Masses of lavender phlox with pink and white tulips blossom under 
the pergola in early May 
By following the planting scheme suggested a mass of foliage and 
bloom continues up through frost 
Plants for Under the Shady Pergola 
HOW ONE VINE-COVERED PERGOLA HAS BEEN MADE ATTRACTIVE INSIDE AS WELL 
AS FROM WITHOUT, AFFORDING BLOOM FROM EARLY SPRING UNTIL FROST 
by Adeline Thomson 
Photographs by the author and others 
T HE pergola has become an important factor in our yards 
and gardens, for it not only gives a picturesque setting 
to all styles of planting, but it lends to the garden landscape a 
touch of stability and character that are so desirable in the lay¬ 
ing out of the home premises. 
No serious difficulty is met in beautifying the exterior of the 
pergola, for climbing vines, enjoying the full benefit of open air 
and sunshine will quickly transform its bare, hard outlines to 
a tracery of grace and beauty; but the planting within the shady 
retreat is a problem not easily solved, for few plants thrive in 
so sheltered a location. 
The pergola, however, has lost half its charm unless its leafy 
covered walk is bordered by blossoming plants, and while it is 
true that all varieties of flow¬ 
ering things are not adapted 
for this purpose, there are a 
number of them that will suc¬ 
ceed remarkably well in the 
shaded area. In the past 
three years I have spent much 
time in working out a flower¬ 
ing scheme for such a border, 
and with the successful result 
that from early spring until 
late fall the shaded enclosure 
of my own pergola presents a 
constant display of changing- 
form and color that is most 
gratifying. 
Outlining a garden of 
hardy plants along two sides, 
the pergola stretches some 
ninety feet in length. The 
posts of the structure stand 
eight feet apart each way, 
and a gravel walk extending 
through the center, measur¬ 
ing three feet in width, leaves a border two and a half feet on 
either side for blossoming plants. I might say, in passing, that 
in the entrance of the pergola (eight feet square) there is no 
planting, but the space serves as a out-door dining-room, con¬ 
taining a square stationary table and rustic benches. 
In the early spring, the first flowers that unfold in the 
border are Hepaticas, closely edging the walk, and from the 
tenth to the twentieth of April these pink, lavender and white 
blossoms are a constant source of delight. The flowers, how¬ 
ever, are not all that recommend the plant to favor, for attract¬ 
ive leaves and low-growing characteristics make it an ornamen¬ 
tal edging plant throughout the whole season, and even for the 
late-planted pergola border they are worth while introducing 
at any time. 
Masses of blossoming 
Phlox (Phlox divaricata ) fol¬ 
lowing in quick succession, 
change the border in early 
May to shades of delicate lav¬ 
ender, while the color effect 
is enhanced by pink and white 
tulips that flower at the same 
time. This early variety of 
Phlox cannot be too highly 
recommended for the pergola, 
for it thrives here luxuriantly 
and possesses foliage which, 
like that of the Hepatica, is 
decorative throughout the en¬ 
tire summer. 
Wood Violets carry on the 
flowering scheme from the 
twelfth of May until the first 
of June, and it would be hard 
to imagine a more exquisite 
effect than that produced bv 
long rows of these wild 
A pergola on a Nahant, Mass., estate, where plants in tubs and the 
irregular stepping-stones make an attractive vista 
(226) 
