c 
A Shaded Tulip Border 
AN AMATEUR’S SUCCESSFUL EXPERIMENT IN MAK- 
Photographs by the Author and Chas. Jones 
VERY garden, be it large or small, has its own 
particular problems which must be worked out as 
individual taste or preference suggests, and adapted to 
the necessities of location, size and surroundings. 
Many decorative effects can be undertaken in the large 
garden where shrubs and trees form a background, which 
are quite out of the question in the small surburban garden 
bounded on three sides by fences. 
In our own garden, a plot measuring about thirty-five by eighty 
feet, in the suburbs of New York City, we find it impossible to 
have large shrubs, as they shade the space desired for flowers. 
Picket fences separate us on either side from our neighbors, 
and a high close board fence determines the end of the garden. 
Against this fence in the centre, we have a latticed arbor, with a 
box-seat six feet long. This was built by a carpenter from our 
own design. It provides a convenient resting place, and the box- 
seat is useful for holding the spade and fork and other garden 
tools. Rambler roses and clematis paniculata form a thick leafy 
canopy overhead and give a bit of welcome shade when the sun is 
hot. The arbor is stained in dull green and the back of the seat 
bears the following legend painted in dark letters on the green 
background: „ A World of p eace shut in> 
A World of Strife shut out.” 
The borders are laid out in 
curved lines, starting at each end 
of the arbor and continuing 
around the garden. 
As this little plot is the work of 
our own hands, we have solved 
some problems, made some dis¬ 
coveries and tried some experi¬ 
ments, which may be interesting 
to other garden lovers. 
The question of tulips puzzled 
us not a little. All the garden 
magazines and books said “Plant 
your tulips in clumps against 
shrubbery,” but we had no shrubs, 
and we could not afford to give 
the space to large groups or 
masses of the Darwins where they 
■could lie undisturbed from year to 
year. 
Finally one of us exclaimed, 
“Why not have a tulip border 
close to the lawn, where the bulbs 
would not interfere with later 
planting, and our sweet alyssum 
border could be planted right over 
them ?” 
This having been agreed upon, 
the next thing to be considered 
was the color. A border of one 
color would be monotonous, even 
if we could agree upon a color; 
and a mixed, unnamed border was 
After the tulips are gone sweet alyssum occupies the front of 
the border in the long line around the garden 
too dangerous an experiment to consider, with the 
risk of seeing scarlets and pinks in deadly warfare. 
Finally light dawned, and order resolved itself out of 
our chaos. A shaded border it should be, for which we 
could select and arrange the colors. Many delightful hours 
were spent in studying catalogues and reading descriptions 
of colors and shades. 
We decided to put in the Darwins, because this variety does 
better if left undisturbed in the ground from year to year, and 
also because it is a late blooming tulip, and does not shed its 
petals, individual flowers often lasting for nearly a month. When 
necessary to complete our color scheme, we would fill in with the 
late flowering cottage tulips of the tall varieties, which bloom at 
the same time as the Darwins. t 
We decided to begin with the darkest tulips at the end of the 
garden, starting at the arbor seat and continuing the color, uni¬ 
formly, down each side of the lawn. 
Close to the arbor at each end of the seat, we started with 
that prince of black tulips, La Tulipe Noire, made famous by 
Dumas’ novel of that name, and said to be the blackest of all 
tulips, the high lights reflecting deepest maroon. 
Then followed the Sultan in maroon-black, and others shading 
into dark maroon, and then into deep blood-red. 
We then began with the darkest cardinal red, shading down 
through several tones to the most 
vivid scarlet. 
Then to unite our color scheme 
and connect with the orange 
tones, we used a scarlet with or¬ 
ange centre, and a vermilion 
striped with gold, which brought 
us naturally to the clear orange of 
Mrs. Moon, followed by the yel¬ 
lows, shading down, through sev¬ 
eral gradations, to the pale lemon 
color in Yitellina, which as it 
grows older changes to creamy 
white. 
Next to this, bringing us to the 
centre of the garden on either side, 
and where the curves were fullest, 
came the whites: Painted Lady, 
cream white, and next to her the 
White Queen delicately shaded 
with pink. 
From this point on, our color 
scheme changed, and leaving our 
reds and yellows at the other end 
of the garden, separated by the 
whites, we began to shade into 
pale pink, rose, and deep carmine. 
This brought us to the end of 
the side borders, and as we had a 
little scroll-like terminal bed 
which ended the border, we plant¬ 
ed around that the shades of Iav- 
(Continued on page 250) 
ING A GARDEN BEAUTIFUL DESPITE UNFAVOR¬ 
ABLE CONDITIONS—A ROW OF TULIPS SHADING 
FROM ALMOST BLACK TO BRILLIANT YELLOW 
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