The Special Uses of Garden Plants 
AN INDICATION OF THE AVAILABLE FLOWERS AND SHRUBS MOST SUCCESSFUL IN THE GARDEN- 
HOW TO SELECT THEM, AND CONSIDERATIONS OF THEIR PLANTING AND THEIR CULTURE 
F ROM the point of view of the amateur, the materials for a 
garden are shrubs, perennials, annuals and bulbs. What their 
particular value in the garden scheme may be, can be only indi¬ 
cated in brief space, but some suggestion of the uses of our garden 
plants and their differences is fitting here. 
The ordinary country place will have some space devoted to 
lawn, drivewav and entrance. Grouped along these various bound¬ 
aries come the shrubs 
placed irregularly. There 
are other portions of the 
garden where straight 
lines are suggested by 
path or driveways, and 
here are the long borders 
of annuals and perennials. 
Then there is the flower 
garden proper; there will 
be groups of beds here 
showing some formal ar- 
r a n g e m e n t. The long 
borders at the side, prob¬ 
ably protected by hedges, 
will be the places for per¬ 
ennials, and perennials 
will form the nucleus of 
the bed plantings. Round¬ 
ing out their full beauty, 
filling in the gaps left be¬ 
tween times of blossom¬ 
ing come the annuals. Let 
us see now how we may 
make use of these plant¬ 
ing materials to round out 
the scheme of our garden. 
Perennials are those 
garden plants of herba¬ 
ceous nature which en¬ 
dure season after season, 
coming into bloom after 
the winter wilt and decay. 
Their root systems perse¬ 
vere in semi-dormant con¬ 
dition, and with spring- 
gain new vigor and start 
new growth. This quality 
of permanence is their 
special virtue. 
As the perennial garden 
succeeds season after sea¬ 
son, so it gives the attrac¬ 
tion of successive glory in 
the year. With perennials there is opportunity for continuous 
bloom, flower following flower for nine months. This automatic 
change, if the selection is carefully made, affords four different 
displays a year from a single bed. The beginner should be con¬ 
tent on one or two changes at first; the more ambitious effects 
come later, when experience has taught the peculiarities of each 
sort in his garden. Difference of soil, difference of location affect 
your plants, and it is only through experience that you can know 
just how each plant will act for you. 
The perennial garden is often called the hardy garden, for 
among the innumerable varieties found in this class of plants are 
most of the sorts capable of endnring all sorts of inclemencies of 
weather. Frost, the greatest garden blight, shows less effect on 
the hardy perennials than other plants, and, with any sort of care, 
they are much more able to resist drought than annuals. There 
is a wonderful diversity of form and habit of growth and a va¬ 
riety in color and shape of 
blossom that defies classi¬ 
fication. From this gen¬ 
erous group can be select¬ 
ed plants of greatest 
beauty a n d hardihood 
which are not particnlarly 
fastidious of soil condi¬ 
tions, and which need but 
little special care and at- 
tention. These plants, 
once started, grow and in¬ 
crease so that frofn the 
first specimen a great 
stock may be obtained. 
The initial investment, 
therefore, in seeds, as 
plants, should be spent 
upon the very best. Even 
then, perennials will be 
found the cheapest source 
of garden supply. 
In laying out a garden 
of any sort there are four- 
cardinal principles gov¬ 
erning the selection of 
plants: The season of 
bloom, the color of the 
flowers, the height of 
plants when grown, and 
the location most suited 
for their flourishing. You 
must know these facts 
about every plant that 
goes into your garden, 
else you will have ugly 
color contrasts, a jumble 
of little and big speci¬ 
mens, some spaces bare 
most of the year, and 
others crowded with tall 
varieties entirelv conceal¬ 
ing their dwarf neighbors. 
With these things in 
mind it is best to go about making a garden plan. 1 he cross- 
ruled paper purchasable at any stationer's will assist you in making 
a plan to exact scale that shows at a glance the available space and 
the relation of beds and borders. All permanent physical fea¬ 
tures should-be included, such as trees, shrubs, ornaments, un¬ 
movable rocks, boundaries, etc. The differences of location can 
be indicated on the plan by shading solid in pencil those portions 
of the garden well in the shade and slightly shading the spots hav¬ 
ing but partial shadow. 
The perennial garden once planted is little disturbed, but space enough must be provided for 
the increasing development of the plants year by year 
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