March, 1920 
31 
THE PRINCIPLES OF THE FLOWER BORDER 
The Theory and Practice of One of the Most Popular Porms of Plant Arrangement — 
Lists of Perennicds Adapted to this Kind of Planting 
ROBERT STELl. 
P LANTING a flower border is a good deal 
like sewing a strip of a different colored 
material around the bottom of a skirt: it forms 
ii definite ending to a designated area, and 
affords a certain pleasing contrast of hues. And 
just as the principle is adapted to many diverse 
dressmaking situations, so can its application 
to gardening be varied. 
One can scarcely conceive of grounds so 
small, unless they be quite ungardenable, as to 
be devoid of border possibilities. The city 
backyard, where space is at a premium, can 
have a narrow border around perhaps all four 
of its sides, giving a maximum of effective dis¬ 
play at a minimum of area utilized. The small 
suburban place offers many opportunities— 
along the walks, boundary lines, around the 
house foundation, screening the vegetable gar¬ 
den, etc. As for larger grounds—well, there 
are hardly any limitations to what you can do 
with them. 
Quite apart from the advantages of border 
planting as suggested above, this form of ar¬ 
rangement enables one to use large quantities 
of contrasting flowers without their colors 
clashing. If you were to plant a bed 20' square 
with three dozen different kinds of flowers you 
would be likely to evolve something al)out as 
harmonious as the “good luck” floral pieces 
which are presented to certain types of firms 
upon the occasion of their first opening their 
doors upon a suspicious buying world. But if 
}-ou change the proportions of that same bed, 
making it 4' wide and 100' long, you can use 
the same flowers and, by keeping the clashing 
colors well sejxirated, produce a planting that 
is really delightful to look upon. 
It is customary to use perennials for the 
greater part of most flower borders, for the sim¬ 
ple reason that it is no slight task to arrange 
them all satisfactorily, and when this has once 
been accomplished there is a certain joy in 
knowing that the plants will come up l)y them¬ 
selves A'ear after year. As a matter of fact, 
few of them will continue to do this indefinite¬ 
ly; the majority form such large root masses 
that they need to be lifted and divided ever)’ 
two or three years. 
Two Big Principles 
Two general principles should always be kept 
in mind when arranging a border planting. 
First, the plants of each species should be 
grouped together, not scattered indiscriminately 
and singly or in pairs. Thus they will form 
a stronger pattern wheir the border is viewed as 
a whole, and the less conspicuous among them 
will not I)e lost amid the crowding mass of 
taller flowers. Clumps of from four to a dozen 
or more will be about right, depending upon 
the species and the particular effect desired. 
The second principle to remember is that, 
when viewed from what may be termed the 
front, or direction from which the border is 
chiefly seen, the })lanting should grade upward 
toward the back. In other words, the lowest 
growing plants must be in front, somewhat 
larger ones behind them, and the tallest of all 
at the rear of the beds where they will serve as 
a background for the rest and still have a 
chance to display their own beauty. At the 
end of this article I will append a list of peren¬ 
nials and biennials arranged in three groups 
according to their height and period of bloom, 
which will serve as a basis on which the border 
can be built up in accordance with this prin¬ 
ciple of gradation. The colors of the flowers 
will also be given, although the sui)ject of com¬ 
bining them for certain effects is too large a one 
to be attempted within the limits of the present 
sketch. 
Succession of bloom is a vital point to be' 
considered, as the border must never be with¬ 
out flowers at any time in the blossoming sea¬ 
son. d'his matter of succession is Ijest taken 
care of by so arranging the plants that when 
one sort has “gone by” another is ready to take 
its place. The accomplishment of this end is 
readily obtained by planting later blooming 
{Continued on page 80) 
Levick 
The border, generally speaking, should be used as a: sort of trimming Flower border planting calls for groups of each sort of plant rather 
for the edge of a designated area. Here a clipped hedge serves as a than scattered specimens. However, particularly distinctive kinds 
strong background for the flower display such as Darwin tidips can be used singly, as here 
