98 
THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 
the hardy flower borders of several European countries 
where the culture of herbaceous plants in borders and 
rock gardens has assumed enormous proportions. In the 
Royal Gardens, Kew, over 8,000 species and varieties 
of herbaceous plants are grown, and it is no uncommon 
thing to see catalogs published by nurserymen containing 
over 2,C00 varieties. \\'hile not advocating for an instant 
the growing of plants simply for the sake of having a 
large collection, it must be conceded that when a nursery- 
man catalogs 2,000 hard}- plants, there must be a number 
of really meritorious subjects which are not grown in our 
borders, and which are not to be found in the lists pub- 
lished by the majority of American firms dealing in hardy 
plants. 
"The deriiand for, and importance of, hardy i^erennials, 
is increasing l)y leaps and bounds. People are getting 
tired of the monotony and expense of formal bedding and 
demand a return to the old-fashioned perennial border 
which, when ]jroiierly constructed, provides plants in 
bloom, of some kind or other, from April to November. 
It is up to the nurserymen, therefore, to see that this de- 
mand is supplied. The man who is able to do this is 
the one likeliest to reap the largest profits. \\'e will have 
to break awa\' from the stereotyped list of plants that 
everyone who grows herbaceous plants already has in his 
possession and launch out in introducing new plants. 
Novelties are a necessity, not only from the interest thev 
generate, but from the point of view of the matter of 
hard cash involved." 
The English firms who specialize in hardy plants real- 
ize the important psychological fact that people are always 
seeking something new, and strenuous efforts are con- 
stantl}' being made to add new plants to their collections. 
The majority of the new sorts are obtained by cross- 
breeding standard varieties. Others obtain their novel- 
ties bv sending exjieditions for the purpose of collecting 
new plants in their native habitats. 
Our own Mr. \\'ilson has brought to this countr}- a 
large collection of trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants, 
among the latter being Lilium, Regale, Buddlei variabilis, 
Aconitum \^'ilsoni, Anemone huphensis, Artemesia lacti- 
flora, etc. 
Even though our brothers across the water are offering 
a larger number of species in their catalogs, we have at 
the present time a vast amount of material to choose from. 
The range of color in these plants covers a wide range 
of tones. Mrs. Francis King in her work on '"The Weil- 
Considered Garden'' says, "Never before were seen pinks 
of such richness, such deep velvet-like violets, delicate 
buffs and salmons, 'actual blues, vivid orange tones and 
pale beautiful lavenders." Through the magic of the hy- 
bridizers we are today without excuse for ugliness in the 
garden. 
The question of color, if good efl:ects are to he ob- 
tained, is an important one, and should lie considered 
seriously when materials are being selected. The average 
descriptive seed or bulb list is not always as accurate 
as it might be. We have as yet no color standard for 
garden flowers. Mrs. Sedgwick in The Garden ^Nlonth 
by Month provides a chart which is of great value in 
the selection of plants for a perennial garden. It is rather 
difficult to make definite recommendations regarding color 
selection because of the likes and dislikes of the individ- 
ual. Most of us have ]irejudices against a certain color 
and disregard it completely when selecting material. This 
same color, when judiciously used with correlated tones 
may have been transmuted into a perfect picture. The 
successful gardener must also be somewhat of an artist 
and have a keen e_\e for color effect, whether the scheme 
is one of contrasts or a gradual verging from one shade 
to another. 
On some of our larger estates entire gardens or por- 
tions of a garden are devoted to plants of one color, such 
as blue, red or white. The blue garden has been espe- 
cially poptilar of late. 
Again coming back to the actual problem of the herba- 
ceous perennials we should grow, let me say that in a 
list of ICO of the best sorts, few people agree as to which 
actually are the best subjects for a particular purpose. 
The personal element will again be an important factor 
in making a choice. 
I will not weary you with a list of all the meritorious 
hardy plants, but select only those which are the most use- 
ful among those we should grow. The writer has endeav- 
ored to put aside his own likes and dislikes, and included 
only the more satisfactory forms. There are many more 
sorts with strong claims of inclusion, but as our time is 
limited, the exclusive of many good things is inevitable. 
The plants I will mention have been placed in their 
approximate order of flowering and there will of course 
be cases of overlapping throughout the season. 
A collection could be selected to good advantage from 
the following list : 
.\I'i;iL-.MAY. 
Color. Height. 
Name. Inches. 
ArabLs alhida Wliite fl to 8" 
Aly.ssum saxatih' r-Dinpactiim Yclhiw to 18" 
Phlox suliiilata Pink 6" 
.Vnemone piilsalilla Liyht lihie 9" 
Vpiiuiifa :;i'ntianoiiles Blue 1 to 2' 
JIAT-.Tt'XK. 
Poroniiuin plaiitn:;iii(nim exfelsum Yelliiw llnto 2' 
.Vnuileaia caeniloa Light blue and 
white IV. to 2' 
plandnlosa Blue and 
white 1' 
olirysantlin Yellow 2 to 3' 
(•anaden.sis Scarlet and 
yellow ly,' 
Dicentra .spectabilis Rose 2' 
Iris gerraanioa vavs Various 2 to 3' 
Diauthus deltoides Deep jiink 0" 
Pyretlirinn hybridiun Vaiious Iji to 2' 
Lychnis viscaria splendens Pink 1 to IXi,' 
Veronica amethystina Dee]i blue 1 to lyi' 
-VstiT alpinns Puiple 9" 
.JUXE-.JULY. 
Papaver nrieiilale Searlet 2 to 3' 
Paeonia \'arions 3' 
Lniiinns polypliyllus Jlocrlieiini Pink 3' 
Dianthns glumavins "Her Majesty" White P 
lleniercicallis flava Yellow 3' 
Polcninninm Uichardsoni Bine lij.' 
Ileleniuin Hotipe.sii Yellow 3' 
riclphinium hybiidnm Blue 4 to .5' 
'■ belladonna Pale blue 4 to 5' 
Hemei'ocallis Dumortiei'i Y'ellow IV.' 
P.aptisia anstralis Dark bine 3' 
Peutslemon laevigatu.s digitalis .Lilac white 2' , to 3' 
Dictarauns albns White 2 to 3' 
.\conitnm Napellus Deep Idue 2i/^' 
Anthemis tinctoria Kelwayi Y'ellow 3' 
.Vnchnsa italica Dropmore Bine 4 to 5' 
Opal Xiphtblue 4' 
Campanula persicifolia Blue 2 to 4' 
Coreiipsis lanceolata ^ ellow 2 to 2'/,' 
Campanula cnrpatica JJliU' 9" 
Oenothera missunriensis Y'ellow 1' 
frnticc^sa Deep Acllow 2 to 3' 
Ueueliera sanguinea Red 1 to 1 U' 
Veronica incana Blue 1 to 1 %' 
Iris laevigata ( Kaempferi) Various 2 to 3' 
Spiraea Arnnc\is White 3' 
Silene orienralis Pink 1 to P-;' 
Poleniouinra caernlenm Blue 2 to 3' 
Centaurea macrocephala Yellow 4 to 5' 
(Co)itinucd on page 110) 
