April, 1913 
of perennials to you as working material. This enables the choice 
from the embarrassingly large list to be made with the intelligence 
that prevents useless waste of time and money in the endeavor to 
do what is not worth while in an individual case. 
For the great pleasure in growing perennials is to devote time 
and money to those that are distinctly worth while in one’s own 
case. There is a host of them available after the most ruthless 
process of rejection that any one of a thousand circumstances 
would necessitate. The sacrifice will never be so great that the 
true philosopher will not be able to find solace in the garden of a 
differently situated neighbor or friend, or a public collection of 
plants. 
In making a list of availables for final choice, take, say, one or 
two hundred small cards, and from catalogues and garden books 
pick out the same number of plants of tested hardiness that seem 
best suited to the required purpose. Write at the top of each card 
285 
Next sort the cards according to season of bloom—going by the 
month, or, better still, by fortnights, which cover better the aver¬ 
age period of perfection. Lay the resultant packs of cards chron¬ 
ologically, in a line on a table and see if there are any distinct 
breaks in the succession or any fortnights that do not admit of 
enough choice. Should these deficiencies exist, return to the cat¬ 
alogues and garden books for additional material before pro¬ 
ceeding. 
The last step is to take up each little pile of cards by itself and 
either subdivide, according to this or that feature of the memo¬ 
randa, or at once choose for the planting. The selected cards will 
then answer as notes from which to make the garden or border 
plan. 
Even with this preliminary study, it would be far better for 
every one who is growing perennials for the first time to plant 
most species in rows like so many vegetables, and to do this for a 
HOUSE AND GARDEN 
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The old type of phlox combines so many good qualities and comes in so many colors and varieties that it should be an essential part of every peren 
nial garden. This garden is small, but shows what can be done with perennials in a restricted area 
both the botanical and the common name. Then add, on separate 
lines, the time of blooming, as nearly as you can ascertain for 
your section of the country and its average duration; the height 
of foliage as well as bloom wherever possible, the general charac¬ 
ter of the plant, whether creeping, sprawling, bushy or markedly 
erect, and, finally, the color. It is best thus to segregate the color 
memorandum, because this should include not only the color, or 
range of colors of the blossoms, but like notes as to the foliage. 
Make a clear differentiation of the many foliage shades, and if 
the leaves are evergreen, say so. It is well to keep in mind, as to 
color, that the matter of blossoms and leaves being loose or com¬ 
pact may make a material difference in their use for garden pic¬ 
tures, and in the general decorative effect that you desire to obtain. 
year or two. No matter how much one absorbs from books, it is 
only by watching a perennial grow a season or more that it is pos¬ 
sible to sense its character in every particular, and if this is done 
in a little home nursery the acquired practical knowledge makes 
every definite step in the use of such plants as permanent garden 
material infinitely easier and more effective. No time is really lost 
and much working experience is gained. 
A good reason for this preliminary planting is the difficulty of 
getting a clear idea of the foliage spread of a perennial without 
actual observation. The kinds are too numerous to permit of the 
spacing tables by which tulips, hyacinths, pansies and geraniums 
are set out; very few go into the ground excepting by what seems 
guess work, but what is really an actual though acquired instinct. 
