The Hardy Garden 
roots unduly or self sow to a troublesome extent. 
Among the first named may be cited the Bocconia, 
a noble growing plant some six or eight feet in height, 
with large, effective foliage of a light, glaucous green, 
lined with white and sprays of fine white flowers a 
foot or more in length. This plant runs under 
ground forming rhizomes from every joint of which 
a new plant starts, and it is for this reason extremely 
difficult to destroy once it has gained a foothold, as 
the smallest piece left in the ground, will grow and 
form a new plant. As, however, it is a very effec¬ 
tive plant it should be grown with proper precau¬ 
tions, which consists of planting it in a strong frame, 
a box or hogshead, with the bottom removed. 
Thus grown it is powerless to cause trouble and 
forms a valuable addition to the hardy garden. 
The Btgnonia radtcans is another plant requiring 
similar precautions and should never he allowed to 
form seed as the seedlings establish themselves so 
firmly before making themselves conspicuous that 
it is often difficult to dislodge them, and I am not 
certain that, planted where they can cause trouble, 
it would not be well to leave the bottoms in the boxes 
or barrels in which they are planted, so deeply do 
they sink their roots. 
Poppies, petunias, foxgloves, sweet alyssum and 
the cleomes are among the plants which self sow 
freely and, with the exception of the foxglove, are 
apt to prove troublesome. When they come up in 
the paths they may he removed bv scalding, salting 
or the application of sulphuric acid or milk, this 
latter being quite fatal to plant life. 
THE HARDY GARDEN 
By Ernest Hemming 
T HERE is no class of plants so peculiarly adapt¬ 
ed to awaken interest in all who live in the 
country to the delights of gardening as the hardy 
perennials. That they require neither greenhouse 
nor graduate horticulturist to grow them is testified 
by many a cottage garden with its wealth of glo¬ 
rious bloom. 
The returning popularity of the old-fashioned 
hardy garden, has led to many attempts to repro¬ 
duce some of the more notable ones of colonial 
times, as well as those that strike the travellers’ fan¬ 
cy abroad. The latter does not often prove a suc¬ 
cess owing to the climate. 
Like the architecture of the country, garden de¬ 
sign in America seems to be a mixture of many styles, 
made imperative by our climate and surroundings. 
In one place we may see an Italian, in another an 
English garden and so on yet all have features that 
are more or less American. The actual reproduc¬ 
tion is practically impossible under American skies, 
even were it desirable. 
While design is an important factor in a garden, 
the well-being of the plants must always hold first 
place. A garden without any pretence of laying 
out, is a success if filled with thrifty plants, and a 
garden designed with the utmost care and ability 
is a failure if the plants that compose it do not look 
happy. The same is true of an individual plant or 
group of plants. However beautiful a bed of Eng¬ 
lish primroses or wallflowers may be in an English 
garden, they would not be as satisfactory in an Am¬ 
erican garden as some plant more suited to the cli¬ 
mate, so that the first consideration is to procure 
plants adapted to the locality and situation. The 
second to place the plants where they will look the 
most natural. 
There is no class of plants more adaptable or 
more interesting than the hardy perennials. Rough¬ 
ly speaking it includes all the plants that die down 
to the ground and shoot up from the roots the spring 
following or at their appointed season. Coming 
under this head are such well-known plants as the 
pmony, hollyhock, iris, phlox, columbine and a host 
of other well-known garden plants, but in addition 
to these are plants culled from every portion of the 
northern and southern temperate zones of the world, 
not forgetting the many beautiful natives of our 
woods and fields. With such a variety to choose 
from it would be strange if worthy plants could not 
be selected to suit every possible condition or loca¬ 
tion. All are more or less of an unconventional 
habit of growth. When a formal effect is required, 
very careful selection must be made, or when their 
surroundings are of an artificial character. In the 
accompanying illustration will be noted a well placed 
border of hardy perennials, such a border will al¬ 
ways have some flowers in bloom which will help 
to relieve the sombre effect of the trees, and soften 
the line formed by the closely mown lawn and the 
natural planting. 
The round bed in the foreground is more in 
keeping with the artificial conditions of the home 
and would look well without a natural background. 
It is planted with plants of a more tropical nature. 
The bold striking plant in the centre is Musa Ensete 
or Abyssinian banana, the surrounding plants be¬ 
ing cannas and ornamental grasses. The plant 
standing alone to the front of the round bed is the 
175 
