House and Garden 
collection of hardy plants can be made for the 
woman of limited time for garden work, than even 
a small garden of annuals. 
1 he impression prevails to a considerable extent 
that from hardy plants one gets but few flowers. 
That is, in the aggregate. There may be quite a 
proluse crop, at some time during tbe season, but 
after that, none. The fact is, most of our perennials 
bloom for weeks, and it is an easy matter to make a 
selection that will cover the entire season. Some 
come into bloom weeks before the annuals begin, 
and some are in their prime after many of the an¬ 
nuals are gone. And when one comes to consider 
that the hollyhock, the Rudbeckia, the peony, and 
the perennial phlox belong to this class of plants, 
it will be readily understood what grand displays 
of color can be depended on from them. No annual 
can equal some of them. 
Spring is the proper season in which to plant a 
collection of these flowers. The florists can furnish 
last-year’s seedlings, which will bloom the present 
season, but not with the profusion characteristic 
of older plants, or they can send you old, strong roots 
from which immediate effects of a satisfactory nature 
can be expected. Personally, my preference would 
be for two-year-old plants. These will be large and 
strong enough to bloom well, and you will not run 
the risk of getting stock made by dividing old 
clumps whose vitality may have been on the wane. 
Have the soil in which you set them made fine 
and rich, and be sure it is spaded up to the depth 
of at least a foot. When the roots are put in place, 
press the soil firmly about them, and then water well. 
I would never advise planting these,—or any 
other plants, for that matter—in rows. Do every¬ 
thing possible to avoid primness and formality. 
Group your plants, taking care to so arrange them 
that there will be no conflict of colors, and making 
sure that the low-growing sorts have places in the 
foreground. You can tell about these things by 
studying your catalogues carefully. No greater 
mistake can be made than planting them in a hap¬ 
hazard way, for by following that method you are 
sure to get colors together that will be utterly dis¬ 
cordant, and your tall plants may entirely hide the 
low ones. A good location for a collection of hardy 
plants is along the sides of the lot, where it joins your 
neighbor’s. If possible, coax him to supplement 
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