnly severe freezing weather 
will put an end to such persistent late blooming sorts as 
hardy Chrysanthemums, Japanese anemomes. New Eng- 
land asters, Gaillardias, Aconitums, etc. It is not my 
purpose today to treat the subject in a general way, be- 
cause so much has been said and written of late con- 
cerning the management, planting, and care of herbaceous 
borders. I will be more specific and deal only with the 
perennials we should grow in our gardens. Before I take 
up the actual materials, however, let us trace briefly the 
evolution of gardening in this country from the time the 
Pilgrim Fathers landed on the bleak barren shores ot 
New England, bringing with them a few seeds of garden 
pinks, and other old-fashioned garden flowers, to the 
present day. 
\\ hen we study the histor}' of gardening in .\merica, 
we find that many changes have been brought aljout from 
time to time, especially in the ty])es of plants used in beds 
and borders for ornamental purijoses. These changes 
might be termed fashions in plants. The most important 
change occurred with the introduction of the so-called 
bedding plants at the time of the Centennial Exposition in 
Philadelphia in 1876. These showy plants appealed 
strongly to the pulilic and from that time on the so-called 
old fashioned flowers which our grandmothers had been 
growing with good results for years and years, came 
into disfavor with the gardener, especiallv the home gar- 
dener. Even twenty years ago there were few borders 
outside of those planted by professional gardeners on 
private estates and in public parks. 
With the adoption of the naturalistic style of landscape 
gardening, a decided change occurred not onlv in the 
type of materials used, but also in the manner of planting, 
and the last ten years has seen a growing interest in the 
so-called old-fashioned hardy plants which are technically 
known as hardy herbaceous perennials, and never have 
they been so highly esteemed as they are at the present 
time. Everyone who is fortunate enough to have even 
a small garden should devote at least part of it to hardy 
plants. 
The reasons for this popularity are obvious. First of 
all they are plants that live from year to year. Although 
the tops die ofif at the end of the growing season, new 
growths come from parts underground the following sea- 
son. This of course gives the garden a feeling of per- 
manency and by selecting the proper varieties the disap- 
pearing flowers will be continuously replaced by new 
ones. The colors of the varieties must be carefullv 
By Arno H. Nehrling, Massachusetts 
studied, as the color scheme is one of the primary features 
of the garden. The season of flowering must also be 
studied in order that the plants may be arranged so as 
to avoid clashes in color and so as to have an equality 
of flowers over the entire season. Even though the bor- 
der is planned with utmost care, it is not always possible 
to have the entire border a mass of color throughout the 
season, and as already stated, in planning the perennial 
Irorder a few clumps of spring-flowering bulbs such as 
Snowdrops, Scillas, etc., and masses of annuals should 
be added. Annuals have a particular charm because quick 
results may be obtained v^ith them, and although they 
are secondary in a border, they are nevertheless of vital 
importance in making a successful garden. 
Another reason for the popularity of perennials at the 
present time is because of the fact that great improve- 
ments have been brought about by our nurserymen and 
plant hybridizers. We have much finer and many more 
varieties for planting than had our predecessors. It is 
only when a comparison is made between Delphinium, 
* Extracts nf 
Society. 
a lectiirt- delivered before the Massachusetts Horticultural 
Paeony, Phlox, Asters, etc., of today with those in gen- 
eral cultivation ten or fifteen years ago that one realizes 
the extraordinary improvements that have been made. 
Summing up the reasons for the increasing interest that 
has been taken in the cultivation of hardy Herbaceous 
jierennials the past few years, we must not overlook the 
fact that they are planted for efliects to cover a period of 
years. Then too, there is no group of plants more adapt- 
able to varied conditions of soil and location. While the 
majority of species prefer a good deep soil and an open 
position, there are a number which succeed under par- 
tially shaded conditions, and soil heavy and light, or moist 
and dry. Although they thrive best in the flower garden 
proper, there are a few which will grow better planted in 
the rockery, shrulabery border, or the wild garden. I 
might add at this point that men who are familiar with 
the construction of gardens have made the statement that 
te year 1916 went down in the history of gardening as 
the year of the true beginning of rock gardening in this 
country. The interest in this type of gardening was 
stimulated to some extent by the fine displays of rock 
garden plants at the exhibitions throughout the land the 
past season. 
Professional gardeners and amateurs have long ago 
come to the conclusion that the perennial border has 
passed the experimental stage and is, now an important 
feature in every modern flower garden. From a well- 
planned garden or border is derived a feeling of quiet 
and rest that no amount of showy bedding plants such 
as red Geraniums, yellow Coleus, or Scarlet Sage can 
give us. By making the proper selection, any garden can 
he made attractive from early Spring tmtil Fall. 
Coming to the species and varieties we should grow, 
we now have a splendid list from which to make selec- 
tions. Many of our progressive firms have gone into the 
culture of perennials on a large scale. However, the 
number of species and varieties does not compare with 
the number grown on the other side of the water, where 
this group of plants has always received a great deal of 
attention. Mr. M. Free, the superintendent of the Brook- 
Ivn Botanic Garden in an article written by him, makes 
the following statement with reference to the number of 
species in cultivation in this country, compared to the 
number used in England. 
"It must be generally admitted that our perennial bor- 
ders, with some few exceptions, are characterized bv a 
great lack of variety in the plant material used. Espe- 
cially is this noticealDle when comparisons are made with 
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