36 HARDY PERENNIALS 
that sometimes makes the herbaceous border con- 
trast very unfavourably with the summer bedding 
which it has so long been urged it should entirely 
replace. 
There are few but not many herbaceous plants 
capable of maintaining a continuous display of 
brightness and colour for the greater part of summer, 
but even against these a bed of geraniums may 
often score in regard to mere display of colour. 
The possibilities of hardy perennials are by no 
means confined to massing in mixed borders, and 
before one proceeds to lay out a new garden it is 
worth while considering whether some other method 
shall be adopted. 
Suppose the whole area is covered with grass in 
which a series of beds can be cut. Each of these 
beds could be edged with a different kind of dwarf 
plant, the selection of suitable subjects for this 
purpose being well-nigh unlimited. We may have 
fragrant Thymes with golden or variegated foliage, 
dainty grasses such as Dactylis glomerata elegantis- 
sima, golden-flowered Alyssum or rosy Saponaria 
ocymoides, dwarf Campanulas with blue or white 
flowers like dangling thimbles, purple- or white- 
edged Ajugas, Tom Thumb Antirrhinums with 
brilliant-hued flowers, Violas, and hosts of other 
diminutive plants which will give character and 
distinction to the beds, whether in or out of bloom, 
and serve as a setting for the main occupants of the 
beds. 
