THE LADIES’ MAGAZINE OF GARDENING. 
167 
of perception and fine judgment, and an accurate knowledge of all the 
principles of natural and gardenesque beauty, as well as of the characters 
of the plants, or materials which are necessary, with a due arrangement, to 
produce it. 
“ It is probably as difficult to fix upon the most suitable plant for the 
edging of a flower-bed, as it is to determine the best shrub for a hedge 
around fields. For the borders of main avenues, or broad walks in grounds 
of considerable extent, box is undoubtedly the best; but for small parterres, 
or the flower-beds in a front-door yard, it seems much less suitable. They 
can commonly be taken in at one glance of the eye, and, notwithstanding 
all that has been said of the artificial or geometric style, it is the proper 
one for such places ; for symmetry, or a perfect balance of corresponding 
parts, greatly strengthens the impression of such a scene, taken as a whole, 
or single mass of objects. The beds, therefore, will not only be small, 
but when there is the proper variety in the form of them, some, at least, 
must have quite acute angles. Box, if thrifty (and, sickly, it would be 
an eyesore anywhere), soon takes up too much space in breadth; it 
becomes a harbour for slugs and other noxious vermin; and its numerous 
greedy fibrous roots so exhaust the soil, that no bulbous or other flowering 
plants, which are the primary objects in such situations, can flourish 
within a considerable distance. To be kept within the proper dimensions, 
both as to height and breadth, it requires frequent clipping, and for some 
time after that operation it presents a raw, stiff, and unpleasant aspect; 
though, to be sure, after the new growth has concealed the cut extremities, 
it will present a most charming line of verdure. Box is, moreover, apt to 
be winter-killed at the north, and summer-killed at the south; and it 
will also not unfrequently die off in some places without any obvious 
cause, leaving unsightly gaps, which it is impossible, or requires a long 
time, perfectly to fill. Dwarf Iris, Hyssop, some species of Phlox, Stone- 
crop, and even a few kinds of grass, are, for a time, exceedingly pretty; 
but they soon spread too much laterally, while, from pressure, or old age, 
or exhaustion of the soil, they die away in the middle of the line. 
“ Certain sorts of bulbous roots, such as the crocus, jonquil, and other 
narcissi, hyacinths, and the like, with their brilliant flowers and lively 
foliage, leave nothing further to be desired while they last, which is but 
for a brief space in the spring ; and we can only supply their place by a 
row of some annual, such as Chinese pinks, sweet alyssum, candytuft, &c., 
which, in their turns, must give way to Chinasters. And, upon the whole, 
perhaps no single plant whatever can fulfil all the requisite conditions, 
viz., a narrow and low line of perpetual greens, diversified with flowers, 
to delight us with the contrast of their colours or the deliciousness of their 
