136 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
February 29, 1908. 
AN IDEAL BORDER, 
By W. G. GLOVER. 
It is now time to see about planting and 
rearranging the herbaceous borders, and 
to those who are contemplating doing so 
a few hints may not be altogether in¬ 
appropriate. To my mind there is often 
too much overcrowding done in planting 
herbaceous borders in these days, with 
the result that many of the most beauti¬ 
ful hardy annuals and biennials never 
even get a look in. Now this is a sad mis¬ 
take, for what can be more pleasing to 
the eye than bold groups of Hollyhocks, 
with a touch of salmon here and there 
from the Shirley Poppies ? The Dahlia 
has fallen into disuse as a border plant, 
which is a great pity, as the plants aie 
such splendid subjects for late blooming. 
There is no need of planting in the border 
gross growing plants which would be 
much better for the wild garden, or for 
planting among shrubs. Preference 
should be given to such delightful plants 
as Paeonies, single and double, Achillea 
The Pearl, Scabiosa caucasica, and S. 
caucasica alba, Physostegia virginica, 
Helenium pumilum, Heuchera sanguinea, 
Lobelia cardinalis, Inula glandulosa, 
Geum coccineum, and G. montanum, 
Rudbeckia speciosa, Echinacea purpurea, 
Eryngium alpinum, Anthericum, Lili- 
astrum, Anthemis E. C. Buxton, Echinops 
Ritro, Anemone japonica, Aquilegia 
caerulea, and A. chrysantha. 
Gvpsophila panic-ulata, Erigeron 
speciosus, Catananche caerulea, and C. 
alba, monarda didyma, Gaillardias in 
variety, Delphinium in variety, Cam¬ 
panula persicifolia, and C. p. alba plena, 
and Helleborus niger are all very useful 
for cut flowers. Two feet should be 
allowed between each plant, and this can 
be filled with such glorious bulbs as 
Gladioli, Liliums, Narcissi, and Mont- 
bretias. Care should be taken not to put 
more than four bulbs in each space. 
Such tall growing subjects as Hollyhocks 
should be planted at the back of the 
border. 
We now come to the front of the border, 
and for this we have a host of lovely 
plants, such as Arabis albida, Achillea 
umbellata argentea, Anthemis montana, 
Alyssum saxatile, Dianthus alpinus, Moss 
Phloxes, Gypsophila dubia, Alpine Auri¬ 
culas, Aubrietia purpurea, and A. Leicht- 
linii, \iolas in all colours, and Dianthus 
Crimson Bedder. Other spaces can be 
filled with such beautiful annuals as Lo¬ 
belias, Petunias, Salpiglossis, Clarkias, 
Verbenas, Asters, Stocks, and Coreopsis 
tinctoria. 
There are numerous other pretty and 
useful hardy herbaceous plants that can 
be recommended for those who do not 
care for the hardy annuals. Such splen¬ 
did subjects as autumn Phloxes, Chrysan¬ 
themum maximum, Dicentra spectabilis, 
Aster Novae-Angliae rubra, Helenium 
autumnale striatum, Iris Princess of 
Wales, I. flavescens, I. coeleste, I. pallida, 
Saxifraga umbrosa, Campanula carpatica, 
and C. q. alba. All these are good 
plants for the mixed border, and they give 
a profusion of lovely blooms during the 
summer and autumn months. A border 
planted on the above lines cannot fail to 
give satisfaction as well as being a source 
of pleasure to its possessor. 
Violet Sweetmeats. 
In the middle ages the medicinal vir¬ 
tues of the Violet were highly thought of, 
and a conserve called Violet sugar was 
largely consumed by “persons of quality.” 
At the present day, Violettes glaces, or 
Violet flowers covered with sugar, can be 
purchased at any French confectioners. 
Horse Show in a Flower Garden. 
For the Second International Horse 
Show to be held at Olympia next June the 
huge building is to be transformed into 
a veritable flower’ garden. Upon the 
scheme of decoration ^30,000 is to be ex¬ 
pended, most of the money being ex¬ 
pended on flowers. The ring is to be 
banked up with Rhododendrons, Gera¬ 
niums, Fuchsias and Roses, the floral 
decorations here being changed every 
day, so .that a sequence of new displays 
will be seen. The annexe, the galleries, 
the passages, and the stables will be pro¬ 
fusely decked out in specimens of all 
flowers which bloom in June. The sum 
of ^2,000 is being spent in Crimson 
Rambler Roses alone. Furthermore, the 
galleries are to be made into promenades, 
with gardens, flower beds, fountains, and 
trees. 
- Q. W. - 
Prize Competitions. 
GENERAL CONDITIONS.— Competitors must 
■write on one side of the paper only. Regular 
paid contributors to THE GARDENING 
WORLD or other gardening journals are de¬ 
barred from entering, but occasional con¬ 
tributors may compete. The name and ad¬ 
dress of the competitor must appear on each 
article sent for competition. The Editor’s 
decision is final, and he reserves the right 
to reproduce, in any wayjl any article or photo¬ 
graph sent for competition. The conditions 
applying to each competition should be oare- 
fullp read. 
WEEKLY 
PRIZES. 
A PRIZE OFTEN SHILLINGS will be given 
for the best paragraph or short article on any 
gardening subject, such as hints of practical 
interest to gardeners, notes on the propaga¬ 
tion or cultivation of flowers, fruits or vege¬ 
tables, eradication of pests, etc. The para¬ 
graph or article must not exceed a column, but 
value rather than length will be considered in 
making the award. Mark envelopes “ Com¬ 
petition,” and post not later than the Monday 
folk wing date of issue. .Entries received later 
than Tuesday (first post) will be left over until 
the following week. 
Two prizes of 2s. 6d. will be awarded each 
week for the two best letters, not exceeding 
150 words, on any interesting gardening sub¬ 
ject. 
RESULTS OF 
LAST WEEK’S 
COMPETITIONS. 
Some of the best papers in this competition 
are too long, and we desire readers to keep 
within a column. 
The prize in the Readers’ Competition was 
awarded to “ Albert R. Gould ” for the article 
on “Plants f r Home Decoration,” page 126. 
In the Prize Letter Competition a prize 
was awarded to “ T. S. Dick ” for the article 
on “Cure for Vines Bleeding”; and another 
to “ D. V, E. ” for the article on “ Autumn 
Sown Sweet Peas in Pots,” page 122. 
GARDEN EDGINGS, 
By GEO. A. FISHER. 
The question of “edgings” is one that 
is not sufficiently considered by the aver¬ 
age amateur, and consequently one often 
sees an otherwise fine floral effect utterly 
spoilt by some unsuitable or unsightly 
bordering; and I rather fancy the reason 
why inartistic square beds and stiff 
straight borders are the general rule in 
small gardens is the cheapness, coupled 
with the easy manipulation, of wood or 
battens, as against the initial expense of 
tiles or any other material adapted to 
graceful curves and circles. 
Yet even wood can be bent, if notches 
are cut at intervals, and the battens 
soaked to prevent them splitting when the 
pressure is put on. Previous to laying 
down it should be well tarred, and painted 
grey or green on the outside it becomes a 
serviceable and neat-looking edging. 
Even when the more costly articles are 
used, however, some little discretion is 
necessary. The heavy scroll tile, for in¬ 
stance, is not suitable for small beds or 
intricate patterns, nor does it make neat 
corners, and for these purposes plain tiles 
or those of smaller design are required. 
But in the flower garden, at any rate, no¬ 
thing looks better than what may be 
termed “live edgings,” which include 
Box, turf, Ivy or Thrift, Saxifrage, and 
indeed any dwarf-growing plant that will 
answer the purpose. 
Of these, perhaps, the first-named, if 
kept neatly trimrqed, can claim pride of 
place, owing to its hardiness and ever¬ 
green nature. But if Box-edging is al¬ 
lowed to grow out of hand there is no 
more harmful and untidy object in the 
garden, for not only does it harbour slugs 
and other vermin, but it keeps the paths 
wet and spoils the growth of any plants 
placed immediately behind it. 
When this occurs the old overgrown 
roots should be dug up and shortened, 
and the soil renovated. Then, having 
firmed down well, a trench should be 
dug and the Box replaced evenly, and 
trimmed with a sharp pair of shears to 
about three or four inches in height, the 
same being the width at the bottom taper¬ 
ing to about two inches at the top, which 
is ample for an ordinary flower-bed. A 
box-edging thus renewed and cut once or 
twice during the summer will last for 
years. 
Turf, too, is quite first-rate for this 
purpose if neatly bevelled and closely 
dinned, the width, of course, varying with 
the size of the bed or the depth of the 
border. But I should recommend this 
only to the untiring enthusiast, as it re¬ 
quires unlimited attention, especially dur¬ 
ing showery weather, when it grows apace, 
and unless constantly looked after, soon 
grows uneven and unkempt. 
For a very wide border of perennials, 
or as a margin to the shrubbery, nothing 
is-better than a double row of chalk-flints 
or clinker-bricks with soil filled between, 
into which Sedums, Saxifrages, Arabis, 
and other trailing plants may be placed, 
which, spreading over the stones, will 
soon render the whole natural and artistic, 
and greatly enhance the beauty of the tall- 
growing flowers and shrubs behind. 
