301 
The Garden Magazine, July, 1920 
There should be a definite edging of a row of bricks rising 
somewhat above the level of the pavement. This edging along 
a cinder path might be of some other material — as stones, tiles, 
or cement. The last named material might indeed be used for 
the walk, with or without tiles in combination. A danger in 
using cement and tiles is of over emphasizing the pavement at 
the expense of the planting. With a grass walk the necessary 
use of a lawn mower precludes the spilling out I have mentioned 
as a means of great charm — so in case grass must for any 
reason be used, perhaps it best be bordered with some 
formal edging plant — Box, if possible. The effect obtained 
in this way however can never equal that afforded by the 
brick pavement. 
As a general rule, the straight path is best for this purpose. 
A curve, particularly a disappearing curve, has a tendency 
to arouse curiosity and hurry us on where there should be only 
the most leisurely advance. This brings us to the path’s end- 
ing, which is a matter of some importance, after all. There 
always will be people indeed who insist on finding a moral for 
every tale; which species of the genus homo firmly hold that 
every path must in the end definitely lead us somewhere worth 
while. If we grant — as we must, I presume — that there should 
at least be some feature that will in a slight measure centre the 
attention on the far end of the path, what shall that feature be? 
The most obvious thing, and perhaps for that very reason the 
best, is a gate in a garden wall. If we could all have garden 
walls! Failing that, a gate set in a green hedge, the higher the 
better, might answer. Or a sundial or a bird bath in a tiny 
circle of lawn most of us could have, in which such a path might 
end. A garden seat against a bank of evergreens might suggest 
an ultimate goal, and be withal a grateful feature as well. 
herbaceous plants are dormant. Such plantings might indeed 
be almost entirely of shrubs. Most of us, however, will prefer 
to keep the Lilacs, Mock Oranges, Forsythias, Flowering 
Cherries, Azaleas, etc., in rather limited quantities, unless the 
beds are unusually wide and they are really needed to give height 
and furnish background. But in the selection of herbaceous 
perennials and biennials every whim of sentiment and fancy may 
have the freest play. The charming groups possible are 
endless, and the only limits imposed arise from the state of 
knowledge and the artistic eye of the gardener — and the 
depth of his purse. The materials are at hand in every 
nurseryman’s offering. 
A practical list of the old favorites that all gardeners will wish, 
approximately in their order of blooming, would run something 
as follows:— Snowdrops, Squills, Crocuses, Arabis, English 
Daisies, Cottage Tulips, hardy Alyssum, Daffodils, dwarf Irises, 
Pansies, Lupins, Bleeding-hearts, Primroses, Oriental Poppies, 
Lily-of-the-Valley, Forget-me-nots, Moss Pinks, Sweet William, 
Siberian Iris, Fleur-de-lis, Peonies, Larkspurs, Foxgloves, Col- 
umbines, Scotch Pinks, Peach Bells, Gaillardias, Phloxes, An- 
chusas, Canterbury Bells, Evening Primroses, Lilies, Japanese 
Irises, Pyrethrums, Goatsbeard, Cardinal Flowers, Hollyhocks, 
Asters of many sorts, Chimney Bellflowers, Lychnis, Helianthus, 
Monkshood, Anemones, and Chrysanthemums. And any 
flower lover will be able to add to the list. 
O UT of this wealth of material, each name in many cases 
standing for several varieties, differing in color of flower 
and sometimes in habit of growth as well, the possible combina- 
tions are, as 1 have said, endless. A few suggest themselves at 
once — as yellow Cottage Tulips and Forget-me-nots; or pink 
When it comes time for planting the beds themselves, an 
almost bewildering range of possibilities opens up. If the beds 
can be eight or ten feet wide, shrubs and evergreens may be 
effectively used to give height and variety, and so selected and 
disposed as to lend interest at such times in the year as the 
ones in a billow of white Arabis; golden Daffodils against the 
mahogany tones of young Peony growth; Columbines and 
Pansies; Oriental Poppies with white or pale yellow Iris; white 
Lupins with pink or blue Iris; Lilies with Larkspur; dwarf 
Irises with Primroses— and so on ad infinitum. And there is no 
