July, 1916 
45 
late blossoms of the strawberry shrub. 
In the fall the violet tassels of the budd- 
leia, the purple lespedeza, the rose-colored 
foliage of the euonymus and the brilliant 
Fothergilla would be contrasted with the 
creamy white Clematis paniculata. 
Not necessarily all of the shrubs listed 
should be used, but make a selection de¬ 
pending on the size of the planting. There 
should be something tall, something of good 
green foliage to mass well, and if the place 
is very small, keep the accents subordinate. 
For an effective succession of bloom to 
be massed in front of the shrubs, there 
must of course be fewer kinds than would 
be used in the flower garden. Aim to have 
one kind of bloom, well massed, at each sea¬ 
son, with possibly one other minor bloom. 
Six Months of Flowers 
In April a colony of Iris pumila, prim¬ 
rose, creamy yellow and brown, could be 
softened by the white arabis, and in one 
place a clump of orange globe flower could 
stand out boldly. There could be clumps 
of daffodils in the grass under the trees. In 
late spring and early summer the inter¬ 
mediate iris, the German iris and the Rem¬ 
brandt tulips broadly massed with the late 
trollius and the soft white Spiraea astil- 
boides for minor bloom are all that should 
be attempted. Of the iris the extremely 
soft ones are not so effective for massing 
with shrubs as the more striking sorts. 
In June, July and August there could be 
hundreds of lilies, yellow, gold and orange 
spotted with brown, relieved by meadow 
rue and the Spiraea dlipendula. For a very 
inexpensive effect Heleniuni bolanderi, a 
mass of yellow flowers with brown centers, 
blooms from June to September. As an 
alternative the tawny day lily (Hemerocallis 
fulva), or the black-eyed Susan, would be 
good, but it is better not to use all three. 
In September and October nothing is 
needed for our purpose, but the dark bronzy 
masses of Helenium autumnale, var. Super- 
bum rubrum. If a sturdy mass is wanted 
in a bare corner, the plume poppy will con¬ 
tribute creamy white blossoms followed by 
bronze fruits which are very effective. 
Now let us proceed to work out a plan 
for the flower garden shown at the top of 
page 44. This is a comparatively large gar¬ 
den, measuring in¬ 
side the hedge 56' x 
93' with a 15' ter¬ 
race, stone paved, 
connecting it with 
the living-room. It 
is enclosed by an 
evergreen hedge to 
act as a contrast to 
the flowers. The 
stone walks are 
edged with box to 
give a certain solid¬ 
ity of design, but the 
flowers creep over 
the edges of the 
gravel walks. The 
size of the flower 
masses is dependent 
on the size of the 
garden. In a tiny 
garden, especially 
with the border 
plants, there can be 
an intermingling of 
several kinds and 
much detailed inter¬ 
Hemerocallis, massed against a darker 
background of shrubs, does well for 
summer effects 
est. In a larger garden we strive for mass 
of bloom balanced in certain places. The 
broken colors will also have a tendency to 
detract from the mass effect, and this must 
be counteracted by having bold groups. 
The Flower Arrangement 
First, back of the seat, which must be 
of gray or brown, not a glaring white, we 
place a mass of bocconia. The bold leaves, 
plumy blossoms and bronze fruit form a 
substantial background. Next, bronze 
heleniums are placed in the corners, against 
the hedge, and flanking the gates, not too 
thickly, for they spread rapidly. None is 
placed in the inside beds, but liberal space 
is devoted to the hardy chrysanthemums 
where they will have plenty of sun. 
Now we put in the German iris and the 
tulips. To illustrate how carefully these 
important plants — helenium, chrysanthe¬ 
mum, iris and tulips — are balanced, take 
any one of them and shade all its spaces 
where you find them on the plan. If you 
would have the garden effective, always 
have a predominance at each season of some 
good flower that masses well, has strong 
stems, and is good for cutting. 
There is, however, nothing on our list 
very tall or striking for extremely early 
spring, so on the side where there is most 
room we will put a border of the early 
dwarf iris, brown, yellow and cream white, 
with a little arabis, atoning for its small 
size by having a great quantity. The crown 
imperials are tall and stately, but hardly de¬ 
sirable enough to occupy more space than 
that of sentinels each side of the gates. 
Narcissus barrii, conspicuous with its soft, 
yellow perianth and orange cup, is planted 
between the heleniums where the bulbs can 
ripen undisturbed. To get any real effect 
from bulbs as small as the crocus, it is 
necessary to mass them by the hundred, as 
has been done at the base of the terrace. 
The tiny cross paths are edged uniformly, 
one with mixed dark red and pale yellow 
primroses, and all the shades of brown, 
omitting any pinkish ones. The other is 
edged with aubretias, whose velvety grey 
leaves and indescribably rich blossoms of 
fawn, amethyst and violet are set off by 
arabis. Another border is filled with hun¬ 
dreds of brown and white-checkered frit- 
tillarias, which must be planted not more 
than 4" apart to be effective. These are re¬ 
placed with pansies, creamy white, dark red 
and reddish violet. As the tops of the bulbs 
become yellow, they should be cut off, and 
the pansies should be kept well picked to 
encourage the bloom. If they become tall 
and scraggly, the tops should be pegged 
down and the plants thus encouraged will 
take on a new lease of life. 
There are several yellow flowers which 
must be distributed as accents at the walk 
intersections. These are, in order of bloom, 
the Alyssum saxatile, orange globe flower 
both early and late, brilliant orange wall¬ 
flower and Achillea tomentosa. Yellow is 
so striking that a little of it counts for much 
more than the same quantity of a duller 
hue, and its distribution is important. 
Continuous Bloom 
The time between the Iris pumila and the 
German iris will be filled by the intermediate 
iris, in less quantity and more irregularly 
distributed, since it is a minor effect. 
After the iris has finished blooming in 
early June will be a 
critical time for our 
color scheme. There 
is in any garden a 
tendency to dullness 
at this time, and it is 
more difficult still to 
secure a blaze of 
color where the 
range of flowers is 
so limited. Now we 
can work out several 
minor effects. For 
instance, there could 
be in one part of the 
garden a predomi¬ 
nance of dark red 
Sweet William, to 
be cut down or taken 
out when it becomes 
shabby and replaced 
with dark red, sal¬ 
mon a n d orange 
snap - dragons. As 
a relief to the dark 
( Continued on 
page 60) 
Spiraea ulmaria, known also as TJlmaria pentapetala, grows to a height of 2' to 6'. 
Its long stems and white flower panicles make it valuable alike for mass plantings 
and for cutting 
