February, i p i 6 
35 
are going to stay with you forever and a day, and 
not just over one winter; and make sure, if you 
must have Canterbury hells and foxgloves, or 
any of the two or three other less popular bien¬ 
nials, that you have a place which you can set 
aside, where the seeds of each may be sown each 
year, at the proper time to provide young plants 
for The next year’s bloom. This is really imperative; for 
though these plants usually seed themselves, these spontaneous 
seedlings cannot be depended upon. Unless they are fairly 
well grown little plants, they may not survive the winter; 
moreover, it is not unusual for the seeds to lie in the ground 
all winter before germinating. Which means that they will 
not arrive at their second and blooming summer until a year 
has elapsed. This is very apt to be the case with foxgloves, 
which fact does not matter in the least where they are natural¬ 
ized, for in such a situation there will always be little plants 
of different ages, and thus always some of the proper age to 
supply flowers each summer. But in the garden borders one 
cannot allow space for such unproductive individuals. 
I would not advise a garden of perennials, biennials, or an¬ 
nuals exclusively—except for a special place or under special 
circumstances. For one thing, each class has in it flowers 
which cannot be spared from the garden without a distinct 
loss; for another, all gardens require care, and it is nonsense 
to expect that anything can be put into the ground and for¬ 
gotten, and yet go on doing its work up to the standard which 
care will maintain. 
Work in a Perennial Garden 
The garden planted entirely with perennials does require the 
least care of any, it is true, or rather, it requires least think¬ 
ing about and effort at the beginning of summer. Be not 
under the delusion, however, that a planting exclusively of 
perennials will let you off altogether from a fair amount of 
wholesome work if you expect to have a fair amount of 
flowers. All plants require care; and, as a matter of fact, 
some perennials look worse when neglected than do the more 
luxuriant annuals. For when they have blossomed they go 
straight ahead with the formation of seed; and 
when the seed is formed, they proceed to scatter 
it; and then they are through for the summer. 
Yet I would always make the main planting 
of a garden of perennials, and select these for 
their extended period of bloom quite as much as 
for their intrinsic beauty. Then, with them 
placed, bring in the annuals, or biennials, or both—selected to 
fit the situation as carefully as the perennials were selected, 
chosen also to harmonize with these, and to complement what 
they have begun. In this way only is it possible to have great 
quantities of flowers throughout the summer. Confining a 
planting to one class invariably results in gaps in the bloom, 
and though it is by no means essential to the success of a 
garden that there be flowers in it all of the time, few garden 
makers are satisfied unless there are. 
However your garden grows, I should say that it ought to 
have as its leading perennials iris, peonies, larkspurs (del¬ 
phinium) ; lilies (Iilium), and pyrethrums. To these I would 
add, from among the biennials, foxgloves, (digitalis) and Can¬ 
terbury bells, (campanulas ), and perhaps Sweet Williams or 
pinks, if there were room. These last are really perennials, 
but they produce flowers so poorly after the second summer 
that they are classed as biennials and treated as such. Then, 
of annuals, it would seem necessary to have stocks, poppies, 
snapdragons (these are not truly annuals hut are treated as 
such, to get the best blooms), asters or dahlias—the latter only 
if there were a great deal of space—petunias, and zinnias, 
these to be in one color only, never in mixture. And if you 
are carrying out a color scheme there may be others that you 
will need; ageratum, if it is a blue garden, for example. This 
is really one of the most important flowers under such special 
circumstances. 
Fragrant Flowers 
Not much provision has been made here for fragrant flowers, 
which every garden ought to have in abundance. The stocks 
are deliciously sweet, to be sure, Sweet Williams are spicy 
and refreshing, peonies are delightful and iris is rich though 
Sweet Williams, which 
are spicy and refresh¬ 
ing, should be included 
in every garden for their 
odor. They make good 
border plants 
Pinks belong to the 
flowers that can be left 
out if there is no room, 
personal preference 
being the deciding factor 
in the matter 
Pinks, Canterbury bells 
and delphiniums make 
an exquisite combina¬ 
tion. In white they are 
no novelty with the blue 
of the delphiniums 
In this grouping are the 
four best biennials: fox¬ 
glove, shown above, 
Sweet William and 
pinks in center, and 
Canterbury bells 
