J. WILKINSON ELLIOTT, PITTSBURGH, PA. 
23 
HARDY PLANTS. 
(Herbaceous Perennials.) 
Until hardy plants come into general use we cannot hope for 
artistic, interesting and beautiful gardens in this country. People 
of taste and culture are realizing the ugliness of the stereotyped bed¬ 
ding with lines of color, and will no longer allow their lawns to be 
daubed with a flower garden like a colored lithograph, although many 
of our public parks are still guilty of this atrocious work. With the 
material offered in this list the most beautiful and interesting gardens • 
aie to be made, gardens that increase in interest and beauty year after year; 
gardens that change their aspect with every change of season. To make 
a garden with hardy plants and shrubs requires far more taste and knowledge 
than it does to make one with the few varieties of bedding plants generally 
used, and the majority of gardeners do not have this knowledge and no idea 
of proper arrangement. But the garden of hardy plants has this advantage, the 
individual beauty of the plants themselves is so great that a garden cannot fail 
to be interesting and lovely, no matter how badly arranged, if the cultural skill 
is sufficient to bring them to perfection. People desirous of having really fine 
gardens will find William Robinson’s book, the English Flower Garden, most help¬ 
ful. It is the best and most comprehensive book ever written on gardening. 
Every plant and shrub worthy of consideration is described and cultural direc¬ 
tions given, several chapters are devoted to the arrangement of gardens, and the 
book is profusely illustrated with pictures made in the best gardens in England. 
This book is not generally on sale, but can be ordered through any bookseller. 
Hitherto it has been impossible to get satisfactory varieties and plants of 
Perennials, in fact, no nursery in this country has had a satisfactory general 
stock of hardy plants and I have had the greatest difficulty in getting the plants 
specified for my landscape gardening work, as this class of plants is extremely 
difficult to import. The difficulty became so great and my work so hampered 
by the lack of plants to carry it out that I persuaded one of the most capable 
horticulturists in this country to start a hardy plant nursery and guaranteed the 
financial results. It is the intention to make this nursery a model of its kind 
and grow everything in hardy plants worthy of culture and to send out nothing 
but well grown plants packed in the most careful manner. Most of the plants de¬ 
scribed below are the offerings of this nursery. (The Springdale Nursery.) 
Polyanthus or Cowslip—See page 20. 
SPECIAL OFFERS OF HARDY PLANTS IN VARIETY. 
The Springdale Nursery authorizes me to make the following remarkably low prices for hardy plants. They will be of 
the best and most desirable varieties and the plants of the best quality, but in every instance the selection of varieties is 
to be made,by me, but if purchasers will state the things they have or don’t wish these will not be included in the selection. 
OFFER No. 1 OF HARDY PLANTS. Twenty-five first-class plants in variety for.$ 2.50 
OFFER No. 2 OF HARDY PLANTS. Fifty first-class plants in variety for. 4.00 
OFFER No. 3 OF HARDY PLANTS. One hundred first-class plants in varied assort¬ 
ment of best species and varieties for.. 7.00 
OFFER No. 4. Five hundred Hardy Plants, same as above, but in larger variety, for. 30.00 
OFFER No. 5. One thousand Hardy Plants, same as above, but in much larger variety, for 55.00 
I have a limited number of copies .of my lecture, delivered before the Massachusetts Ilorticutural Society, on hardy 
plants and shrubs, which will be sent free on request. 
In the following list height and the time of blooming are indicated as follows: Figures following the letter II indicate 
height in feet, figures following the letter F indicate the number of the month or months the plants bloom in. This is only 
approximate, as height and time of flowering varies considerably with soils, climates and seasons. 
PRICES quoted are for not less than half the quantities named, but single plants will be fur- 
nished at following rates: Plants at $ 1.00 or less per dozen, 10 cents each; Plants at $1.25 and 
$1.50 per dozen, 15 cents each ; Plants at $1.75 and $2.00 per dozen, 20 cents each; Plants at 
$2.50 and $3.00 per dozen, 25 cents each. 
(Hardy Plants continued on next page.) 
