50 
House & Garden 
The possibilities of stretches of well-kept green turf within the confines of the border are too seldom realized. 
Variety of color and form in the surrounding flowers furnishes contrast with the simplicity of the sward and its 
dignified fountain 
THE RAINBOW GARDEN BORDER 
The Right Flowers to Plant in the Perennial Border to Insure Continuous 
Bloom Throughout the Spring, Summer and Autumn 
T he most beautiful effects achieved in all 
gardening are the most naturalistic effects. 
It is impossible to create anything more beau¬ 
tiful than nature’s rainbow, so why not try a 
rainbow garden border? It is undoubtedly a 
most beautiful setting for the rest of the gar¬ 
den. The formal garden may be surrounded 
by a neutral, naturalistic frarne such as this 
in a very effective manner. If one follows the 
laws of harmony presented by the rainbow, if 
one chooses the flowers whose different shades 
of color blend insensibly into each other ac¬ 
cording to the law of harmony, one may be 
rewarded by a garden of most wonderful color. 
The success of the garden will depend en¬ 
tirely upon the care taken in selecting the 
proper flowers and their respective varieties 
to be planted; and, of course, what is most 
important of all and should be unnecessary 
advice except to amateurs, the individual atten¬ 
tion given to the border preparation, planting, 
and cultivation. 
A few practical suggestions, however, con¬ 
cerning border planting and preparation will 
not be amiss. 
1. Mark out the intended area for the new 
section. The border described here is 12' wide. 
2. Make use of an existing background if 
possible. A wall or natural shrubbery may 
FRANCES E. REHFELD 
be used for this purpose. The color of the 
background to the border must be green. 
3. Trench at least 2'. Put in decayed 
manure liberally, and in heavy soil, add sand. 
4. The back row of plants or flowers should 
be planted 3' from the outside of the 12' bor¬ 
der. The tallest plants should be placed at 
the back, and the shorter flowers toward the 
front. The distance between the different 
groups is 6'. Restricted room means a re¬ 
stricted amount of plants. 
5. Plant deep, mass for effect, and culti¬ 
vate all summer. 
6. Divide the width of the border into 
approximately four spaces. The heavy grow¬ 
ing plants in the back row will require 6' each. 
The lighter growing plants in the next row 
will require 3' each. The plants in front 
of them will require 3' each, planted in clumps 
of five. The plants in the front row require 
18", planted in clumps of three. 
Concerning Color Combination 
One may use the plan of the rainbow gar¬ 
den described on the opposite page, or what is 
much more interesting, design one’s own gar¬ 
den from the lists of reliable material for a 
perennial garden border given at the end of 
this article. 
A few remarks concerning the importance 
of correct combination of color will be of great 
help to those who plan to design their own 
gardens. Without these principles in mind 
success can hardly be won. 
Green is the predominating color of nature. 
W'e must have green for the ground work in 
all our arrangements. If bright colors pre¬ 
dominate, they will oppress, but if they are 
associated with a delicate green setting, they 
cheer and satisfy the eye and mind. The art 
of the arrangement of flowers so far as color is 
concerned, consists in arranging plants so as 
to produce harmony, form and color in both 
foliage and flowers, as in flower garden groups, 
beds, belts, ribbon borders, and even in con¬ 
servatory arrangement. 
Black and white for all practical purposes, 
whether in painting or floriculture or land¬ 
scape gardening, may be considered colors. 
The simplest arrangement is a combination of 
primary and secondary colors, yet to have these 
combinations perfectly harmonious requires 
great skill in their arrangement. Nothing is 
less brilliant than flower beds in which the 
only colors to be seen are blue and white, and 
nothing more gaudy than a garden stocked 
with a profusion of yellow and little else. 
{Continued on page 58) 
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