98 
THE AMATEUR’S FLOWER GARDEN. 
Ibe troubled about principles, but must consider tlie manage¬ 
ment of the herbaceous garden a matter of detail. As to 
watering, never give a drop if you can help it; but if it must 
be given, give plenty. Plants that have a deep well-manured 
bed to root in will rarely need water; but in some hot dry 
places watering is a necessary part of the routine management 
of a garden, and the herbaceous plants will be as thankful 
as any for whatever help the water-pot can give them. Some 
plants require stakes and some do not. Those that need 
support against wind should have it in time, for the storm 
may come and blow down half your garden wealth on the 
very day you have begun to talk of staking the dahlias and 
hollyhocks “ to-morrow.” We are no advocates of scanty 
planting; we rather prefer a crowded garden, but must con¬ 
tend always for a sufficiency of the comforts of life for all 
kinds of plants. The subjects we have before us require a 
deep nourishing soil, and plenty of light and air, which over¬ 
crowding will simply prevent them having; but a meagrely- 
planted border has as miserable an appearance as a great dinner 
table with only half a red herring on it. Always plant enough 
to make a good effect at once, and in a year or two afterwards 
thin out and transplant, or give away, or sell; don’t waste 
years in the expectation that you may obtain from half-a- 
dozcn plants enough stock to cover an acre, because it is not 
well to make a nursery of a garden, and a good stock of all 
the best things that can be obtained will afford far more 
gratification than any quantity of some half-dozen sorts that 
you may any day buy at about a fifth, or, perhaps, a tenth, of 
what you must expend to produce them. Herbaceous plants 
are, for the most part, easily multiplied, and, generally speak¬ 
ing, may be increased by the very simple process of division ; 
but it is better to plant a small plot of ground in such a way as 
to insure a good effect at once than to lay out a great extent 
of border space with the intention of filling it “ some day ” 
with home-grown stock. To enjoy herbaceous plants they 
should be left undisturbed for years, to form great masses or 
“ stools,” as they are called, for it is only when thoroughly 
established that many of the best of them present their flowers 
profusely and show all their characters in full perfection. It 
is a strange thing that people who are always ready to ex¬ 
pend money in the most liberal manner on bedding plants 
become ludicrously niggardly the instant they become con- 
