THE MIXED BORDER 
89 
oblong at the back of the house — about the 
most difficult and prosaic site that can be 
imagined, but one that is the most often met 
with. The garden measures 52 by 204 feet. 
Now, instead of a grass plot (fondly called the 
lawn) in the middle, gravel paths round, and 
a border beyond of flowers or evergreen shrubs, 
let us make a dividing line down the middle, 
and plant a hedge, choosing such shrubs to 
form it as will do best in the locality. If in 
Plan A. 
a warm place, have a hedge of Cupressus 
macrocarpa , or in a shady place with poor 
soil, Arbor vitce or Thuja. Perhaps one of 
the nicest hedges is the old sweetbrier, but it 
must be planted in well-enriched soil (and it 
prefers a cool, stiff one), be well done to 
encourage growth, and kept clipped after 
flowering, when it makes a dense, impenetrable 
hedge. The scent of it is delicious, but it 
does not make quite such a good background 
for your flowers as an evergreen one. If your 
