HOUSE AND GARDEN 
September, 1912 
145 
feet overlooks it, and along 
one side is a double row of 
evergreens. 
A gardener is noted for his 
failures no less than for his 
successes. I have never met 
one who did not have his pecu¬ 
liar brand of disappointment. 
I have several. Notably of 
rhododendrons. I have tried 
them time and again, but to 
no permanent vigor. Our cli¬ 
mate and soil in Western Ken¬ 
tucky are hostile to them, but 
it would seem that by follow¬ 
ing the best cultural direc¬ 
tions — selecting the best loca¬ 
tions, and the best stock — 1 
should succeed; but I never 
have. The first year I have 
lovely flowers, the next poorer, 
and the next only shrunken 
half dead shrubs. And so it 
goes with a number of things 
I love — Canterbury bells for 
instance, and Oriental pop¬ 
pies. 
But I have always made a 
success of asters and dahlias. 
My dahlias are as fine as any 
I have ever seen, and I have 
many varieties, both cactus 
and pompon. The only 
trouble I ever have with my 
dahlias is in keeping them 
properly staked. In spite of 
severe pruning they become 
heavy as the season advances 
and are often broken by 
storms. But for all this no 
flower, in my opinion, pays 
better. I gather basketfuls at 
frost-time after having fed 
the multitude of flower-lovers. 
This season I am going to try a dahlia 
fence supporting them on a four foot farm 
wire fence well braced, that ought to hold 
them up. 
My special “dahlia row,” which runs the 
full length of my vegetable garden and 
serves in a measure both as border and 
screen, has been much admired. Begin¬ 
ning at the upper end of the garden I 
plant certain brilliant colored cactus sorts 
which do not grow very tall and following 
along the row as the ground slopes gently 
toward the lower garden, I shade off into 
the tall yellow sorts that reach a height of 
seven feet or more. 
Across from the dahlias and parallel 
with them is my premium hardy border. 
A grass walk eight feet wide separates the 
two and by its close cut greensward brings 
out the beauty of each. This hardy bor¬ 
der has two edgings — one for early spring, 
narcissus, and one for summer, nastur¬ 
tiums. By the time the narcissus begins to 
fail blossoms are appearing on 
the nasturtiums and by mid¬ 
summer there is a broad band 
of exquisite coloring all along 
the walk. 
Back of the narcissus and 
nasturtiums are bell-flowers 
and lilies, then various hardy 
grasses and hollyhocks and 
golden glow — then a back¬ 
ground of giant reeds. The 
border was so well prepared 
and enriched before planting 
that it is a constant pleasure. 
As an effective screen for 
the front of my vegetable gar¬ 
den I have found nothing bet¬ 
ter than Rosa rugosa. I have 
the red, white and pink — a 
thrifty and beautiful hedge. 
One result of my experi¬ 
mentation that deserves em¬ 
phasis is the treatment of 
cannas and caladiums. There 
really is a valuable service 
that may be rendered by these 
plants, especially the cannas. 
Their rapid growth in making 
a screen is a service that can 
be rendered by few other 
plants. But as I have found 
in the border that converges 
at the bridge of my garden, 
the bronze leaves and brilliant 
blossoms of the canna make 
them of especial value. Here 
where a bold effect is required 
many a plant less brilliant or 
less sturdy would be lost abso¬ 
lutely. The canna seems to 
belong in such borders and 
lends a touch of Oriental bril¬ 
liance that is unsurpassed, 
especially before the grasses. 
Incidentally there is a suggestion for many 
a gardener here. The hardy bamboos, 
especially Bambusa Metake, may be the 
one thing to complete your garden. The 
tall reeds, Japanese Eulalia, and “garden¬ 
ers’ garters” — a variegated Phalaris—are 
some that will succeed even in the north, 
and form an excellent background for a 
perennial border. Wild rice is another 
beautiful grass that has the distinct ad¬ 
vantage of attracting the birds with its 
seeds. 
On the whole there is a delight in my 
garden that is beyond praise. It begins 
with the first jonquil on the hill slope nor 
does it end when the evergreens are pow¬ 
dered with snow and the face of the sun¬ 
dial is hidden in meditation. When the 
days grow too wintry for much walking in 
it I sit at my window, which overlooks it, 
and plan what joy shall be ours in the 
awakening, when the red-bud and the dog¬ 
wood are in bloom. 
1 he garden approach is flanked by curved hardy borders, converging at 
a bridge. Cannas and caladiums are well used here 
Shrubs are considered most attractive when massed as they are in this 
hydrangea border 
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1, 3, 15, Hardy Borders; 2. Bridge; 4, Roses; 6, Phlox; 6, Annuals, 
cannas: 7 , Sundial; 8, 9, Perennials; 10, Fountain; 11, Tea-House; 12, 
Grassplot; 13, Pergola; 14< Vegetable. Garden: 16, Dahlias; 17 , 21 , Grass 
walk; 18, Garden house; 19, Brook & Iris; 20, Rosa Rugosa: 22, Hedge , 
