REFERENCE BOOKS FOR LOVERS OF NATURE By F. E. Hulme, F.L.S., F.S.A. Familiar Swiss Flowers. By Prof. F. E. Hulme, F.L.S., F.S.A. Illustrated with loo Coloured Plates from Original Drawings by the Author. Cloth gilt, 7s. 6d. net. ^__ ^^^ .,. Familiar Wild Flowers. In Nine ^P|-¥®'|^ A ^l^^M^^ured Plates in each, and Descriptive Text. Cloth, 3s. ■d/^akbB.^-^ -^ Familiar G?-^— *ri«„.^-^ ir, Tri,:» v^i= ""Itlf |J|^"" ■" "-'-ured Plates in each, and Wild Flow* Original D The Wild F by F. E. H The Wild Fl tious prepa Wi Wonders of from Natur Wild Natur. tions from Wild Life at Frontispiec Cloth, full f Our Bird Fi troni Photo Keartons' N Rembrandt Descriptive bound VoUi British Birc Them (A'£ Natural Col Birds, and Richard Ki Pictures fro; reproduced in suniptuoi With Natur* naturalist ai Cloth" gilt, 7 ISLATIVS LiBRA|^;es from Ions prepared 3 and Instruc- , 4d. each. graphs direct ;ilt, 6s. 1 200 Illustra- Photogravure from Nature. Illustrations ■d Plate:^, 72 jctions, with Handsomely d Identify I'hed HI tlieir togravures of Cherry and 5ts at Home, in. by n in. ; jns of a Held Photographs, Trees and H • h 136 Photo- graphs by tl.- , ._, >^...^o ^j .^. ^cociMiiun >^uKKt r.K.P.S. Cloth gilt, 6s. net. Flo^verless Plants : How and Where They Gro^r. By S. Leonard Bastin. With 4 Autochromes and 79 Photographs by the Author. Cloth, 6s. net. Wonders of Plant Life. By S. Leonard Bastin. Illustrated with 40 Photographic Plates by the .'\uthor, and cS Luinicre Colour Plates by H.Essenhigh Cokke, F.R.P S F.R.II.S. Cloth gilt, 3s. 6d. net. Wild Flo'wers as They Grow. Photographed in Colour direct from Nature by H. KssKNHiGii Cokke, F.K.P.S., F.R.H.S., with Descriptive Text by G. Clarke NuTTALL, B.Sc. 7 Volumes, each containing 25 Plates and 25 Segments of the various flowers. Cloth, 5s. net per volume. How to Find and Name Wild Flo^vers. By Thomas Fo.\, F L.S. With an Introduction by Pi;or. 1'. IC. Hui.me, F. L.S., I'.S. A. Illustrated with 4 Luniicre C, lL.03>JlD01Nr, E Face Cover 2 PROVINCIAL LIBRARY Casseirs Gardening Books Should be the constant companions of the gardener, whether amateur or professional. The articles are new and up to date, and the illustrations abundant and beautiful. The following are now obtainable at all Booksellers, and further particulars may be obtained on application to the Publishers. Cassell's Dictionary of Practical Gardening An Illustrated Encyclopasdia of Practical Horticulture for all classes Edited by WALTER P. WRIGHT With 20 Coloured Plates and upwards of 1,000 Illustrations from Photographs T'MO Vols., crown 4to, halj-ltathcr, gilt iop, 30 s. net The Book of Hardy Flowers By H. H. THOMAS ■With 32 Autochrome Plates and 64 Half-tone Plates ClotiL i;;lt, 12s. 6d. act The Complete Gardener By H. H. THOMAS With Colour Frontispiece by C. F. FLOWER, and 128 Full-page Half- tone Plates Cloth ^ilt, 10s. 6d. net The Ideal Garden By H. H. THOMAS Editor of "The Gardener" With 16 Coloured Plates and 96 Photographic Reproductions Large crown 8vo. In handsomely acco- rated cloth gilt, 6s. net Gardening for Women By the Hon. FRANCES WOLSELEY " This book will prove an invaluable help to inteniling women gardeners from the more refined classes." — The Pall Mall Ga:.ctle. With 32 Plates Extra crown Suo, cloth, 5s. net Cassell's Popular Gardening An Illustrated Cultural Guide for Amateur and Professional Gardeners Edited by WALTER P. WRIGHT With 24 Coloured Plates and upwards of 1,000 Illustrations I'lxio Vols., crown ^to, half-leather, s;ilt top, 30 s, net Beautiful Gardens How to Make and Maintain Them By WALTER P. WRIGHT Six Coloured Plates and a large num- ber of exquisite Garden Pictures, Prac- tical Plans, and Diagrams Nczu Edition. Crorvn 8vo, cloth gilt, 6s. net Rock Gardening for Amateurs By H. H. THOMAS Editor of " The Gardener " With 1 2 Lumiere Plates by H. ESSEN- HIGH CORKE. F.R.P.S.. F.R.H.S., and 64 pages of Illustrations Cloth gilt, 6s. net The Rose Book By H. H. THOMAS ^ Editor of "The Gardener" and WALTER EASLEA With 8 Lumiere Photographs in Colour and 64 Half-tone Illustrations Cloth .^ilt, 6s. net Garden Flowers as they Grow By H. H. IHOMAS With 20 Lumiere Plates by H. ESSEN- HIGH CORKE, F.R PS., F.R.H.S. Cloth gilt, 5s. net CASSELL & CO., LIMITED, LA BELLE SAUVAGE, LONDON, E.C GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING KOSK TIME IN A GARDEN IN THE SUBURBS Garden Planning and Planting Edited by H. H. THOMAS Author of '"The Ideal Garden," "The Garden at Home, "Sweet Peas and How to Grow Them," etc. etc. WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS FROM PHOTOGRAPHS AND SKETCHES CASSELL AND COMPANY, LTD. London, New York, Toronto, and Melbourne First Published September igio. Reprinted April 1912, May 1915. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED PREFACE " Garden Planning and Planting " is a subject that, sooner or later, interests most of us. The work of planning is quite one of the most fascinating the gardener can undertake : unfortu- nately for the inexperienced, it is a simple matter to plan wrongly, and costly to put matters right again. The work of initial planting is scarcely less important. *' Garden Planning and Planting " is published for the direction of the uninitiated : some of the hints contained in these pages may, it is hoped, prove helpful also to experienced workers. A feature of the book is found in the designs for all sorts and sizes of gardens, flower beds and flower borders, with, in many cases, alternative schemes of planting. Most of the designs have been prepared from sketches made by Miss Dunham, who has also contributed many of the notes on planting. Acknowledgments are due to Mr. George Garner, who has helped with diagrams and references. H. H. T September, 1910. 134j!)i CASSELL'S GARDENING HANDBOOKS Useful Manuals for all Classes of Horticulturists. Fully Illustrated throughout. Crown 8vo. Paper covers. Is. net ; cloth. Is. 6d. net. INDOOR GARDENING This volume aims at showing hov> the home may be kept gay with blossom and pleasant greenery. GARDENING DIFFICULTIES SOLVED Consists of questions on all sorts of gardeninc; subjects which have actually been asked by readers, together with replies thereto by the best authorities. PICTORIAL PRACTICAL FRUIT GROWING A concise manual, giving instructions for the management of every important fruit in cultivation. The work contains upwards of loo practical illustrations. PICTORIAL PRACTICAL CHRYSANTHEMUM CULTURE Deals with every important point in the culture of Chrysanthemums for show. Also methods of beautifying flower gardens and greenhouses with this magnificent flower. PICTORIAL PRACTICAL GREENHOUSE MANAGE- MENT This is the only book on Greenhouse Manage- ment of the kind published. Directions are given for the management of greenhouses, conservatories, and other glass structures. PICTORIAL PRACTICAL GARDENING A concise and pleasurable introduction to practical gardenmg. Directions are given for the selection and culture of the leading flowers, fruit, and vegetables. LITTLE GARDENS : How to Make the Most of Them The author shows how to make a garden, how it should be planted, and the best sorts of flowers to use ; also the making and maintaining of lawns and small rockeries, etc. PICTORIAL PRACTICAL CARNATION GROWING The work practically illustrates every im- portant cultural item in every class of Car- nations and Picotees worth growing. The contents include cross-fertilisation, propaga- tion, diseases and enemies, culture in pots, etc. PICTORIAL PRACTICAL ROSE GROWING Describes the whole art of Rose culture : how to prepare the soil, plant and prune, how to exhibit Roses, how to grow Roses in pots, and other matters. GARDEN WORK FOR EVERY DAY This volume not only tells the amateur when to do things, but tells also how they are done. At the end of each month a summary of the essential work is given. PERPETUAL CARNATIONS By Lawrence J. Cook, F.R.H.S. With i6 Full-page Illustrations. The Author, an expert grower of the Perpetual Flowering Carnation, gives full practical instructions for its cultivation. GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING Tells how to lay out all sorts and sizes of gardens ; gives designs for flower beds and borders, and many examples that are full of useful suggestions. PICTORIAL PRACTICAL POTATO GROWING Forms a complete and concise guide to the growing of Potatoes. Among the matters dealt with are fertilisation, propagation, forcing, manuring, general culture, storing. SWEET PEAS, AND HOW TO GROW THEM The work tells how to grow Sweet Peas for home and garden, for exhibition, and in the suburbs. It tells also how to raise new varieties and sow the seed. FIRST STEPS IN GARDENING The work shows beginners how to succeed with all the most popular flowers, fruits, and garden crops. Short essays are given on propagation, potting, bedding out, etc PICTORIAL PRACTICAL BULB GROWING The work includes all the favourite flowers which a broad view associates with bulbs. All the salient points in the culture of bulbous, tuberous, and allied plants are given. PICTORIAL PRACTICAL VEGETABLE GROWING Directions are given for laying out kitchen gardens and allotments. The value and use of matuires are described, and advice given as to the destruction of pests. PICTORIAL PRACTICAL FLOWER GARDENING The contents of the book include advice as to all phases of flower gardening. Popular herbaceous plants, as well as the leading florists' flowers, are dealt with- CASSELL & CO.. LTH.. LA BELLE SAUVAGE, LONDON, E.G. CONTENTS 9. 10. 11. 12. On Making a Garden .... Beautiful Rose Gardens .... Pretty Garden Alterations Suburban Gardens ..... Square and Narrow Gardens . Half-Acre and Quarter-Acre Gardens Flower Beds, Large and Small Beautiful Borders and How to Plant Them Helpful Hints on Colour .... Rock, Wall and Water Gai'dens Practical Hints Plainly Illustrated . Flowers for Shade and Sunshine Index ... - . PA OK 1 7 16 24 34 42 49 81 112 121 129 144 149 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Autumn border, design for PACiE . 108 Basket flower bed, a . • -72 Bedding out designs 96, 97, 100, 101 Borders, designs for, 82, 83; in the open, 88; narrow, 89; of various designs . . .92, 93 Colour schemes for flower borders 113 Cottage garden, a . . • -65 Evergreens in flower beds 57, 58, 59 Flower beds, elaborate designs, 68, 69, 70, 71; grass paths be- tween, 29; half-moon, 55, 56; of various shapes, 59, 60, 61, 62; original, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54; round and square . . 66, 67 Flower borders in a garden in Bucks, 98; in a suburban garden, 86; well filled . . 85 Formal borders „ garden, a small 94, 95 . 29 Half-acre gardens, designs for 45, 47 Hedges, planting . . . .138 House, Roses and flower borders about the 118 Improving plain gardens . . 19 Kitchen garden, making a . .141 Lawn edges, how to improve . 18 ,, edging, a permanent . 20 Narrow gardens, designs for 38, 39, 40, 41 Novel design for bank and flower border . . . . 104 Paths, how to make Planting trees and shrubs . 130 134 Quarter-acre gardens, designs for 43, 44 Rose garden in Worcestershire . 4 „ gardens, plans for 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 Rose time in a garden in the suburbs . . Frontispiece Roses in a garden near London . 1? Round beds of annuals . . .63 Spring flowers, a garden of . . 8"^ Square gardens, designs for 35, 36, 37 Suburban garden, a, 3; making the most of .... 76 Suburban gardens, plans for 25, 27. 31, 32 Summer border, design for . . 106 Sweet Pea beds . . . . 78, 79 Tree Lupin, three years old . . Ill Walk, treatment for end of . Water Lily pond, a . Winter border, design for . 23 125 106 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING CHAPTER I On Making a Garden Making a garden is a most pleasurable undertaking, whether one knows anything about gardening or not. providing a love for the work exists. " Love conquers all things," and assuredly it plays a large part in the making of a successful garden. The ignorant garden-maker, naturally, must expect to make more mistakes than the initiated, and here he is at a disadvantage, for initial mistakes are bound to lead to much disappointment, to labour lost and money wasted. But ignorance is largely discounted by the possession of a 7J^a?i. Have something down in black and white before a start is made : a few lines on paper are easily altered; but when even a sod is turned, time and the cultivator's art alone can put it right again. It is true enough that a plan conveys no real impression of the aspect the garden will assume ; yet that is no fault of the plan, but is rather due to a fundamental difference between the originals. A plan is merely a design, and with a design in front of him the prospective gardener can at least determine whether or not he is making the most of the ground, and this is of the first importance. Some garden-makers elect to despise a plan on paper, preferring straightway to lay out the walks and borders on the ground itself. But this is merely affectation, and if it does not lead to the pride that goes before a fall, the reason is that they have become proficient from long experience. Let me reiterate that "a plan's the thing." It is such a help to the amateur, at any rate, and enables him to make full use of every square yard of ground. And how often, in making and studying a plan, do not ideas originate that would never have occurred to one working on the land ? A design shows the garden at a glance, and while it gives no real indication of the aspect the latter will assume when it is furnished B 2 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING with trees and shrubs and flowering plants, arches and arbours and other things that give life to a garden, it shows the framework, the out- line; as an outline is essential to the artist's picture in paint or pastel, so it is of supreme importance to the gardener-artist who works with plants and flowers for his colours and Nature's palette on his easel. Needless to say, before the plan is put into practice it must be made to scale, so that it shall represent the actual dimensions of the garden. Two axioms may be laid to heart. Let the garden possess some special feature, and then— conceal it. Even in quite a small garden — a suburban garden — this is possible, while in one of fair extent, of quarter or half an acre, there should be several distinct features, so arranged that only one can be seen at a time. A garden of which one gets a bird's-eye view when looking down it, at once loses its charm — the charm to please that hidden things possess. My own garden is in the suburbs, and it is not extensive. Yet it has a feature that is not revealed at the first glance, namely, a little formal Rose garden. It is true that a glimpse of this is obtained through an archway draped in leaf and blossom, but it serves merely to excite curiosity to such a pitch that the desire to explore becomes un- conquerable. A glance down the walks fails to help the onlooker, it but deepens the mystery, for they are in the secret and wind temptingly round artificial corners, luring the visitor onwards. Then suddenly, a moment perhaps before its presence was suspected, the little Rose garden, aglow with flowers that gain an added charm from the close-mown grassy ways that intersect the beds, bursts upon the vision, and sends a fragrant greeting ! It has made a good im- pression, and with gardens as with people, this is worth striving for : often it means much, and has a lasting effect. A little farther the walks wind again, and this time are lost behind tall Sweet Peas. What though they meet in the privacy that is theirs ! No stranger knows this until he has turned the corner. And so the enchantment of even a little suburban garden possesses him. While each distinctive feature should be concealed, this alone is not sufiicient. They must be concealed with skill, naturally or with artificiality robed in Nature's guise, so that they show themselves when least expected. A little bank raised here, a hollow there, a hedge, a walk that winds with a purpose — all these are subtle aids to the successful concealment and subsequent revelation of the gar- den's characteristic sights. And the greater the surprise when the quest is over and the plot disclosed, the greater will be the pleasure. PAVED PATH, STONE STEPS AND SUNDIAL IN SLOPING GARDEN. "A" INDICATES SAND OB FINE ASHES ON WHICH THE STONES ARE PLACED SUGGESTIONS J-'Olt GARDEN PATHS AND FENCES ON MAKING A GARDEN 5 It is difficult to give a graceful curve to a walk within a small area ; the curve, when restricted, so easily deteriorates into a wriggle. If a walk is to follow a lawn, as it usually does, it is not necessary to make it straight : curves with graceful outline look well. An occasional bay may be formed by cutting into the grass. Such a site offers an opportunity of placing a seat, arbour, summer- house, rockery, tree, group of shrubs or pillar roses. The corners of the lawn may, as the owner wishes, be left square or rounded or tapering, and they, too. can be adorned with flowers in beds or baskets. Variety is the soul of a garden, and especially is this true of a small garden. The greater the variety the more sustained is the interest. When the ground at the back of the house is sloping, it is customary to have a terraced walk dividing house and lawn. The general conception of a terrace is that it shall be perfectly straight, though a terrace that curves either outwards or inwards has a more novel and graceful effect. When there is no slope, one often sees a straight walk between lawn and window : this cannot be objected to, supposing the sides of the lawn and the side paths offer devia- tions from the straight-edge principle ; yet to undulate the lawn edges and the horizontal path is an easy method of securing a better effect. If there is no troom for a path of reasonable width, say 3 or 4 feet, it is wiser to let the lawn come right up to the borders at the foot of the house. A path dividing the lawns, run- ning from the horizontal walk down the garden, is attractive when it is not stiff" and straight, and the pergola is seen at its best in such a situation, since it may easily be made, in fact, is almost bound, to lead to some definite object. The Hat-topped pergola, until smothered in leaves and blossom, has a somewhat tunnel- like appearance, and a pleasant alternative is to have raised arches at intervals. They may *;ither be rounded or sharply pointed, or, when creeper-covered, a series of distinct colour masses, high in the air, will be visible from some distance. If there is no pergola, the wide, undulating central walk may be flanked by different ornamental features — half-moon beds, groups of pillar roses, low trellises, curving from the lawn, against which pretty seats can be built, specimen evergreen and other trees, and clumps of giant grasses. Standard rose trees in small round beds set along lawn edges are often seen, but they are not important enough to adorn much of a fair sized lawn, having a monotonous and mean appearance. Along a small grass plot, however, they 6 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING may be all-sufficient. Pillar roses, similarly placed, are recom- mended, and if the pillars are joined by slung chains, the most rampant climbing roses will have room to grow. It is an excellent plan to plant at the same pillar a climbing rose of moderate vigour, such as Wallflower or Monsieur Desir, to furnish the lower part of the pole, and a vigorous grower, such as Hiawatha or Crimson Rambler, to cover the toj? and the connecting chains. Where the broad, central walk joins the other paths at the end of the garden, there should be formed a large piece of gravel which could be variously used : at some two thirds of its length the central path may well branch into two narrower paths leading to the extreme corners of the garden. The forked piece of ground that is thus formed makes an admirable site for a group of flowering shrubs, such as Rhododendrons, with Lilies planted among them. Small beds in large gardens must be few, and only placed in points or curves of grass or gravel where there is not much room, or else grouped round about larger beds. A number of small beds must give a spotty and unpleasing effect to the scene. The same warn- ing may be given with regard to single trees or shrubs : bold masses of these are much to be preferred. CHAPTER II Beautiful Rose Gardens When planning a rose garden care must be taken not to overcrowd the beds and borders, as the varieties show off to much greater advantage when the groups are isolated by turf or gravel, which allows them to be approached and observed from different sides. Fig. 1 gives a plan that is a model one in this respect. The centre square is of gravel, or might be of tiles or brick if preferred, and the sundial is raised on a stone plateau upon two steps facing each way. The beds A, B, c, and D are of crimson Roses, but maroon, mulberry or claret, deep carmine, and bright scarlet crimson are separated in this manner. At e narrow borders of dwarf white Hoses constitute a foreground to hedges of Penzance Briars of mixed colours. Irregular shaped beds in the turf are filled thus : f orange Roses, g white, H salmon, i yellow, J blush, K copper-scarlet. The border beds beyond are of white Moss at L, white Musk Rose at M, rugosa delicata, pale pink, at n, Persian yellow at o, Persian copper at p, white rugosa at Q, the single scarlet Rose Bellefleur at k, Irish Pride, a single salmon rose and gold, at s. Mixed colours are employed for the spacious beds beyond, but China Roses are at t, Damask at u. Bourbons at v, mostly grown up pillars. Hybrid Perpetuals at w, Hybrid Teas at x, and Hybrid Chinas at y. This gives an interesting opportunity of studying the different classes. The pavilion is a shelter open on all sides but raised well above the ground : the summer-house is built of white stone, and climbed by pink Roses on wire netting. The fountain has a ring of dwarf Polyantha roses around it, the raised bed is trailed over by Wichuraianas and on the four arches are different Ramblers. "Winding Paths Between Rose Plots.— Spaces almost too great to be called beds are the feature of the irregularly formed Rose garden, Fig. 2 : outlying plots are given up to shrubs, her- baceous plants, Sweet Peas and Dahlias, but these could be 7 8 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING removed to other sites as the Eose collection increased and de- manded yet more space. A flat plan cannot convey the right idea of this arrangement : the hedges and closely set pillars, for example, produce an effect almost of a thicket, the bank is partly turfed, but trailing Roses fling down long branches over the grass, and there are FIG. bushes of free growing Roses on the summit. In distinction from these floral heights are the opposite plots : in the first are pegged- down Teas, then dv/arf Polyanthas, finally dwarf Teas, which are grateful for the protection afforded by the belt of Briar Roses in the neighbouring bed, and the shelter of the pillar Roses, hedge, and the flowering shrubs to the north of them. In the second low plot dwarf Ro:scs, mostly Teas, are picturesquely grouped among rocks ; there BEAUTIFUL ROSE GARDENS 9 are carpets in between of Aubrietias and mossy Saxifrages, Sedums, and Sempervivums, the whole colour show being of soft hues, while spring miniature bulbs give a pretty display earlier. The Large Bushes in another plot, surrounded by Teas, are of Felicite Perpetue, Paul's Single Crimson, Gustave Kegis, and a few other quick-growing Eoses, the branches of which have been trained over Sweet Briar bushes, wound about them in fact, since infancy : the effect of training any rampant or strong-branching FIG. 2 Rose like this is delightful, and the Sweet Briar foliage gives welcome fragrance, although often having to be clipped back. " Pioses, Roses, everywhere," as a poet sings, cannot be too highly recommended, but there is undoubtedly more charm about an actual rosery if it is made upon a pretty plan from its beginning. The beds and borders, no matter their shajje, should be so arranged that the scene is a brilliant one, and yet every tree can be singled out for notice and admired closely ; to ensure all this means that turf or paths must conduct the visitor near to each group of Roses, and the 10 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING windings and turns of these same wallis must determine the real shape and more distant appearance of the whole Rose garden. Two kinds of formality can be carried out, according to indi- vidual taste : the stiff formal, which is quaint and old-fashioned ; the curved formal, which gives a series of shapes that are matching but not of sharp angles. Perhaps the reason why straight lines and r^- Q 3 FIG. 3 >>liarp corners appear in so many gardens lies in the extra skill required to plan out paths and beds with curves ; nowadays, how- ever, the average talent of gardeners is so much higher than of old, that to create a graceful rosery will be possible to all who are willing to take sufficient trouble. Pegging out and measuring should be most precise, and entirely accomplished with mathematical accuracy, on the well dug ground, before other processes are begun. A com1)ination of grass and gravel gives a pleasing result BEAUTIFUL ROSE GARDENS 11 when it is possible, but many a lovely Rose garden has been made in a gravel or asphalt square, while others have prim brick or tiled walks. A surrounding of turf alone is especially suited to the ~^ r Fm. 4 irregular-shaped rosery which is now so deservedly popular, since this style aims at imitating Nature's planting ; and in the perfect wild gardens of natural growth that are visible throughout our land grass and flowering plants, shrubs and trees, are in closest association, 12 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING A handsome plan is shown by Fig. 4 ; this illustrates the union of gravel with grass, or could be carried out wholly in gravel. As paths less than 3 feet wide are not satisfactory, it will be seen at once that this rosery requires a fair amount of space. The grass plot certainly needs to be 27 to 30 feet across, at least, at its widest part. In the four corner pieces of ground it is best to mass pillar, standard, half-standard, bush, miniature and pegged-down Roses, so that every variety shall appear to perfection, but w^hen the plan is not carried out on a fine scale this will be impossible, and standards should give centre height among dwarfs. The cross-shaped bed would do for pegged-down Teas alone, the two small beds near for LAWN LAWIvr FIG. 5 dwarf Polyanthas, and the waved beds for Hybrid Teas and the more robust of the Teas, reserving Hybrid Perpetuals for the larger spaces. Arches may well span the paths where a's are marked. This plan is also an example of symmetrical but curved beds and borders. An old-world Rosery could be well carried out in the style shown by Fig. 3. The originality of its appearance, as shown, con- sists of the grass being used as a wide walk round a gravel plot, instead of the usual gravel path surrounding a small lawn ; however, gardeners who have already a grass plot to deal with could adopt the latter style. The straight lines are intercepted by the corner beds, which take off much of the stiff effect. H.P.'s might fill the centre bed, and Teas the corner ones ; climbers, Jiamblers, and others would cover the frcilis, planted in the narrowest of borders at its foot, and 14 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING would also clothe the arches. Another idea would be to have a Rose hedge instead of trellis, while a third style, suitable for giving shelter in an exposed cold garden, would be to hedge round with evergreens. This plan is one that can be carried out on a large or small scale, without trellis or hedge, if borders are preferred. A Rosery winding between lawns could be shaped irregu- larly, as shown in Fig. 5, and it is to be doubted if any garden scene could well be fairer than one so arranged, supposing the best kinds of Rose were grouped according to colour — yellows in one bed, crimson scarlets, pinks of a salmon tint, and whites in the other.s. It will be noticed that the design could be continued for any distance, either straight, slanting, or made to circle round a large lawn, all the long points of the grass being used for groups or single specimens of pillar Roses. Rcses that Bloom in Summer and Autumn Of the enormous number of Roses now cultivated it becomes most difficult to make a selection of the best for the amateur. Sorts that blossom freely both in summer and autumn will always find favour with those who have only a small garden. A selection is given below from which the amateur or beginner can make a choice with every confidence, for all are worth growing. The selection contains some of the newer Roses, so that it may be considered up to date, and they are placed somewhat in order of merit, so far as their value for the decoration of the small garden is concerned. Name. Description. Caroline Testout, H.T. Eosy piuk, very large Madame Abel Chateuay, H.T. Salmon piuk, very sweet Frau K. Druschki, H.P. Pure white Lady Roberts, Tea Orange, long buds Madame Hoste, Tea Pale yellow Joseph Hill, H.T. Ochre yellow, very handsome buds Gustave Grlinerwald, H.T. Brilliant rose, very sweet Earl of Warwick, H.T. Salmon pink Hugh Dickson, H.P. Crimson scarlet, very sweet Paul Lede, H.T. Ochre yellow Prince de Bulgarie, H.T. Yellow and flesh white White Maman Cochet, T. White, the best show Tea Rose Maman Coehet, Tea Large pink flowers, liable to come malformed Marie Van Houtte, Tea Lemon yellow, shaded crimson in outer petals Madame RaTary, H.T. Apricot Autoiue Rivoire, H.T. Flesh piuk and yellow Gruss an Sangerhauseii, H.T. Orange scarlet William Shean, H.T. Very large, piuk blossom Viscountess Folkestone, H.T. Salmon flesh, very sweet BEAUTIFUL ROSE GARDENS 15 Richraoud, H.T. Pharisaer, H.T. Madame Leon Paiu, H.T. Madame Autoiue Mari, Tea Harry Kirk, Tea G. Nabounand, Tea Peace, Tea Kouigin Carola, H.T. Mrs. E. G. Hill, H.T. Lam-ent Carle, H.T. Kaiserin Augusta Victoria, H.T. Killamey, H.T. Amateur- Teissier, H.T. Lady Battersea, H.T. Lady Ashtown, H.T. La France, H.T. Augustine Guinoisseau, H.T. Mrs. W. J. Grant, H.T. Liberty, H.T. General MacArthur, H.T. Bettv, H.T. Gruss an Teplitz, H.T. Mrs. David McKee, H.T. Madame Jules Grolez, H.T. Ulrich Brunner, H.P. Mrs. John Laing, H.T. Madame Isaac Pereire, H.P. Victor Hugo, H.P. Gloire de Dijon, Tea Souvenir de la Malmaison, Bourbon General Jacqueminot, H.T. Madame Fanny de Forest, Hybrid Noisette. DescHption. Scarlet, very sweet Blush white, fine long buds Pink with yellow base White and rose, perfect form Sulphur yellow, fine long buds Rose and buff, one of the best autumnals Lemon white Silvery pink, very large petals Rosy crimson, white outer petals, very attractivi Brilliant velvety carmine Sulphur white Blush, long buds Yellowish white Rosy crimson, handsome buds Rosy pink Silvery pink, very sweet Blush white Rosy pink, very handsome blossoms Crimson, lovely form Crimson, very sweet Ai^ricot and pink, lovely buds Scarlet, very vigorous, best as a standard Straw white, good grower Rose, very sweet Pale red, very hardy- Silvery puik Rosj^ crimson, very vigorous Scarlet crimson, moderate grower Buff and yellow Flesh white Crimson, should be grown on its own roots Pure white The list could be much extended from the Tea-scented, Hybrid Tea, Polyantha, and Chinese groups, but the above fifty varieties would make a grand collection. , CHAPTER Iir Pretty Garden Alterations If the garden is too flat and all can be seen at a glance, a few banks, crowned by evergreen and flowering shrubs, will quickly eff"ect the required improvement. , If the situation is cold, some Laurels or Euonymus can be used on the summit to protect dainty blossoming subjects. Spiraeas, Deutzias, and Brooms of various sorts will be attractive. If the, garden is really bleak and windswept, or shaded, then >St. John's Wort (Hypericum calycinum) and Mahonia (Berberis Aquifolium), with Foxgloves and Solomon's Seal, will suffice with the evergreens to make a nice show. Is the garden overcrowed with trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants ? Alas, this is a frequent evil, and nothing but a seemingly luthless clearance will improve matters. Better grow one plant well than suffer half a dozen to struggle for existence. A great deal can be done, however, by lifting every clump of perennials, such as Michaelmas Daisies, Sunflowers, Phloxes, Campanulas, Day Lilies, and reducing each group to three plants. The lesser perennials, such as London Pride, Pinks, etc., can be similarly or even more drastically dealt with. Is the garden too stifi" and formal in eff"ect 1 Then no doubt a change can be wrought by rounding off the sharp corners of lawns, beds and borders, and making curves along formerly straight paths. To create a curving bank or two, the sides held up by turf or rockery, is admirable ; so also is the erection of a pretty summer- house to one side of the lawn or gravel plot, surrounding this by flower beds or groups of pillar roses. Then specimen perennials of large size, uncommon flowering or evergreen shrubs, or even a good flowering tree can be dotted about the grass to break the monotonous regularity. Is the garden colourless— too white or too uniformly green ? This often happens, and is most unfortunate when the house itself IG LAWN EDGES 17 is white or of some cold colour. Use should be freely made of trees and shrubs "with crimson foliage, also of some of those that take beautiful red and gold tints each autumn. Virginian creepers on walls, trellises, and fences, red roses, rich purple clematis, groups of scarlet oriental x)oppies, and of rose, carmine and mauve Phloxes, Hollyhocks, pink and crimson, orange Chrysanthemums, Rudbeckia and Helenium are all of great value. Is the garden gaudy through having been carelessly planted? Then there must certainly be a clearance. The plants removed should be those with either scarlet or else pink and carmine flowers, since those are the shades that mostly create disorder. It is often possible to group them together in some distant part of the ground, but they are better destroyed than allowed to spoil the harmony of the scene. Fine green foliage perennials, especially those that have feathery white florescence, should be introduced instead ; a few suitable ones are Pampas Grass, Thalictrum, Stipa, Spiraea, Polygonum, Gunnera, Rheum, Ferula, Eupatorium ageratoides, Cimicifuga, Crambe cordifolia, Gypsophila and Acanthus mollis. Lawn Edges. — When lawns have straight edges and sharp corners there is always something wanting ; the eye objects to the formality and craves some softening effect. To create this, without destroying either the usefulness or the handsome appearance of lawns, is easy, if monotony in the adornments is avoided. Fig. 1 shows a garden all made on straight lines, the severity of which has been modified by judicious arrangements. The waved border of perennials, continued for a considerable length, allows a charming series of colour combinations to be shown, and pro- vides flowers for cutting at most seasons : a bed of pegged down Tea Roses, and a bold group of Lilium auratum, appear near the border. On the other side of the arch the border continues, in smaller waves, but is given up entirely to mixed Violas, so has not the same appearance at all. The waved bed, following the horizontal line, has also a distinctive look, because it is rockeried over, partly backed by rockery here and there, and none but golden flowers are planted or sown in it. To give height and contrast there are three beds of White Chrysanthemums and a tuft of Pampas Grass. Dwarf Polyantha Roses have a lovely effect when planted, as shown, in a waved double line along a lawn edge : the bed cut for each rose should lie as small as possible, and the soil be covered by a messy Saxifrage, so that greenery shall be present, merging bed c 18 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING into lawn in a style invisible from a slight distance. Suitable varieties of Eoses are White Pet, Princess Marie Adelaide d' Luxem- FIG. 1. -A STRAIGHT-EDGED DESIGN IIVrPROVED BY CAREFUL PLANTING bourg, white ; Ma Paquerette, white ; ISIa Fillette, peach rose ; Madame Norbert Levavasseur, crimson ; Perle d'Or, Leonie Lamesch, copper- red; Jeanie Deans, pink and white; Golden Fairy, buff yellow ; Clara LAWN EDGES 19 Pfitzer, carmine ; Baby Dorothy Perkins, Aennchen Muller, bright pink ; Mignonette, pale pink. Standards or half-standards can, of course, be ranged in the same fashion if jtreferred. The arch, in Fig. 1, is climbed on both sides by Japanese variegated Honeysuckle for permanent covering, but a Felicite Perpetue Rose rambles boldly BORDER C BORDER B -w LAWN N ■0 WEE.PING O qSTANDARD R0SE.5 O O FIG. 2.— HOW A PLAIN GARDEN WAS IMPROVED above this. On a further lawn separated rockery mounds, of differ- ent shapes, rob one side of its formality, and enable colour masses to be brought into being at most seasons, silver and yellow foliage providing colour even in the depth of winter. Too many straight lines are visible in design Fig. 2, yet this garden has been vastly improved since the owner made Beds D and 20 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING B, for crimson and pink roses, the semicircle of Weeping Standard red roses, the group of flowering shrubs, the bed c for Delphiniums, bed F for pink and yellow-cream Asters and Stocks, bed b for Nicotianas, and the wide waved Herbaceous Borders divided by a grass path under an archway. At A the path comes to an abrupt turn, and there is need of a beautiful feature to make it attractive ; there will soon be a quaint stone grotto summer-shelter, built out as a cave from the wall, and this will be climbed by Ivy, Ampelopsis sempervirens, Yellow Jasmine, and Tropaeolum speciosum. The too-straight border c is to be partly massed with shrubs, leaving semicircular openings here and there in which German Irises, Fox- gloves, Day-lilies, Golden Rods, Honesty, and other tall plants FIG 3. A PERMANENT LAWN EDGING will be lavishly grouped : the edge will be broken by a rockery line of varying height and width, in which all dwarf subjects that can do with shade will be planted. Border b is to have one or two bold waves made in it, and to be planted as a rosery. The arches are climbed by Ramblers and summer and autumn Clematises. A New Idea for Lawn Edging. — In the ordinary garden, consisting of lawn, borders, and gravel paths, there is generally considerable difhculty in keeping up a good edge to the lawn where it meets the gravel. The wear and tear here is so great that the verging iron is frequently used. In a comparatively short time the width of the path is increased, and the lawn robbed of a good strip of grass. A cheap way to form a permanent straight line between gravel and grass is the following. Those who possess a greenhouse with ordinary heating apparatus by coke, should save up all the ashes, clinkers, etc., through the winter A NEW IDEA FOR LAWN EDGING 21 months. The small stones picked from borders can also be saved. In the spring, when the grass begins to grow, a start can be made. All that is wanted is a sack of Portland cement, and as much 4-inch Avood bordering as will extend the whole length of the proposed per- manent border. First fix the wooden border in position, generally some 2 or 3 inches from the grass, as the lawn will be found to have receded quite this much. Sink the bottom edge of wood a good inch below level of path, and keep it in position by nailing it to stakes driven into the path. These stakes may be any odd bits of wood, for they will only be in use long enough for the permanent border to harden. Now take ashes, etc., and mix dry with Portland cement in pro- portion of 5 parts ashes to 1 part of cement. When thoroughly mixed, moisten well, and mix again until every bit of mixture is uniformly moist. Place the concrete between the grass and the wood, shaping it into right-angled triangular shape. If the con- crete is too soft it will not keep up, but wait a little and trowel it up again, when it will be found to stay where it is wanted. When the whole length is finished, take a piece of wood, say 2 inches by 3 inches, and f inch thick, and nail another strip on the under side (see sketch Fig. la). Resting this on top of wood border, push it gently along the top of the concrete. This will cut off the sharp top and leave the border in its final shape (see sketch Fig. 2). The border must now be left to harden. The wood may be taken away after forty-eight hours, as the cement hardens quicker for its removal ; but if the border is likely to be injured by passers-by, the wood should be allowed to remain for quite a week. In any case, it is not important that the wood should be taken up, as the grass can be treated at the end of the forty-eight hours. The space between concrete and grass now remains to be filled up. This can of course be done by using soil and lawn seed, and is a very simple matter. But a better way is to dig a spit along the edge, trying to use the spade at the same angle as the concrete is moulded. The spit can then be turned round, and will exactly fit the border, making a fairly firm edge at once. The trench left after this can then be filled with soil and seed, and will very quickly recover, as there is grass on either side (Fig. 3). One bag of cement will do 150 feet of border if used in projjortion 1 to 5, and will cost 3s. There is a great deal of prejudice against the use of furnace ashes and clinker, but experience has shown the writer that a very strong concrete can be made with them. A border made as described above is giving 22 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING great satisfaction. It is invisible, the grass grows freely to the edge, and the machine passes along without the slightest trouble. Above all, the edge can be clipped rapidly and correctly. Where Paths End, — No path should end at a brick wall, or fence, unless some beautiful object is set up there : a group of handsome plants, or an interesting climber, will be better than nothing, but a seat, arched before to suggest an arbour, is more attractive, and supplies a real motive for traversing the walk. The sketch on p. 2.3 shows a seat and arch of natural Birch wood ; they were designed by an amateur and made at home, of purposely irregular shape. When the pillars and cross-bars were covered with the luxuriant growth of a Dorothy Perkins Rose and varie- gated Japanese Honeysuckle, the effect was charming in the extreme,* and, as the seat faced south, there was an agreeable shadow thrown upon it. The evergreen Virginian Creeper, Ampelopsis sempervirens, that neglected but delightful climber, was planted against the wall, behind the seat, and after a time completely covered the bricks with its closely clustered leaves. At c a yellow winter Jasmine was placed, and at d the orange-scarlet Rose I'ldeal, so valuable for its colour. In border A sweet-scented evergreen plants were massed, Pinks, Carnations, Brompton Stocks, Lavender, Violets and Primroses behind this bush, Auriculas, etc. In border D some small golden shrubs appeared, massed around by Crocuses, Narcissi, Hyacinths, Snowdrops, Spanish Iris, and Jonquils, while bedding plants, such as Heliotrope, scented-leaved Geraniums, and Verbenas, and a sown patch of Mignonette, were added each spring and summer. The nook became the most cherished one of all the garden, so serves to prove what an improvement can be effected by the simplest means. An Ivyclad wall with a large piece of log thrown down before it, a carpet of turf before, the sides planted lavishly with ferns. Prim- roses, Bluebells, Wood Anemones, Violets, Calthas, various English Iris, small single Daffodils, Foxgloves, and Ranunculus speciosus fl. pL, with a rustic pole or two in front, climbed by Honeysuckle and a pale pink Briar Rose, or pink or white rugosa, would make a lovely woodland spot, and prove successful in shade. For a wall with a hot aspect, when the garden-owner is anxious to scheme a wild-garden effect, the climber should be either green Hops, or Ivy, the ground sown with grass seed, kept cut where the path to the log seat is desired, but allowed to grow up in tall patches at either side, among groups of scarlet Poppies, Corn Marigolds, or Chrysanthemum WHERE PATHS END 23 segetum, Ranunculus speciosus H. pi., the double Buttercup, Verbas- cum olympicura, the ^Mullein, Scabiosa caucasica, Salvia pratensis, Meadow Sage, Geranium pratense album, or white Crowfoot, and Erodium macradenum, or Heron's Bill ; Chrysanthemum leucanthe- mum will suggest the field Ox-eye Daisy. Suitable seeds to sow in the neighbourhood would be Quaking Grasses, Brizas maxima and minima, Cornflowers, blue only, the Tulip Poppy, the yellow Welsh Poppy. r 1 1 i 1 1 1 1 ' 1 ip 1 , t J 1 1 \ 1 1 It I Y—r' . - S BORDER A ,-\ SUGGESTION FOB END OF GARDEN WALK or Meconopsis cambrica, Linaria heterophylla, Linum usitatissimum, the Common Flax, Catch-fly, or Silene armeria, and the annual Campion, Lychnis, or Agrostemma coeli rosea. In a villa garden, where a rustic appearance is not desired, the seat against fence or wall could be a painted iron one, and the pillars and crossbars of the arch would look well of bamboo or painted deal. Any climbing Roses would be suitable, while dwarf Roses, groups of white Lilies" Heliotrope and Ivy-leaved Geraniums would make a fair combination in the borders. CHAPTER IV Suburban Gardens New villas spring up constantly, and the laying-out of their gardens is proceeded with on the most commonplace lines, which is a pity, since a little originality attracts so much admiration and interest. It is a fact, too, that a great many more pretty features can be found room for in a correctly planned garden, because space is not wasted in unnecessary paths, strips of lawn, etc. Fig. 1 shows how a small detached villa residence was surrounded ; instead of the usual front lawn edged by borders the grass comes up to the open iron railing on a low Avail ; the Laburnum, Almond Tree, and Weigela clump seem to be growing in the grass ; the Deodars also. An important air is given to the entrance in two ways, by the remarkably wide gravel walk up to the house, and the pillar roses on either side of the wrought-iron gate. A Ehododendron hedge follows the slope of the path to the back door, the opposite border plot being devoted to a fine collection of Briar Roses, which are pleasant to look upon at all seasons. A lawn of irregular curves is the feature of the back garden ; opposite the garden door is wide gravel with a Yucca, which coidd well be grown in a tall stone urn upon a stone plinth. The grass from the front joins the side lawn, being shut off from it by a wide arch, inside which is a gate, either of iron to match the front one, or lattice or painted wire. Evergreen shrubs shut out the view on each side of the arch, so passers-by gain only a vista glimpse of turf and Standard Roses ; beyond these a belt of flowering shrubs is designed to give privacy to the grounds. A path encircles the lawn, leading to a two-sided summer-shelter in the corner of the walls, and when the Delphiniums and Carnations are blossoming together, and the Sweet Peas and annuals are also gay, one can imagine that this resting-place would be a delight indeed. The belt of Aucubas shuts off the outbuildings, and a large rockery for Ferns, or German Iris, 24 A LAWN OF IRREGULAR CURVES 25 FRUIT V EG ETAB LE3 CATE. FIG. 1.— DESIGN FOB SUBURBAN GARDEN 26 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING Hypericums, Periwinkles, Pansies, etc., fills up a corner space. Roses and bedding plants grow in the borders against the house, while the mixed herbaceous border, with tall subjects arranged at the back, obscures view of a few vegetables. A peculiar but pretty garden results from following the plan shown in Fig. 2. The striking feature here is the turf walk that meanders all the distance from the house to a summer shelter against the boundary wall. This design aims at making quite a small piece of ground look romantic. Only a few of the smaller vegetables are allowed for, but a good many Plum and Apple trees are shown ; Pears and Cherries could be mingled with these if desired, and between the trees either Gooseberries and Currants, or Narcissi and dwarf early Chrysanthemums, could be cultivated according to taste. Another item to note is that the herbaceous border possesses a kind of avenue of Hollyhocks, which would give a noble effect, and the whole of the other plants in it are evergreen. A glance at any florist's catalogue will prove what hundreds of delightful perennials come under this head. The bulb border is partly shaded by a Pink Acacia and a Mountain Ash, so both sun and shade loving varieties can be grown in it. The gravel path leading by the vegetables need only be very narrow. When there is very little boixier room in a garden it is possible to have a charming flower show by growing vegetables of certain sorts as a background to hardy perennials ; all that is necessary is to choose and combine the kinds well. It would, for example, be an error to place a clump of strong-growing Hollyhocks against Green Peas, or hide Carrots away behind Chrysanthemum maximum, A successful border I know has Green Peas grown up strings against a low wall that has been increased in height as a screen by means of trellis ; the Peas not only look exceedingly pretty but yield splendidly, while in front of them Snapdragons, Sweet Williams, and Violas are blossoming. At another place the Runner Bean Painted Lady clothes the trellis with foliage and flowers as beautiful as those of any climber grown only for appearance, and Spanish Iris, early Chrysanthemums, Carnations, Pinks, and Iceland Poppies are before it. To imagine that flowers and vegetables are bound to look un- attractive when combined is an error ; neither is it correct to say that they need injure one another ; all that is necessary is to keep the soil well tilled and fed, and keep a watch for insect pests. Of course Cabbages and Brussels sprouts. Savoys, Broccoli, Cauliflowers, etc., are best kept in the open land as much as possible by themselves. AN UNCOMMON GARDEN 27 FIG. 2.— DESIGN FOB SUBURBAN GARDEN 28 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING Another way to save room when plannin.^: out a small garden is to make a curved path answer the purpose of several straight ones ; this can often be done down a long narrow piece of ground, for as the walk meanders, it nearly touches first one side of the boundary then the other, dividing the ground into beds or borders with semicircular outlines, the trees, vegetables, or flowers in which are easily reached. There is an undeniable charm about this kind of path ; it gives so many different views, leading the walker on from point to point, and the flowers are certainly shown off to best advantage. Compare this garden arrangement with the usual one of four paths round a long narrow centre plot, and it will be seen at once how much valuable space is saved by having only the one walk ; and that can be of good width too, instead of the four narrow tracks so difficult to progress along. Large vegetable gardens need not be designed on the plain system that is too often seen ; the elegantly shaped plot or bed will grow roots, etc., just as finely as will the allotment-like square, and any odd corners or curves look so charming when used for a clump of unexpected Lilies, Michaelmas Daisies, or Chrysanthemums. Then a bed of Carrots, Lettuces, Radishes, or French Beans will prove quite as prolific if a pillar Rose rises from its centre, or, if all vegeta- bles are required, a stout faggot.^maQe pillar of Runner Beans can be allowed for. Such suggestions may sound fantastic, but they are w^orth considering by owners of small gardens. The espalier culture of Gooseberries and Currants adds much to the appearance of a garden ; if space is limited they can surround a lawn without spoiling the scene, and pyramid and bush fruit trees make as beautiful ornaments for lawn edges as do the evergreen or flowering shrubs so frequently employed. By-the-by, when there seems insufficient room for a real rosery it is a good plan to cultivate the best climbing Roses up pillars along a border by grass or gravel, connecting the pillars by slung chains along which the long Rose branches can be securely trained. Clematises may be grown in the same fashion, thus doing away with any need for ])ergolas or many arches which unduly shade and dwarf in eff'ect any but large gardens. A summer-house unadorned is a great mistake, for the walls prove admirable supports for roses and other climbers, and will be of various aspects. There is usually room to cut a border right round a summer-house, even if this has of necessity to be a narrow one ; the front edges should always be rounded ofl^, so as not to jut out CREEPER COVERED WALL A>D FLOWER BORDER 30 G/^RDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING in iwinted corners over which unwary feet might easily trip. If possible at all, beds of sweet-scented blossoms should be located in front of seats of all kinds. Herbaceous borders in the open are more charming than those against walls, when they can be really wide ones, if giant plants can occupy centre places mostly and yet leave room for ordinary ones to be grouped on either side of them. If the border against the wall or fence is narrower the latest perennials will be kept chiefly at the back, which leaves most of the border width available for the lesser growers, edged by dwarfs. Thousands of most ardent flower-lovers can only raise and culti- vate plants in small back gardens, so every suggestion should be valuable as to ways of planning these so as to secure most beauty. There is no reason why a little pleasure-ground should not be as fair and as well kept as any portion of a large one, but overcrowding must be avoided, also the attempt to have a dozen features where space admits of but two or three. To know what to avoid is as important as choosing what to grow. An important design, unlike the straight lines of path, grass, and border usually seen, is shown by Fig. 3. By curving the walk the owner gained a longer path up and down which to saunter in thoughtful moments ; by making it lead to a seat against the end wall he preserved it from the reproach of leading nowhere. A grass pi ot of fair size was his delight, and this he could not have obtained had he made the path encircle it. Evergreen shrubs near the out- buildings, intended to shut these off, were Aucubas and .Berberises, with a golden Privet, white Rhododendron, and Laurustinus in front, not the commonplace Laurel, Privet, and Euonymus : behind this belt a narrow border made in a deep box enabled climbing Nasturtiums and Sweet Peas to cover the shed side each year, and a tub of Ferns and Periwinkles stood farther up the alley. Flowering shrubs, at an opposite corner, were Cistus ladaniferus, Weigela rosea, Sym- phoricarpus radicans, the Strawberry Tree, and Cytisus albus, the white Broom : a hedge of Escallonia macrantha took the place of a Privet one that had formerly existed to shut off the neighbouring garden. The roses were all perpetual bloomers. Hybrid Teas in the group, and Hybrid Perpetuals for the half-standards, with a Madame Berard and Mrs. W. J. Grant on the arch. The rockery mound was well covered by coloured Primroses, Viola cornuta, the Horned Viola, Pinks, Aubrietias, Cross-wort, or Crucianella stylosa, and the little pink Geranium cinereum. Chrysanthemums included single and SUBURBAN GARDENS 31 Pompon as well as Japanese. Altogether it was a garden that was easy to keep in spick-and-span order, productive of sheaves of blossom, and very charming in appearance although only a tiny piece of ground behind a suburban cottage. The north wall, facing BC RDER OUT BUILDINGS O TUB /doorN INTO CARDE^ V/INOOW PAVED WALK VIOLAS CARHATIOMS . LIUIES -^c'^ PYRtTHRUMS '^'^■r^?-^ \ FIG DESIGN FOR SUBURBAN GARDEN the house, was given up to a trained baking Pear and Morello Cherry, with a Virginian creeper behind the seat ; the side fence, facing east, held trained Gooseberries. The garden of a terrace house is often difficult to alter much because there is the straight walk leading to the back gate, by which dustmen have to enter even when tradesmen are not allowed to do 32 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING [window) DIHINC ROOM BACK OF HOUSE ■LARDER a PATH TRELLIS _ C J 5EAT^^<*^ TURF LAWN IG -W N' \ H GATE WALL FIG. 4.— DESIGN' FOR SUBUllUAX GARDEN SO : it is often wise to put up with formality, and uti- lise every inch for bold groups of plants that are bound, when in maturity, to take off all the stiff ap- pearance. The garden of this kind I once knew (Fig. 4) had a cold border a, in which climbing Ivy, Yellow Jasmine, German Iris, Lon- don Pride, Montbretias, Primroses, Polyanthuses, and Violets were willing to flourish. In border D, shadowed also by the houses. Columbines, Sweet Peas, Arabises, Michaelmas Daisies, Wallflowers, and Pansies throve ; farther down, in the larger portion E, sunshine reached well, and climbing Roses, trained Plum trees against the five foot wall, Oriental Poppies, Pinks, Mossy Saxifrages, the white Bush Poppy, or Romneya Coulteri, Erige- rons, more delicate Michael- mas Daisies, Japanese Ane- mones, and Delphiniums succeeded, thus giving lovely masses of flower visible from the dining-room win- dow. Border f, shady, was full of Sweet Williams and Pansies, Border c, against a Ave foot trellis shutting oQ" outbuildings and dust- bin, had Foxgloves, ferns, a bush of pale pink Rugosa SUBURBAN GARDENS 33 rose, more Columbines, and variegated Periwinkles, behind the seat, which stood upon a plot of gravel, as grass would have proved too damp. The coldest shadiest corner of all, j, held a fern rockery, the wall climbed by glossy Ivy. The border b beyond the trellis did for summer rows of Parsley. An open, position to the east enabled border i to gain much morning sunshine all its length, and south sunshine as well towards the end, so Achilleas, Hollyhocks, Delphiniums, Loganberries, Climbing Koses, Heleniums, Sweet Rockets, Snapdragons, the yellow Scabious and Paeonies made a fine show in it, with innumer- able dwarf plants to edge by the lawn. The hot part of the garden, border H, held a dwarf Apple tree, Cox's Orange Pippin, with climbing Poses behind, also Cobaea scandens up the hurdles and wall added each summer : foreground groups of Carnations, Iceland Poppies, Violas, and Pinks, background ones of Peruvian Lilies (Alstromerias), Sweet Peas, and Alkanet (Anchusa) gave plenty of beauty and interest. Border g contained Pyrethrums, Snow-in- summer, dwarf herbaceous Geraniums, Spanish Iris, Piose trees, and Violas. The bed k possessed a white Chimney Campanula for a centrepiece, and was filled with bedding and bulbous plants in rotation. All along the edge of the walk ran a low rockery line that proved valuable as a softening effect and for giving places for the cultivation of great numbers of dwarf plants. Arches across the path would, in this case, have hidden a charming view of distant hills. CHAPTER V Square and Narrow Gardens A SQUARE plot of ground is usually considered difficult to turn into a pretty garden, yet there are many ways in which this can be done. Probably a formal design is most suitable, but this does not preclude the gardener from introducing graceful curves, al- though angles are more in keeping. Fig. 1 gives a plan for quite a simple flower garden. In the centre is a rose-covered pavilion or shelter, open on all sides, but large enough to give plenty of shade in which to place chairs. Rambling should be associated with other climbing roses, so as to ensure a long succession of bloom, and there should be room for some Clematis as well. A grass bank, planted on the summit with the popular trailing or wichuraiana roses, forms one boundary, a rose hedge another. The roses along the lawn edge might be pillars, weeping standards or half standards, or bushes of strong growing sorts, such as Japanese Briar (rugosa), Madame Isaac de Pereire, Briar Una, and others, A square Dutch garden can be made very charming. Note how in Fig. 3 a trellis tops one rockery bank and an ornamental railing another ; the railing would be best of wood to match the trellis, and both could be painted white, pale or dark green or brown. The second Hight of steps leads directlj^ to the grass, but if this was objected to the borders D and E could be divided by gravel paths leading to the gravel surrounding the other beds. A suit- able choice of plants would be A, Lilies ; B, Yellow Begonias ; C, Rose Begonias ; D, White Marguerites ; E, Yellow Marguerites, all to be preceded by bulbs ; F, G, I, and J, Carnations of different colours ; H, Heliotrope ; K, Pompon Dahlias ; L, Hybrid Pyrethrums ; M, Pansies ; N, White Nicotiana ; O, Violas ; P, pompon Chrysanthe- mums ; C^, Polyantha white roses; R, Polyantha pink roses ; S, dwarf Michaelmas Daisies; T, Pansies; U, coloured Nicotiana; V, Cen- taurea montana in blue rose and white ; W, dwarf autumn Phlox. 34 SQUARE GARDENS 35 The summer-house might be covered by Virginian Creeper and Clematis. The two'weeping trees on the turf have a quaint effect. All the small rounds dotted about the plan show sites for ever- green shrubs, in tubs painted to match the trellis. A formal square garden of great usefulness is shown in Fig. 2. FIG. 1. — DESIGN FOR SQUARE GARDEN There is ample room for games on the lawn, and the walks are extensive. An excellent planting scheme would be this : A, Hybrid Perpetual Ptoses ; B, Hybrid Tea roses ; C, Geraniums ; D, Verbenas ; E, Begonias ; F, Zinnias, all to be preceded by bulbs ; G, Chrysan- themums ; H, Delphiniums ; I, Phloxes ; J, a small opening by vege- tables, Sweet Peas ; K, a bulb border in which Lilies and Mont- 36 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING bretias, Alstroemerias, Irises and Gladioli give summer flowers ; L, Sunflowers, annual and perennial. Narrow Gardens. — Of the three plans of small narrow gardens given here Fig. 2 (p. 39) is suited to a very long strip, but some FIG. 2.— DKSIGN FOR SQUARE GARDEN of it could be carried out with less ground. The series of angular lines making sharp points may be disliked by some persons ; it is noteworthy, however, that curving lines could be substituted, but the points give character to the whole, and not being matched but irregular do not weary the eye. The lawn could have specimen NARROW GARDENS 37 trees or shrubs, pillars, urns, beds, etc., made in it if desired. The gravel path enables the whole length to be traversed in wet weather, from home to greenhouse, without grass having to be crossed, and the summer-house is set in gravel. A quaint effect is gained by the rustic fencing at the lawn ends, with its two Rose pillars ; this is the style usually seen only on terraced ground, but is charming anywhere, and along the fence semi-climbing Roses should SEAT FIG. 3.— DESIGN FOR SQUARE GARDEN be trained. The fence could be a stone balustrade if preferred, or a rockery wall, or may be replaced by any kind of hedge. In direct contrast to this plan is that of Fig. 3, because here we have only lawn and borders, no space being sacrificed to a path ; it is essentially a little pleasure garden, only for flowers, and would not probably be much frequented in wet weather. By this economical method plenty of room is gained for Itoses, herbaceous plants, bedding plants. Sweet Peas, and mixed annuals. Distinctly Novel is the garden plan Fig. 1 (p. 38). The gravel 38 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING walk is of elegant shape, following or making the curves of the lawns, and the two rows of standard Roses have a beautiful appearance, whether seen from the house windows or from the seat beneath a tall tree at the end of the ground. The reason why Ivy- was chosen for the arch is that it provides an attractive show even in the depth of winter. The borders could well be used for Sweet Peas and Violas. A long strip is admittedly difficult to make into a beautiful garden, yet so many houses in the suburbs of large or small towns have gardens N of this kind that special attention should be devoted to the subject. The Secret of a Garden such as that shown by Fig. 4 (p. 41) is the creation of an appearance of greater width than it possesses. Regarding this plan by contrast with the others mentioned, it seems incredible that it is no larger, or infinitesi- mally so ; this pleasing deception results from the winding nature of the walks, and the utilisation of every foot to best advantage. The lawn is not too small, there is room for flowering and other shrubs, a pretty rosery, herbaceous, annual, and bedding plants, a seat and rockery, fruit trees, and vegetables ; some Curves are the Characteristic of the plan Fig. 5 (p. 41), which requires more space than the others to make it look well. The Rose arches arising between shrubbery clun)i»s look uncommon, the wide gravel space between them has a i)illar Rose in the centre and a seat at one side, or there could be two seats facing each other. The little fruit orchard should have Narcissi, j\loqtbretias, and Iris planted FiG. NARROW GARDEN arches could also be added. NARROW GARDENS 39 between its trees. The Sweet Peas form hedges alongside the path. Beautiful Border Flo^vers. Borders against house walls. — Borders immediately against house walls should never be so closely planted that the ventilators or gratings for the passage of air through the foundations of the building are covered up ; if these are left fully exposed, however, even large perennials can be cul- tivated without danger of making the walls damp. It is a wise plan to make all such borders slant from the back, then watering can be freely done during drought without any danger. Poor soil and large stones, a mixture of sand and crushed bricks, with many pieces of slate and concrete, constitute the round of numbers of these borders, especially those of new houses : the builder's men have simply dug in their rubbish, and the out- side tidiness produced by the job- bing gardener covers a multitude of evils. It is impossible for shrubs, Roses, climbers, or perennials to thrive : bulbs and bedding-plants may endure the existence better, but even their blossoms will be poor. Let every householder make sure that the soil is right before he introduces his floral treasures into it : nor should attention be given only to the surface ; deep digging and trenching is necessary. 40 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING SWEET PEAS HERBACEOUS PLAHTS w ROSES Special effects in front gardens are to be advocated ; at present they are rarely seen. I know one bouse in whose front-wall borders some long- shaped sunk basins, or artificial pools, appear ; as the position is fully sunny, and the position an exposed hilltop, the look of the clear Avater, of the foliage subjects, Irises, flowering Reeds, etc., is delightfully refreshing, whereas in a low, damp, shady garden the appearance would be dank and de- pressing. A sloping bank of Snapdragons is the feature of another house ; from early summer until winter those Antirrhinums, tall, medium, and dw^arf, are a glorious medley of tints, all harmonious, and they afford a welcome change from the customary bedding- out schemes. Other flowers, such as Paeonies, Chrysanthemums, or Phloxes, would be as attractive, or more so, but the homely Snapdragon was chosen on account of its prolonged season of blossom. Fegged-down Tea Roses often succeed to perfection in house borders with a warm aspect, and from these, again, the fioriferousness will be con- stant, and often it is the most suitable position for the more delicate varieties. If possible, there should be flower borders on all sides of the house, or at least on the three sides of the house which have the best aspects, and then there is sure to be a warm one for Poses. A south wall bulb border is desirable for two reasons ; the ordinary plants, Poman and other Hyacinths, Van Thol and other Tulips, Polyanthus, Narcissi, Daffodils, Snowdrops, Crocuses, etc., will bloom there long before the others in a diflerent part of the garden are ready, and it will be possible to grow many other bulbous plants of more delicate constitution, such as Crinums, Ixias, PAVEMENT HOUSE FIG. 3— NARROW GARDEN NARROW GARDENS 41 .1^ H FIGS. 4 AND 5 —NARROW GARDENS Sparaxis, Tigridias, Tritonias, Pancratiuras, Brodiaeas, Babianas, Alstromerias, etc. Kockery i)i wall borders is admissible when it consists of scattered rocks not touching the house. CHAPTER VI Half Acre and Quarter Acre Gardens The less space there is the more important it becomes. Fig. 1 shows how a lawn, rosery, Sweet Pea border, herbaceous border, vegetables, herbs, ferns, flowering shrubs, and Gooseberries and Currants can be arranged in a quarter acre of ground, and there can be fruit trees trained upon the south fence or wall. Unfortunately most little gardens are bounded by hedges ; this is one of the first defects that should be remedied as soon as the owner can afford to put up a fence, for evergreen hedges rob the ground of much nourishment. The Eose-covered espalier and pillars shown can be built out of Hop poles, or even the thickest Bean, faggots ; semi-climbing Roses are best against the espalier ; arches could take the place of the pillars, but would obstruct the view from the house doors more. The one arch shown could support a Clematis as well as a Rose. Flowering shrubs of merit are the Snowberry Tree, Guelder Rose, Golden Privet, Weigela rosea, Escallonia macrantha. A seat under the Rose arch would probably be found useful. Giant herbaceous plants should not appear. Michaelmas Daisies, Pyrethrum uliginosum. Phloxes, Chrysanthemums will be tall enough to hide the vegetables. A Grass Walk is the distinguishing feature of the garden, Fig. 2. When there is not much space for a lawn, a wide turf path of this sort looks beautiful, and if flanked by a mixture of evergreen and flowering shrubs with front bordering of herbaceous dwarf, or semi-tall plants, will ofter seclusion and originality combined. Hosts of Pinks, Violas, Dianthuses, Arabises, Aubrietias, Iberises, Iceland and Alpine Poppies, Polyanthuses, Auriculas, Forget-me-nots, Prim- roses, etc., can be found space for among and before the shrubs. The latter should include Deutzias, Spiraeas, Rhododendrons, Azaleas, Brooms, Berberises, Weigelas, Cistuses, Escallonias, and Veronicas. A Small Grass Plot is of service for showing ofl" some standard 43 QUARTER ACRE GARDENS 43 Rose trees, and allowing three beds to be cut, which can be kept attractive by careful bedding out. Karrow gravel paths are shown, TRAME FIG. 1.— DESIGN FOB QUARTER ACRE GARDEN which enable the garden to be fairly well traversed when the grass is too wet to be comfortably walked upon. Vegetables are bidden 44 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING away well behind the shrubs, quite a large portion of the garden being thus of a utilitarian order ; fruit trees trained against the west wall will allow Gooseberries and small vegetables to be cultivated in front : the summer-house is approached by a walk between hedges of Sweet Peas. Fruit trees on the east fence will gain plenty of sun- shine, and Parsley, > — >. herbs, and vegetables may be sown in the same border. If a lawn were especially wished for the best plan would be to give up the vegetable plot at the end to it, and unite this to the grass plot already existing, doing away with the belt of shrubs and the intervening gravel path. A rosery forms the at- traction at the end of the grass walk, and is in full sunshine. Half Acre Gar- dens. — A delightful flower garden can be made out of half an acre of land, and a good number of fruit- trees cultivated, if the owner is willing to grow no vegetables ex- cept perhaps Climbing a sunny fence or some herbs and salading in a plan for a wide FIG. 2. — QUARTER ACRE GARDEN French Beans and Scarlet Runners up arches near the kitchen entrance, and a similarly situated border. Fig. 1 shows sloping bit of ground : there is an original shaped terrace built on the round, with level grass plots next the house border. If preferred these plots could be paved or tiled, which would give more the usual terrace appearance, and along the stone railing might be stone urns for plants, at intervals, or at the ends and HALF ACRE GARDENS 45 46 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING against the steps. On the sloping grass banks below, creeping roses could be planted, and partly supported against the railings, partly allowed to trail downwards. I would not have any other flowers there except Crocuses in the turf. Sloping BiOse-beds would catch the full sunshine, and bush- trees thus massed give a finer display from a slight distance than those upon a level, but the slope should be gentle, and the strongest- growing varieties must not be cultivated here but reserved for the borders under the windows, in front of actual climbers. The flowering shrubs on the opposite side of the steps might be Deutzias, Spiraeas, Weigelas, White Broom, and Cotoneasters ; the Chrysanthemums would look best carpeted by Violas. A sundial is shown ; this must be of stone, to match the railings, and if mounted high on two or three steps would be visible from all sides ; only Pinks and Carnations are planted close by, their grey green foliage serving also to isolate the dial from among the gay garden blossoms. Sweet Williams, Lupins, Canterbury Bells, Snap- dragons, Honesty, Columbines, Pansies, Double Daisies, are but a few of the plants suitable for grouping in the old-fashioned garden. Delphiniums deserve a special place, so grand are the modern varieties ; but the edge of this space would do well for a bulb border, in|which Spring could have her chance. The Rock garden, divided by a bed ot many kinds of Lilies, ought to be so planted as to be bright at most months, and sufficiently clothed with evergreen foliage to be pleasing during the depth of winter. A circle of gravel gives place for a fine summer- house ; the pillar roses round this must be robust kinds, such as Ramblers, and Hybrid Perpetuals, so that there will be real luxuri- ance ; the arch I would have climbed by Dutch and Japanese Honeysuckle, while Wistaria and Pyrus japonica, or Clematis mon- tana, could cover the summer-houses. By-the-bye a white stone pavilion would be the ideal one in this garden. In the apple orchard innumerable kinds of flowers might be grown for cutting, and the wild garden should be thronged with Briar Roses, Foxgloves. Bluebells, Daffodils, Lilies of the Valley, Orchids, Primroses, Violets, etc. The line lawn has only two irregular-shaped beds for bedding out, the view of the herb border beyond is partly obscured by the arches, on which Climbing Beans can ramble. A long garden in which a few choice vegetables such as Peas, French Beans, and Celery can be found room for, is shown by Fig. 2 : perhaps its most striking features are the oval lawn, and the use of HALF ACRE GARDENS 47 evergreen shrubs and plants in side borders. Few gardeners realise how attractive such a combination is at all seasons, or how many of FIG. 2 — HALF ACRE GARDEN our popular, or uncommon but beautiful herbaceous plants are of this nature. A lovely nook is the tiny side lawn, when the Lavender hedge and the violet and blue pillar Clematises are blossoming 48 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING together. The plot of Sunflowers, etc., would merit the title of an autumn garden. On the low bank by the sunk pond of the water- garden I would have either Gorse, Broom, Double Daisies, and Hare- bells, or Wichuraiana Roses. Some Mulleins would be effective among the Bamboos and tall Polygonums, while the foreground should be of Polygonums bistorta and sphterostachyum. Some strips of turf, kept neat, might be used as paths across the Piose-ground : the rockery ought to consist of a low rock-strewn mound, well furnished by spring, summer and autumn flowering Alpines. CHAPTER VII Flower Beds Large and Small The shape of the bed in which plants are grown has an appreciable influence upon their appearance. If we want to display a certain flower, of average height, probably we cannot do better than give it a round or oval bed all to itself ; but there are other methods whereby diflferent flowers can be assorted pleasantly, as well as other shapes for beds better suited to trim growers not more than a foot high. A fair combination of flower beds is shown by Fig. 1, and this should set the gardener's mind to work inventing other arrangements of beds divided by lawn, gravel, or pavement. The central bed is a round : let us imagine it filled with Helio- trope young plants at the edge, trained older ones in the centre, and, if we wish so to fill it, let us keep it bare until June. Meanwhile we may plant the other beds with Violas, mauve at a, yellow at B, cream at c, and dark purple at d. This is a beautiful design on a large scale, for a central mass of Delphiniums and all white peren- nials in A, B, c, D. If it is sown with annuals, choose miniature Sunflowers of one of the newer, dwarf kinds, and scarlet, cream, maroon-black, and gold Tom Thumb Nasturtiums. A novel shape is shown by Fig 2. To plant this with large plants is to sacrifice its individuality altogether, but if it is sown with a low annual such as Eschscholtzia Mandarin compacta, it will give great pleasure. As a Pansy or Viola bed it is also meritorious, while the lover of carpet bedding has only to plant it throughout in a series of ribbon lines to follow the shape. Different shapes for small beds, one beneath each of the standard Roses that are often quaintly ranged along lawn edges, will do much to relieve the monotony that exists before the diflerent colours of the Roses appear. Figs. 3, G and 7 offer some suitable outlines, Fig. 6 (p. 51) being the most difficult to cut but satisfactory in its origin- ality. Double daisies are remarkably fine flowers nowadays, and E 49 50 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING ruR F TURF TURF FIG. 1 look delightful in separate varieties for these beds, Viola cornuta, in its several colourings, might be alternated with them. Highly to be recommended is a little bright red, single, gold - eyed Dai.sy, Bellis sylves- tris : it makes a bed of really vivid colour. Fanciful in out- line is the bed Fig. 4. The use of one tall centre plant adds distinction to it if it is small, or a shrub, tree, or pillar Rose may form the centre of the bed if large. If A were a single, scarlet Dahlia, b might consist of white Pinks, which would provide a charm- ing leafy carpet to the red flower after f^n early show of blossom. If a were a red China Rose, trained into column shape, then nothing could be better than white .ten-week Stocks to give delicious scent. Elegant curves are the feature; of Fig. 5, which would be treated most unjustly if filled by any but a quite low plant : nothing taller than a Viola of good bedding habit should be employed, and the pink-coloured William Neil might well be chosen. FIG. 2 ORIGINAL FLOWER BEDS 51 Round beds of simple arrangement are never without charm. Fig. 8 shows the combination of three plants, one of which should be FIG. 6 FIG. 7 FIG. 4 valuable chiefly for its foliage. It might be most pleasingly filled with pink dwarf Polyantha Roses at a, variegated Arabis at B, and a pale yellow Viola at c. Rose and lemon associate well. 52 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING FIG. 1 Original Flower Beds. — The uncommon is not always beauti- ful, yet of the two flower beds, one perfect in design, one less artistic but quite original, the latter will be the one to add laurels to the gar- dener's crown ! It is quite possible, how- ever, to combine love- liness and the unfa- miliar, especially when flowering and foliage plants are the artist's pigment. New shapes for flower beds, new ways of filling old shapes, should be under consideration in the spring season, in preparation for the bedding- out work. A double round bed is shown by Fig. 1 ; it can be made without the corner pieces c, if wished, but when these are planted only with Pyreth- rum aureum or Yellow Stone- crop they give the effect of that golden frame that is thought to be a fitting finish to most works of art. If the bed is in gravel, the frame may be of a silver or variegated dwarf plant preferably. If the round a is of white blos- som, say a white Viola, and B of a pink one, such as William Neil, a pink bedder or the Rose annual, Silene pendula compacta, the appear- ance of one round overlapping the other will be attractive. This is an easy bed to sow with annuals ; Eschscholtzia crocea fl. pi. and white dwarf Candytuft would be pleasing, or dwarf blue Cornflower and the lemon Eschscholtzia tenuifolia. A curious display was seen in a garden of the Midlands last year : it consisted of a round bed sunk in a stone-paved courtyard, and filled FIG. 2 ORIGINAL FLOWER BEDS 53 B with the purple blue Lo- belia, Royal Purple, except where a moon-shape ap- peared, that was sown with Cream Cups, Platystemon californicus. The object, of course, was to imitate the sky and the crescent moon by night, but the owner told me that the annual Cream Cups were a trifle too tall, and not floriferous enough to make the required mass of colour, and he believed that a cream Viola would have had a much better effect. I think a pale blue ground, say of azure Lobelia, and an orange moon, would look striking also. The design of this freak bed, Fig. 2 grace in the arrangement TURF TURF J B FIG. 3 lows that there is real A group of bed and borders is shown by Fig. 3. On a large scale r FIG, 4: it could make a small rosery, but as a lawn ornament filled with perennials, annuals, or bedding plants, it proves very pleasing if only a little space can be given for it. The bed a might be of Gaillardias, the border B of orange and lemon Iceland Poppies mixed ; other suitable flowers would be rose Larkspurs and pink Eschscholtzia, 54 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING peacock Poppies and crimson scarlet Phlox Drummondi, or in shade, Tobacco Plants and yellow Calceolarias. The end of a lawn is often the site for a wide border bed of straightest formation ; the result is much better when the border is cut in two and a grass walk left between them, an arch being put up to span this. Nor is there any reason why the beds should be mere oblongs ; Fig. 4 gives a shape for each, and the grass path between could be at either end, d or e, as preferred. The centre oval A requires filling in some bold way ; my own choice would be Liliums, then a mixture of beautiful Asters could appear at B, and Stocks at c, but the Asters should all be dwarf : a, b, and c respectively might be foliage bedding plants, crimson double FIG. 5 Begonias, and rose Begonia semperflorens, or yellow Pompon Dahlias, white Stocks, and orange-gold Violas, or mauve Michaelmas Daisies, yellow dwarf early Chrysanthemums, and purple Violas. Simplest beds are often best, and the shape of Fig. 5 leaves little to be desired. It would look delightful sown with Shirley Poppies, of which the dwarf form is the most suitable. Nemesia strumosa Suttoni, mixed Pansies, Carnations, Mignonette, are other suggestions. Half-Moon Flower Beds, — The gracefulness of half-moon- shaped beds makes them especially valuable for lawn ornament, and they can be well placed springing out of the corners of grass plots large or small : two beds with the points opposite one another, only a narrow space being left for traversing between, can occupy the centre of a lawn or gravel square, with a rose pillar, or sundial, in the middle. The shape is easy to cut, simple to fill effectively, and offers no obstacle t'^ the working of the lawn mower or the setting of a tile edge. HALFMOON FLOWER BEDS 55 A formal filling is shown by Fig. 1. Dot plants of Nicotiana affinis would look handsome : a, on a carpet of Phacelia campanu- laria, B, and edging, c, of Pyrethrum aureum. A bed sown in spring could have dot plants of the yellow 2-foot Lupin, Lupinus luteus, a carpet of mauve Candytuft b, and an edge of Koeniga maritima (Sweet Alyssum). Sown annuals are used for Fig. 2, a large space being necessary, and the varieties represented are : A, Lavatera trimestris rosea ; b, Lavatera trimestris alba ; c, white Godetia ; d, rose Godetia ; E, carmine Godetia ; F, double white Clarkia ; G, white spiral Candytuft ; H, pink Cornflower; i, white Cornflower ; J, carmine Candytuft ; K, dwarf white Candytuft ; L, gold Nasturtium ; m, Silene pendula compacta ; n, dwarf blue Cornflower ; o, dwarf pink Cornflower ; p, Eschscholtzia crocea ; 0, white Nemophila ; u, orange Nasturtium ; v, dwarf white Godetia ; w, Eschscholtzia carminea ; x, Silene pendula compacta alba ; y, Kaulfussia amelloides ; z, cream Nasturtium ; 1, crimson 56 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING Nasturtium ; 2, Eschsclioltzia tenuifolia ; 3, Platystemon californicus ; 4, Saponaria cala- brica ; 5, Sweet Alyssum ; 6, dwarf blue Cornflower ; 7, yellow miniature Nasturtium ; 8, Mesembryanthemum tricolor album ; 9, Silene pendula corapacta ; 10, Tom Thumb white Candytuft ; 11, blue Nemophila ; 12, cream Eschscholtzia ; , 13, Calandrinia umbel- lata ; 14, Kaulfussia Kermesina. A waved edge to a half-moon bed is shown by Fig 3. Fine clumps of pink Sweet Peas might occupy the centre line, and the rest of the ground be sown with blue Nemophila : this looks charming also when filled only with one plant, red Begonias for example. Fig. 5 shows four clumps of white Sweet Peas, a carpet of scarlet Tom Thumb FIG. 3 Nasturtium, and an Nasturtium. Fig. 4 planted thus : A, crim- B, white Phlox Drum- Candytuft • E, carmine I, F, G, J, H, and K, of turtium. Beds of Ever — If some evergreen beds early, the work of ing bedding plants later plified, and the efl'ect FIG. 4 edging row of cream gives a pattern if son Phlox Drummondi ; mondi ; D, white dwarf Candytuft ; also c, and gold Tom Thumb Nas- greens and Flowers. plants are put into the arranging the flower- on will be greatly sim- much improved. All beds in a garden should not be treated alike, of course, no matter what method is adopted, but some should be treated thus. Dividing lines among gay flowers show them off to perfection. Simplicity of design should be studied, and this is gained by not mixing too many flowers. Most of the charming evergreen dwarf plants have blossom, it is true ; but it is generally small, often white, or of short duration, and it is for their foliage they are valu- able. Fig. 1 shows a bed of pretty shape that has an edging belt of Saxifraga hypnoides ; this is vivid mossy green all the year round. Pink Begonias would look lovely behind it in summer. A square bed, «uch as Fig. 2, has an edging FIG. EVERGREENS AND FLOWERS 57 and inner square either of London Pride or the mossy Saxifrage just described. How easy it will be to fill the bare spaces effec- tively ever afterwards, whether with Geraniums in ]May, or bulbs or spring bedding subjects in autumn. If perpetual plants are preferred, Carnations and Violas would be shown up by these green lines of demarcation. Where beds are many and plants few, there is distinct advantage in dealing with some of the smaller beds according to the design of Fig. 3 (p. 58). The whole outer portion consists of Sedum kamtschati- cum variegatum, the Orange Stonecrop, a more important plant than FIG. 1 the old Yellow Stonecrop ; the centre round A remains the only space requiring taller plants, which might be followed by white Hyacinths. London Pride, other Saxifrages and Sedums, Thymes, or Arabis albida variegata might be used for the surrounding of other beds. A tine show is suggested by Fig. 4 (p. 58). The evergreen portion could be Ajuga osmafera, which has blue blossom from April to June, or London Pride would be a safe choice ; but Heucheras look well used in a large bed, as their leaves are very close growing and charm- ingly autumn tinted, though not strictly evergreen. The floral plants might be African Marigolds at a, and French Marigolds at c. The bed Fig. 2 could be filled thus, also bed Fig. 1, with French Mari- golds for the whole of A, and dot plants of the taller Marigolds at B. 58 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING A graceful bed is Fig. 5, in which lines of Saxifraga hypnoides, variegated Arabis, or Sedum acre, the Yellow Stonecrop, divide perhaps crimson from rose Begonias, or pink Geraniums and mauve Violas. This is a fair expedient, too, for separating two sorts of fancy Pansies. A round bed well edged in scallops is shown by Fig. 6 ; this edge can be of any small, evergreen foliage subject, but Sedum acre is excellent. A shrubby little golden variegated Euonymus is a good centrepiece, B ; the line c could be of the same plant as the scalloped edge, or else a green mossy Saxifrage for contrast. The flowers at A and D could be white Stocks and Begonia semperfiorens. A study of possible evergreen dwarf per- ennials will reveal other suitable plants, such as Erinus hirsutus, Cerastiums, Wulfenia car- inthiaca, 'Spergula pilifera, and Sedum album and brevifolium. Beds of various shape.— It is usual to plant standard Roses round lawns, each alone in a small round bed, but the effect is much prettier if the beds are not all round but of different shapes. Of the designs given here, Figs. 1, 3, 6, and 8 are most suitable for such beds, though they are also excellent for other and much larger ones^ either in grass FIG. 4 FIG. 5 BEDS OF VARIOUS SHAPE 59 or gravel. Really they are such simple shapes that it is surprising how rarely they are to be seen in gardens. FIG 6 FIG. 1 Beds with curved outlines are, of course, more difficult to peg out and cut satisfactorily than are those with straight lines and points, but any gardener can perform the work if he takes pains enough. It is best to use a number of small white pegs, and when accurate measurements have been made these should be placed at intervals of 2 or 3 inches until the design is known to be quite accurate. Often a final measuring will reveal inaccuracies, so when these have been rectified the cut- ting out of turf or the forking up of gravel should be done. These designs may any of them be set in a round or square of gravel or grass, or occupy positions in lawn corners. An original long bed is shown by Fig. 5 (p. 60). The pattern is admirable for a large lawn bed, since the grass mower can be taken all round it. Perhaps it looks FIC. 2 60 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING FIG. 3 best when filled with low plants, as then the shape of all the edges becomes visible from any side ; it makes an excellent Hyacinth bed, for instance. If extra long border beds are required along a lawn, or in the gravel of a terrace, this design can be lengthened out for any distance by adding more points. A bed to face spec- tators is one that is well suited to a front garden. Fig. 2 shows a shield shape that should have the pointed end to the roadway, though the broader top will not look too heavy as seen from the ver- andah or house win- dows. It is essentially a centrepiece bed too, for while looking hand- some in the middle of a grass plot it seems clumsy set at one side or towards a corner. Very fine carpet bed- ding designs can be tarried out in a shield bed, for there may be cross quarterings as in an heraldic shield ; in- deed, it is often desired, as a permissible floral trophy, to imitate a particular coat of arms, the flowers showing the required colours. This is a difficult though not impossible task for an amateur, all the qualities necessary being patience and accuracy. The shield shape on a coloiisal scale makes an admirable Hose bed. FIG. 4 BEDS OF VAKIOUS SHAPE 61 FIG. 6 Simplicity of outline is exhibited again by Fig. 7, which is just an improvement upon a square. Gardeners who have square beds of which they are tired should alter them ; the easiest change is to cut off the corners, making them oblique ; but the next change, shown here, is to add points to the centre of four sides. Directly this has been done the square bed is a thing of the past. A little consideration of other methods of altering squares may not be out of place here ; if, instead of the points, half circles had been added to the four sides, the bed would have be- come another shape altogether. If the points, instead of being made outside the outline, had been turned inwards, another design would have resulted. Eight points would^have surrounded the bed had the shape been as in Fig. 7, but with the corners extend- ed in a square. Extra narrow beds are sometimes the only ones that can be cut in strips of turf or spare spaces of gravel, and Fig. 4 shows a shape that looks better than an oblong ; it can equally well be planted with low growers or with taller ones. The corners of lawns are wasted unless beds are made in them, or pillar Roses, clumps of grass, specimen trees, shrubs, giant plants, rockeries, urns, or mounds fill them. Now there are some beds that ^ /\ \ \ %/ FIG. 7 ^ 62 GARDEIS PLANNING AND PLANTING look awkward when set in corners, others that are just suited to them ; a shield, oblong, or oval never looks well, but a diamond, with one point to the corner, fulfils every need, a round is tolerable, and so is a heart sha^De. Grouping beds successfully is a matter of some difficulty always, and rules are not likely to meet all cases ; still it may be taken for granted that when three beds lie together at the end of a lawn the centre one should be considerably larger than the others, that the side beds of the lawn may be longer, but should not be as wide as the end .ones, and that there should be a jwide margin left round every bed. Hound beds of annuals. — Annual fillings for beds can be of half hardy annuals, or of the two types in mixture, but the last is lesssatisfactory than either of the others, except when a bed is fully filled, all but a carpet or edge, with transplanted half hardies, and that surrounding only is sup- plied by a seed scattering. A clear explanation of the different methods will be best gathered from the following suggestions for planting a bed such as Fig. 1. Half-hardy annuals. These must all be planted out in May, from the seed boxes, frames, etc. a, Nicotiana affinis (white Tobacco Plant) ; B, plants of Chilian Beet ; c, purple Verbenas ; d, mauve dwarf Asters ; E, French Marigolds ; p, white Phlox Drummondi. All the dot plants, except the four Chilian Beets, could be dwarfer Beet, Ice Plants, or tufts of Iresine. Hardy annuals. These could be sown where required and thinned out, or else the chief ones might be planted out from seed boxes ; A, Phacelia tanacetifolia (a tall grower with lavender blue blossom heads) ; B, Zea japonica ; c, Eschscholtzia crocea ; D, Tom Thumb cream Nasturtium ; E, white Candytuft ; r, brown Nasturtiums, or deep crimson ones. All the dot plants in this case would be violet double Jacobaea or carmine Godetia. Two kinds of annuals in combination that would look well are FIG. 8 BEDS OF ANNUALS m the following : a, tall blue Corn- flowers, B, Nico- tiana affinis ; c, pale pink Phlox Driinimondi ; D, white dwarf As- ters ; E, golden Nasturtiums ; f, dwarf pink Corn- flowers. All the dot plants might be dwarf blue Cornflowers or Py- rethrum aureum. The mixture of planting out and sowing on the spot entails some diffi- culties ; moreover, it often happens that the sown i'lG. li. FIG. 1 seedlings suft'er from root inter- ference when the half hardy ones are put out in May. A better plan, therefore, un- less extreme care is taken, is to fill the bed with the following plants, and sow the carpet c -with white Sweet Alyssum (Kbniga m a r i t i m a) ; a, orange African Marigolds; b, lemon African Marigolds; D, French Marigolds ; E, scarlet Bego- nias ; F, yellow 64 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING Begonias. Dot plants all of Chilian Beet, except the edging waved row, which should be of crimson Iresine. so that the Begonias will not be hidden. A simple effective bed is suggested by Fig. 2 (p. 63). Here again all the pattern is marked out by dot plants, and Chilian Beet proves excel- lent for the cross marked a, and Iresine for the lines n. It suffices very well, however, to sow a Tom Thumb miniature crimson Nastur- tium, dark leaved, for these outer lines ; B can be white Stocks, c, rose Asters ; D, rose Stocks ; e, white Asters ; F, white Phlox Drummondi, g rose Phlox Drummondi ; H, carmine Stocks ; i, carmine dwarf Asters ; J, carmine dwarf Asters ; K, carmine Stocks ; L, white Phlox Drummondi ; m, rose Phlox Drummondi. This makes a rich coloured bed. All hardy annuals would fill this bed well thus, and could be sown on the spot ; a, dot plants, Zea japonica ; N, dot plants, golden Nasturtiums ; b, Eschscholtzia alba ; c, dwarf blue Corn- flowers ; t), Phacelia cainpanularia ; E, Eschscholtzia rosea ; F, Tom Thumb white Candytuft ; H, cream Nasturtium ; i. Cream Cups (Platystemon californicus) ; J, crimson Nasturtium ; K, Calliopsis Crimson King, dwarf ; L, cream Nasturtium ; M, Cream Cups. Hound and square flower beds are common in gardens, so the great demand is for uncommon or, at least, beautiful ways to plant them. There are always different tastes to suit, for one man loves a tangle of Poppies and grasses better than any design ; a second may prefer just a centre mass of one flower and an edge of another, and a third will chiefly admire a carpet bedding pattern. The best way to please visitors to the pleasure grounds is by having all the different kinds of bedding-out represented. A striking round bed will be one made like Fig. 1 (p. 66). This was designedjfor a large round on a lawn, and the edge was all to be formed of Violas of different named sorts. To plant them in rings would have needed more of each kind than was in possession, and even then the colours would have clashed, so this method was thought out, and looked charming when actually accomplished. At A was the white Viola Mrs. J. M Crae ; b, Maggie Currie, rose streaked purple ; c, Molly Pope, yellow ; D, Mrs. Chichester, white, flaked and bordered purple ; E, Maggie Clunas, primrose ; F, Princess Ida, rosy heliotrope ; g, The Mearns, plum edged white ; h, Ardwell Gem, yellow ; i, Accushla, white, edged purple ; J, William Neil, pink ; K, Crimson Bedder ; L, Primrose Dame ; m, Ithuriel, pale blue ; N, True Blue ; o, Bullion, gold ; r. Shamrock, white, shaded and 66 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING FIG. 1 edged with blue ; Q, ^liss A. Callan, lav- ender ; R, Mrs. T. W. II. Johnstone, black, violet, and mauve. The centre of the bed vk'as given up to pale pink Geraniums, which suit every col- our of Violas except that they rather kill the effect of William Neil, for which reason a yellow flower, such as Miniature Sun- flowers or Marguerite Feu d'Or, would have been a better choice. Of course, there is no need for each section of the border to show a different plant ; white and scarlet, cream and blue, pink and carmine, orange and white, mauve and pink alternately would be pretty, or the planting could be done all round in white, yellow, and orange, repeated again and again. A simple showy square bed is shown in Fig. 2, easy to peg out, and requiring only a few plants of a kind ; a might be scarlet Geranium ; B, salmon Geraniutn ; c, white Candytuft or Begonias ; D, yellow Calceolarias or Bego- nias, with the edge E of scarlet Tom Thumb Nasturtiums. If the dotted lines showing the l)attern are planted with Chilian iieet the eti'ect of the shape will be defined and its brilliance soft- ened. A|carpet bed could be made thus : A, red Begonia ; b, salmon J'egonia ; c, Echeveria secunda glauca ; D, Pyrethrum aureum ; E, Ccrastium tumentosum. V E .__-— -..^ / \ % C \ \ / f \ vY t D D / ' v ^; • / c / ^ \ ROUND AND SQUARE BEDS 67 A real pattern bed is that of Fig. 3, yet a soft and lovely appear- ance results when shaded colours are employed ; prettiest perhaps it is to have the groundwork A of scarlet, the portions B of salmon, and those c of cream, and if desired the whole of this can be done with Tom Thumb Nasturtiums. Another etiect would be to use a salmon carpet, with the design done in scarlet and terra-cotta crimson. I have seen a groundwork of Cerastium tomentosuni showing up well a centre design of salmon and yellow Begonias. A striking result can be gained in many ways ; in a small bed the pattern can all be done in royal blue Lobelia on the ground of Pyrethrum aureum, or '"*** A^ "> 1 1 '7 \ C ! *•, *•*■■ \ / g^ *^ / ^.-.•-■ !.'-— ~.^ B '\^ / D #' • ^\ "^^ > *-- ■' v_ _,•' y' ) .. ^— ' ''.•" / > c ,....-; ( c < 1 '. ""*'-x ) / 1 1 *\ B '''--;' '\^ / I C ', ' 1 — *' '■■"7 '. 'i / A ' ,>, \ (,•' ••• ^^ FIG. 3 the design in the Pyrethrum and the carpet of l)Iue. Still a different result is arrived at by outlining the pattern with coloured foliage ; a large bed might have Phacelia carapanularia, edged by Chilian Beet, on a carpet of clear yellow Nasturtium, or a design of deep rose and carmine Asters, edged by London Pride, on a carpet of white Viola. Elaborate Designs. — Flowers of elaborate star or other shapes are easier to fill efiectively than are plain rounds, squares, etc., so it is well to devote extra consideration and care to the latter, in order to show off the bedding plants to best advantage. Diamonds large or small look well planted as indicated by dots in 68 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING Figs. 6 and 7 (p. 7(i). The first might be of peach-coloured dwarf Asters, with yellow Marguerites for the largest plants, and Beet or Coleuses to form the ring in the middle. A very original and charming colour harmony will then result. A plan to carry out this pattern in a small bed would be to use pale pinkish mauve Violas, yellow Asters or cream Stocks for the eight "chief ])lants, with a ring^ of Iresine. The second diamond filling is for a ground of gold Violas and dot plants of white and crimson dwarf Asters ; the outer lines look best of the white. A plain oval bed, such as Fig. 4, may be scarlet Phlox Drummondi, with a centre oval of white Stocks and an edging line of either dwarf o o o ^ o oo oo ooO oo Oo Oo oo oo oo oo oo O OoOOOO o OOO FIG. 1 FIG. 2 white Asters or white Violas. In a giant bed the ground could be pink double Geraniums, the centre dot plants white Nicotianas, and the edging ones white Begonias. A bed all composed of dwarf blue Cornflower, with dot plants of the fern-leaved variety of Golden Feather, proved very pretty. Ordinary long-shaped beds, like Figs. 1 and 8, are generally most successful when most simply filled. The first is lovely when made with the variegated Sweet Alyssum and the pattern done with red Begonias. A giant bed could have a ground of purple Stocks or Asters and the pattern of white Marguerites. The second style of filling is well adapted for crimson scarlet Geraniums on a ground of (jrolden Feather, or can be beautifully composed of white Violas, with dot plants of orange Iceland Poppies or gold Calceolarias. Hound beds of any size can be filled on the simple plan of Fig. 5. If the ground ia of scarlet double Geraniums and the dot plants ELABORATE DESIGNS 69 palms of varying sizes, the largest for the middle cross, the effect will be tropically handsome. If the carpet of a tiny bed is of pale hhie Nemophila and the dot plants of dwarf royal blue Corn- flowers, quite a new scheme is visible. Larger round bed designs, be- cause demanding many more plants to make their pat- terns, are sug- gested by Figs. 2 and 9. Suppose a ground had been made of sown Mignonette of a dwarf kind, pale blue Asters might be inserted to form fig. 3 the double lines of the kind of cross, and the five larger plants could be of showy double crimson J,cnrlet Geraniums, to tone with the red in the Mignonette. Fig. 9 gives an idea for the employment of many different coloured varieties of one kind of ilower. If dwarf Asters were chosen, A could be blush ; B, yellow ; c, pale lilac ; D, carmine ; r, mauve ; g, cream ; and h, purple green foliage subject. Effective square beds are easy to plant according to Fig. 3. _ It is best to use two ground colours, for instance— yellow Calceolarias at FIG. 4 The dividing lines could be of Beet or a 70 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING A, white Candytuft, dwarf Asters, Begonias, or Violas at B ; then outline the design placed across by the crimson foliage of Beet. A rare and pretty filling consists of lemon Iceland Poppies at a, white FIG. 5 riG. 7 Violas at b, and orange African Marigolds for the dot plants forming the cross. Fig. 10 can be done with few plants, but the prettiest filling will be this one : a, white Viola ; b, gold Viola ; c, crimson Tom Thumb Lilliput Nasturtium. The centre dot plants, FIG. 8 FIG. 9 also those of the ring, should be purple Stocks, the edging row mauve Asters, with four tall purple Asters in the corners ; this arrangement proves to be most eflfective. A Basket Flower Bed The illustration on page 72 gives some idea how a bed cut on the lawn can be made to represent a basket, by raising the edge and forming a handle over the bed. When neatly done and established ELABORATE DESIGNS 71 it is pleasing, effective, and unique. The bed shown is 7 feet in diameter : the edging is raised 9 inches from the level of the turf, the handle in the centre being 28 inches from the surface of the bed. The raised edge is best made of wood, either plain and covered with virgin cork, or, better still, Larch or Fir parings, which can be pro- cured from the sawmills at a nominal cost. They are usually used for repairing fences, and are called by the sawyer slabs. Cut them c O O O O oooooooo Co QH , ,o oo o^ BQo ° o° A % o o o o o o o ^^o "^ ° o o O O Oq CO o o o ° o o O o o 0 o o o o o 0 o o o ° bO 0 0 o o o oooooooo FIG. 10 into lengths of 14 inches. They will also make short stakes to be driven into the ground around the bed 14 inches apart. To these posts screw or nail the lengths, and your edging is complete. See that the posts have a firm hold, so as to be able to support the soil in the raised bed. At each side of the bed a strong post will be needed to support the bough representing the handle of the basket. This is best made of iron about 1 inch in width. Cover this neatly with bark or cork, wrapped on with wire— raffia or twine will soon perish and court failure. Now that your edging and handle are fixed, fill the bed with good soil, adding some leaf mould or good short manure, and, should (he soil be clayey and heavy, a dash of sand. The soil may be raised A BASKET FLOWER BED 73 close to the top of the edging, just allowing sufficient depth to retain the water which the plants will require. There are numerous plants that can be used for the edge and handle, but to my mind nothing can excel what is used in the bed here illustrated, viz. the English Ivy. Plant thickly round the edge, using the longest and strongest plants for the handle. With fair treatment it grows and covers quickly ; it is also neat and effective. Yellow and variegated Ivies are also very pleasing. Canary Creepers over the handle, and the edging covered with Ground Ivy (Nepeta glechoma variegata) may also be used with success. The bed may be filled for the summer, or in autumn for spring flowering, with suitable plants according to the desire or taste of the owner. The subject of our sketch, which has been quite a success and much admired, is composed of the following plants : A ground- work of blue Forget-me-nots and double white Arabis — what a charming and useful plant the latter is for window boxes, rockeries, etc. And here let me say, I find cuttings inserted in the autumn where it is intended for them to bloom strike freely, stand the winter, and give better results than larger plants already rooted. Single Tulips, and red and white Due Van Thol, and Cottage Maid (pink) were freely planted amongst the groundwork. No matter what plants are used for the bed, it is essential that they are kept neat and trim, so that the bed may always have a bright and cheerful appearance. Flower Beds of One Colour A bed may be all one colour yet contain several kinds of flowers. So long as the tints are well matched the practice is an admirable one, because a variety of height and habit of growth adds to the grace of an arrangement. No trouble should be deemed excessive in well blending the bedding plants. Salmon pink flowers to combine are the beautiful Ivy-leaved Geranium H.M. The Queen, with the single Geranium Ian Maclaren and Phlox Drummondi New Dwarf Surprise ; the last has a white centre, is a delightful little compact plant, and the bed is certain to be a triumph. There is a salmon and white Comet Aster, also a salmon Queen Victoria Aster, 15 inches high, that can be recom- mended, also the Rose Dore Snapdragon ; Clarkia elegans Salmon Queen is of noted charm, so too is Dianthus Heddewigii Salmon Queen. Linaria triornithophora carnea is known to few gardens, 74 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING but is a really lovely, tall, thia-stemmed, myriad-blossomed plant. Flesh colour Perfection Stock, Sweet William Pink Beauty will also be found satisfactory. Deep purple-blue beds have a most uncommon appearance, and can be made with the exquisite Torenia Fournieri Princess Helfene, bedded out beneath deep blue Salpiglossis on a carpet of indigo Lobelia ; the Violas Max Kolb, Edina, and Archie Grant supply the shade, as also will Salvia pratensis Tenori, the climbing Convolvulus major, deep blue, and Browallia speciosa major, in such warm places as are fit for it. The colour is seen to perfection, of course, in many Delphiniums. Koyal blue always pleases when massed in a bed. Pretty Beds of Foliage Many of our best foliage plants blossom, of course, but their flowers are not large enough to be as showy as their leaves. Among a series of gay flower beds one bed of all foliage makes a charming and restful variation, or, if the garden owner especially appreciates subdued effects and harmonies, the foliage beds may be to the flower beds in the proportion of two to one. There is much forget- fulness of the ])lants that have noteworthy leaves, however, so the following list is ofl"ered. A.mbrosia mexicana &.marauthus Abutilou A r alias Indian Hemp Castor Oil Plant Snow in Summer Fishbone Thistle Fan Palm Centaurea candidissima Coleus Description Sage coloured, compact in growth, 1 ft. tall, aromatically perfumed hardy annual Melancholicus ruber, crimson, 1 ft. ; Princess of Wales, red, 3 ft. ; salicifolius, narrowest leaves of crimson and gold, 3 ft. ; tricolor, scarlet, gold and crimson, 2 ft. Abutilou Thompsonianum is the fine variegated foliage variety, very cheerful in apjiearauce, 5 ft. Several sorts, but the best is the palm -leaved Aralia Sieboldi, 3 ft. plants, bed out well Cannabis indica, 6 ft. , very handsome Kicinus zanzibarensis, 6 ft., immense foliage ; R. sanguineus, red in leaf and stem, 6 ft. Cerastium tomentosum, 6 in. ; C. Biebersteini, 7 in., silver perennial foliage Cliamaepeuce, half-hardy biennial, with beautiful green foliage, 3 ft. ; C. diacautha, leaves marked with white, and curiously spined, 2^ ft. Chamaerops humilis, the best outdoor palm Silver leaves, 2 ft. , perennial Great variety of combinations of red, crimson URNS AND BASKETS 75 Fillings for Urns and Baskets Garden baskets are so pretty that there should be more of them. A strip of fine meshed wire netting bent into a perfect round or oval, 12 inches high above ground and sunk two inches in the earth, will quickly give the outline. Paint this brown, fill up the space inside with drainage stuflF, preferably broken bricks, inverted turves, then good loam mixed with leaf mould and old manure, and the basket bed is ready. An improved eff"ect is gained by making a criss-cross fencing of natural branches round the outside of the wire, and also an arch to represent a handle. Charming urns can be bought in rustic style, or a lard bucket painted green and mounted on wooden legs is by no means to be despised. Suitable fillings for baskets and urns are suggested below. It is important to make the soil firm about the roots, otherwise growth will be weak and blossoms will be few. Tallest Plantar Plants Chief Plant Trailing Plants Piuk Tobacco Plants White Snapdragons Crimson Verbenas Hydrangeas White Petunias Ivy-leaved Geraniums Cannas G e u m and scarlet Begonia s Trailing Fuchsia Yellow Marguerites Gaillardias Gazanias Heliotrope. Standard if Gold and brown Calceo- Peach-coloured Ivy possible larias Genanium Datura, white Petunias Carmine Verbena Lobelia cardinalis Oak-leaved Geraniums and white Begonias Tradescantia zebrina Fuchsias, standard or Double scarlet Geraniums Fuchsia procumbens pyramid Rose Canuas Single rose Geraniums White Ivy-leaved Geranium Gold Cannas Salmon single Asters Saxifraga sarmentosa tricolor superba Lobelia cardinalis grandi- Cream Stocks Nepeta glechoma flora Orange African Marigold Perilla nankinensis and Orange Sun Rose orange Zinnia Helianthemum Zea japonica variegata Heliotrope Pink Sun Rose Coleuses Begonia semperflorens Oxalis tloribunda Nicotiana aiifiuis White and yellow Zinnias Musk White Phlox Gold Calceolaria St. John's Wort Salmon-cerise Phlox Brown Calceolaria Creeping Jenny Plumbago cajjeiisis Brown Calceolaria Pale blue Verbena Fraucoa ramosa Pink double Geranium Pink Verbena FLOWER ARRANGEMENTS 77 Flower Arrangements for Beds It is often the case that gardeners have decided what designs, or methods of planting, to carry out in different beds, but uncertain how best to combine jilants so as to gain the best effect, or employ to finest advantage the beautiful subjects at their conunand. For the benefit of these persons the following hints are offered. Tall Orange African Marigold Heliotrope Scarlet Geranium Variegated Maize Lemon African Marigold Palms Deep Pink Geranium Blue Cornflower Coreopsis tinctoria atro- sanguiuea, maroon crimson Lavatera trimestris rosea Love Lies Bleeding Tobacco Plant, white Apricot orange Abutilon Orange African Marigold Tall rose Asters Lemon African Marigold S tandard or pyramid Fuchsias Giant lavender blue Aster White Giant Comet Aster Blood red tall Aster Miniature Sunflower Medium Tall White Begonias Yellow Sweet Sultan Cineraria maritima Pink Ivy-leaved Geranium Nemesia strumosa atro- caerulea, blue Magenta Petunia White dwarf Ageratum Willow-leaved Beet African Marigold Legion of Honour; yellow, blotched with maroon Collinsia candidissima, white Dwarf blue Ageratum CaiTmne Stocks D i a n t h u s Heddewigii Purity, white Eschscholtzia mandarin Am ar an thus melancholi- cus ruber Dwarf Snapdragon Lemon Queen Scarlet dwarf Snapdragon Nemesia strumosa Sut- toni Orange Iceland Poppies Yellow Mignonette Phacelia campanularia Dxvarf Copper Nasturtium H.M. Stanley Mauve Viola Nasturtium Cloth of Gold; gold leaves, scarlet flowers Mesembryanthemum tri- color Viola Ardwell Gem, yellow Buff Phlox Drummondi Iresine, crimson foliage Blush Phlox Drummondi LobeHa Prima Donna, maroon crimson Silene pendula compacta Coreopsis Tom Thumb Crimson King White Viola Buff Phlox Drummondi Echeveria secunda glauca Mauve Viola Lemon Viola Echeveria secunda glauca Viola Duchess of Fife, edged blue Iresine Crimson Nasturtium Brown Nasturtium Some Handsome Beds of Sweet Peas Tiie rich and delicate colours of Sweet Peas can be mingled in beds in many delightful ways ; indeed it is impossible to describe 78 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING one quarter of the absolutely satisfying harmonies : this blossom is especially difficult to describe as to tint too, because many varieties contain so subtle a blend that they actually bridge over the dififerences, as it were, between colours that quarrel. The variety Mrs. Walter Wright is an example of this, for while the FIG. 1.— DESIGN FOR BED OP SWEET PEAS standards are bright mauve the wings are blue, but the latter are flushed with the same mauve. It is a sort that can be used admirably in combination with either blue or mauve selfs. Prince Edward of York has scarlet standards and deep rose wings, and may accompany either red or pink. A bed of fine pattern is shown by Fig. 1 : it was designed purposely for Sweet Peas, which are flowers that cannot be suc- cessfully shown off in ordinary pattern beds. The series of ringa forming the middle portion can easily be carried out in slightly SWEET PEA BEDS 79 different heights: any competent grower knows how to stop his plants in some portions of a bed, and how to stimulate and en- courage rampant growth of others, so as to produce a variation in height. In this bed A should be taller than B, and b than c. A pleasing selection of colours would be : a, carmine ; b, rose ; c, pale pink ; D, mauve ; and e, the pink and white t/Upid Pea. A bed all in blue and white could be made thus : A, indigo ; b, white ; c, deep blue ; d, azure ; e, Cupid white. One in purple mauve and primrose would be novel thus : A, deepest purple ; b, primrose ; c, mauve ; d, lilac ; e, primrose Cupid. It is possible, too, to use a great deal of white and only one colour ; bright pink and white, for example, or scarlet and white, which is yet more effective. A, white ; b, scarlet ; c, white ; D, scarlet ; E, white. This bed would prove remarkably showy, yet artistic, and would attract notice from a far distance. Growers who have a lot of different colours but not a great quantity of plants of either, might fill such a bed thus : A, purple maroon ; b, blue ; c, carmine ; d, rose ; E, white. Lines of Sweet Peas are needed to produce the correct patterns shown in the bed Fig. 2 : this looks very original, although its foundation is merely one of those oblong beds that are to FIG. 2.— DKSIGN FOR BED OF SWEET PEAS 80 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING be found in most gardens. The same design could be adapted to a square or diamond. It is pretty filled with all pale-coloured Sweet Peas; at a could be a mass of tall-growing white, at b, hedge-like lines of pale pink, at c, plentiful masses of mauve, at d, primrose, and at E, a pink yet paler than the variety before used, or one of the dainty striped or edged flowers that are all of delicate tints ; the corners f should be palest mauve, or else a bordered or flecked white or lemon, and the edging g, would be best of a white Cupid. Very striking proves the result of using a scarlet Pea for the c portion of this bed, also for the centre a, and Cupid Firefly for the edge G. At b should be white, also at d, while the corners e and F might be respectively orange-salmon and primrose-yellow. Another good colour arrangement is the following : a deep blue, B rose, c pale blue, D rose, e white, F primrose, and the edge of a pink Cupid. Original and attractive also will be a bed design in this style and planted thus : a maroon, b orange, c maroon, D primrose, £ salmon, F scarlet, G primrose. CHAPTER VIII Beautiful Borders and How to Plant Them The straight-edged border is far too prominent in gardens ; it would quickly disappear if gardeners realised the charm of borders with shaped edges. Not only do such borders look far prettier them- selves, but they show off flowers much better and tend to prevent that overcrowded appearance that is often seen in autumn. Scallops filled with dwarf plants give a light eff"ect to a background of massed taller subjects, for instance. Longer waves produce a somewhat simi- lar result, while more elaborately cut out borders give the gardener as it were a succession of small beds in which special varieties of low-growing plants may be shown to advantage, colours kept dis- tinct and the encroachment of stronger growths be prevented. Beau- tiful colour harmonies can be more easily arranged also. Fig. 1 shows one kind of scalloped border : of course scallops can be as large or small, as shallow or deeply cut, as seem advisable. Some- times one may see beautiful borders in which the scallops are so far cut back as almost to touch the fence or wall ; others may have a wide stretch of border behind the scalloped edge. In planting the border shown in Fig. 1 difterent eftects may readily be obtained : some might have a group of tall plants at each point a, and dwarf plants of similar shade in the scallop b. Suitable plants to combine are white Foxgloves and white Violas, orange Day Lilies and Calen- dulas, golden Sunflower and Violas. Other borders could show tall scarlet flowers with white scallops, or blue and yellow, violet and pale rose, etc. A third border might consist of Liliums of differ- ent sorts with various Violas ; a fourth might be large enough to accommodate a standard Ftose at each point a, with a foreground of Carnations and Viola edging ; a fifth could be carried out altogether in bedding plants, with tall foliage specimens at A. A waved border as shown by Fig. 2 is suitable for a wide her- baceous or shrubbery border edged by a strip of turf. If desired, it G 81 82 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING CO CO CQ CO CD CQ could be planted with tall subjects at a and dwarf ones at B, as sug- f,'ested for Fig. 1 ; but if the space is ample, a splendid effect is often to be gained by reversing this method. The foreground group of tall plants, in the centre of the edge of each wa,ve B only, will give BEAUTIFUL BORDER PLANTING 83 yit'n^MKiijfi ■■^^'lyTif't^ TUfr^mff'ij [c^i*fl'fK fu^U^ltPff ?<Trti>iA a n 1345') 4. 102 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING Surplus seedling plants will make up a charming border if put out in irregular groups as suggested by Fig. 2, and this prevents the overcrowding that is often so troublesome in sown borders. To combine colours agreeably plant as follows : a, white Nicotiana ; b, mauve Stock ; c, purple Stock ; d, pale pink Stock ; E, carmine Stock ; F, purple Aster ; G, white Phlox Drummondi ; H, rose Larkspur; i, \\\\\t& Candytuft; J, roseGodetia; K, Nicotiana Sanderae ; L, lemon Iceland Poppy : M, white Neraesia ; N, French Marigold Legion of Honour ; o, lemon French Marigold ; P, Phacelia tanacetifolia ; Q, deep crimson Godetia ; R, deep crimson Tom Thumb Nasturtium ; s, Eidensatrosanguinea ; t, cream Tom Thumb Nasturtium ; u, white Iceland Poppy ; v, miniature Sunflower ; w, white Dianthus; x, Tagetes signata pumila ; y, orange African Marigold ; z, orange Nasturtium ; 1, tall blue Cornflower ; 2, pale blue Lobelia; 3, apricot Phlox Drummondi; 4, yellow Viola; 5, lemon African Marigold ; 6, Salvia splendens Salmon Queen ; 7, deep blue Lobelia ; 8, salmon Phlox Drummondi. After the use of more white at this end of the border scarlet can then be intro- duced if desired. Less formal in appearance, but rather more difficult to space and mark out correctly, design Fig. 3 is admirable for dwarf plants— for example, Begonia semperflorens ; A, deep blue Lobelia ; B, pale blue Lobelia ; c, Begonia semperflorens magnifica, deep red ; D, B. s. lurainosa, red ; E, Lobelia Royal Purple ; F, white dwarf Sweet Alyssura ; g, Echeveria, and Mesembryanthemum pomerid- ianum, yellow, at H. On a large scale it could be planted with different varieties of Dahlias or Chrysanthemums, Sweet Peas or Geraniums in the centre spaces, white Asters or Stocks at G, and Pyrethrum aureum for the edge H. Bedding Out in Shady Positions Two of the most common, yet not the least handsome annuals, namely. Asters and Stocks, succeed quite well in a shady position, ])rovided the soil is not too poor. The chief point is to obtain strong, well-grown plants by planting time ; those that become draw^i under glass in tlie earlier stages of growth are useless even in a favourable position. Provided the situation is not too severely shaded. Tuberous Begonias may be planted early in June, with every pro.spect of a bright display resulting. A rich and not too heavy AN EFFECTIVE BANK 103 rooting medium is essential, and a dressing of good leaf mould forked in is very helpful. Occasional applications of weak manure water while in bloom will be advantageous. Fuchsias are quite at home in a shady position, and a well-grown standard Fuchsia, planted in con- junction with dwarfer-growing subjects, is attractive. White Mar- guerites do well planted out of pots in May, and under favourable conditions will flower till the frost comes. The same remarks apply to the so-called Blue Marguerite or Agathea, although it is a native of the Cape. Other plants that may be grown with a degree of success include Pansies, Violas, Phlox Drummondi, shrubby Calceolarias, Marigolds, and Nasturtiums or Tropaeolums. Thus it will be seen that there is no reason why beds on the north side of the house should be less attractive than others ; at the same time much credit attaches to the amateur who obtains a display under the above- mentioned conditions. Do not sow a carpet until all the plants of the bed have been put in ; then do it as carefully as possible, disturbing only the surface soil. Bear in mind that no plant can thrive without ample space ; tall Godetias, for example, need a foot of space each, and Violas should be 9 inches apart. Finish one bed thoroughly before starting another ; if the plants are insufficient, you can then take more. It is often necessary in gardening to rob Peter to pay Paul. The robbed bed may then be finished off with a few judicious savings. If a plant, such as a Geranium, has one rather bare, shabby side, turn that to the south, and it will quickly improve. A plant that leans to one side should, for similar reasons, be placed leaning to the north, then south warmth will stand it up again. An edging made of Pyrethrum aureum will set off many a bed, like a gold frame round a picture. Beds of yellow flowers may be similarly edged by Mossy Saxifrage, variegated Arabis, Sweet Woodruff, Oxalis corniculata, of bronze purple leaf and yellow bloom, Calvary Clover, or Iresine. An Effective Sauk and Flower Border. — The bank shown (p. 104) sloped at a convenient angle, rose to 4 feet high, with a flight of steps intervening about 30 yards long. Upon the terrace ran the border with a gravel path alongside, which was adjacent to the glass houses, and leading to the flower garden. The border was about 4 feet wide, planted as follows : The serpentine curves a a 104 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING were formed with a single row of silver leaf Geranium Madame Patti, and the width of each curve was 6 feet. The groundwork B was planted with Coleus Vers- chaffelti, with dot plants in centre at E, the latter being Cordylines and Acacia lopantha alternately. The angular spaces c were planted with Ageratum, and those at d were filled with Begonia semper- florens (dwarf variety). An edg- ing of Golden Feather Pyrethrura next to the ornamental tiling (as shown by dotted line) completed the border. The bank itself struck me as being novel. The whole of it was planted with Periwinkle and St. John's Wort mixed, with a few suitable ferns erecting themselves at irregular intervals to relieve the flat appearance. Planted thus we get two distinct effects — the Peri- winkle covering the bank with pretty blooms in the spring, whilst the St. John's Wort is dormant, then the latter raises itself above the Periwinkle and presents a lovely appearance with its yellow flowers. A Beautiful Summer Bor- der.— The distinguishing feature of this border is not only the simul- taneous flowering of the plants, but many of them are little known to gardeners, yet are of exceptional merit, as detailed in the following list. The plan is for a broad border in the open, flanked by walks whether of grass or gravel, or situated between a lawn and a walk. To render it suitable for a position against a wall, fence, or hedge, the tallest plants, now in iAV - ■> THE SPRING BORDER BEAUTIFUL 105 the middle, must be grouped chiefly at the back, the others being massed in the foresrround. Name Flea Bane Alpiue Piuk Moutbretia Madwort Evening Primrose Lupiu Goat's Rue Meadow Rue Alkanet Sage Knotweed Yarrow Description Inula superba, 3 ft. Extra large blooming, bright yellow Dianthus hybridus multiflorus. Brilliant rose, sweet- scented, continuous bloomer, 10 in. The variety Soleil Couchant is gold, and of dwarf habit, not exceeding 2 ft. Alyssum argenteum, yellow, 9 in. Unlike other kinds, it continues flowering throughout summer Oenothera pumila, 9 in. A miniature yellow bloomer Lupinus Douglasii, 2 ft. Spikes of mingled blue and white blossoms Galega bicolor Hartlandi, 5 ft. An exquisite shade of lilac : blooms for three nionths Thallctrum Pendleri, H ft. Excellent fern-like foliage and lavender blossom Anchusa italica Opal, is a special pale blue variety, 3 ft. Salvia azurea grandiflora, produces closely covered sprays of pale blue blossom ; begins in July in sunshine, 2 ft. Polygonum Sieboldi. Immense handsome leaves and white florescence, 3 ft. Achillea Huteri, 6 in. Silver leaves and white blossom The Spring Border Beautiful. — The spring quarter, ranging from the fourth week of March to the end of June, gives in- numerable lovely flowers to the garden, so that the spring border may be, perhaps, largest of all. True, there are no Hollyhocks, Sunflowers, and Phloxes, but Delphiniums, Oriental Poppies, and Paeonies can be had in abundance, together with such splendid flowering shrubs as Spiraea, Deutzia,Weigela, and Escallonia. Perhaps the most popular colours among Oriental Poppies are scarlet and orange vermilion ; there remain pale pink, crimson, carmine purple, salmon, rosy lilac, and Llush ; double and single Paeonies are obtainable in wondrous shades, and Delphiniums of indigo and purple are fine, while the blue varieties differently mingled with rose, violet, white, or bronze, have a quite original effect from that of the self blues. Doronicums are included in the winter border plan, because they begin to flower so early, before the spring season sets in ac- cording to the calendar ; but they blossom just as freely throughout the months of April and May. Columbines are of infinite service in a border, on account of their perfect grace and foliage, and many more sorts should be planted where there is room. Lupines, in new 106 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING named varieties, are of exquisite sliadss of rose and white Tansies, Violas, Primroses, Polyantliuses, and Pinks are suitable. Other • ieums than the double red sort chosen ought to be included ; they THE AUTUMN BORDER BEAUTIFUL 107 make a charming massed group of scarlet, orange, and yellow, and keep on blossoming. Then there are, of course, German Iris, some of the grandest of flowers ever known, with a wonderful diversity of hue. Snapdragons must be mentioned, and the Sweet William, which proves constant in most borders where it has once revelled. In addition to plants named there should be lavish supplies of Xarcissi, which are some of the sweetest occupants of the April and May garden : Darwin and Cottage Tulips prove showy when massed, while many Alliums, Leucojura, and Scillas are of inestimable merit. Lastly, there are Lilies : the ^ladonna Lily generally blooms in June, though late seasons may not bring it out until July, and it is but one of the early birds : the Cottager's Orange Lily (croceum) and the vermilion Lilium pomponium, the purple-spotted orange Lilium Roezli, and the cerise, crimson, and red-spotted Liliums umbellatum being others that should on no account be neglected. The Border Beautiful in Autumn.— The autumn, according to the calendar, lasts from September 23rd to December 23rd ; and now that our summers are cooler than of old. fine weather is often enjoyed, with a moderate temperature, during almost all that period. A border, if well planted, should therefore remain a delight and full of beauty almost until Christmas. Hich, deeply dug soil is the first necessity, away from tall trees. The plan given here is for a border backed by a fence, wall, trellis, or railing, but a magnificent wide border in the open garden could be filled in the same style, by repeating all the plants except the back row, on the other side of that row. Rustic Poles are recommended for the few climbers used : these can be simply poles of stripped Oak, or of Larch or Birch with the ornamental bark left on ; they can consist of straight poles only, set near one another, or may be latticed between irregularly by smaller branches : the latter method is a great help to climbers. There are innumerable other plants that could be thus employed : Passion Flowers keep their beautiful fruits for a long time during autumn ; Crataegus Pyracantha, the Fire Thorn, if given some support, creates a fine display of red berries, and the rugosa, or other Briar Rose, is admirable for the same reason. Clematises of the Jack- manni and lanuginosa types are often in full glory during October and November, but space in this plan has only permitted the ordinary purple Jackmanni to be shown. Climbing Roses are 108 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING of course, proverbially late bloomers, the good old Gloire de Dijon and its offspring especially. Fine foliage shrubs are always a good addition to the background, or centre height of a border : there is the Golden Elder, also Golden Privet, Jap- anese Maples that show pink, cream, and yellow in their leaves, and the silver variegat- ed Acer Negundo variegatum, a small tree the foliage of which is always in motion. Lovers of the Hydrangea will be aware that this lovely hardy shrub blooms often during October, so may well be in- cluded in this border. The best possible plants should always be obtained when making a herbaceous collection, since the first ex- pense is also the last, and it is even possible to work iip a stock of surplus plants from them, when division becomes advisable, which stock local florists are often willing to buy. The late - blooming Phloxes mentioned, for example, are not costly, but represent the Phlox at its best : Coqueli- cot is the very brightest scar- let known, Lord Rayleigh the nearest approach to a blue. Snapdragons, again, are repre- sented here only by dwarf kinds, but the medium tall and giant sorts give a splen- THE WINTER BORDER BEAUTIFUL 109 did autumn florescence of crimson, scarlet rose, 'orange, lemon or white. Japanese Anemones continue blooming until frost cuts them off". It is advisable to purchase all the named varieties in the market, since all are charming, and, when possible, clumps should be ordered rather than single roots, as a speedy show is thereby ensured. Pentstemons are as late blossoming. Care must be taken to order only from some florist who catalogues named varieties. Carmine and crimson, rose and mauve appear in many of the flowers, while salmon, cerise, and scarlet are in others. Pampas Grass gives a flne autumn effect in a border, especially when rising out of crimson and gold Chrysanthemums, of which October and November bloomers a great feature should be made. In sheltered sunny gardens there is every probability that December Chrysanthemums would be able to open, but many of those recom- mended for November blossom would, in any case, be in full glory during the greater part of the last month of the year. Other latest flowers are the tall rose and mauve Michael- mas Daisies, and many of the perennial Sunflowers, which simply go on until the frost kills them. The crimson Kaffir Lily, or flag, Schizostylis coccinea, which does not begin until November, ought to be represented at intervals along all the border. Primroses and Polyanthuses are frequently gay in autumn, so too are Pansies. Lastly, evergreen plants are of distinct value : Thymes, Saxifrages, Sedums, Hart's-tongue Ferns, Arabis, Iberis sempervirens, are only examples of these. Autumn-blooming perennials require encourag- ing by an October mulch of old manure, must have dead flowers quickly removed, and be tied and staked as a protection from gales. The Winter Border Beautiful. — During the winter quarter, reaching from December 23rd to March 21st, we are taught to appre- ciate the value of evergreen shrubs and plants. True, there may be some late Chrysanthemums, even a stray Sunflower or Pentstemon bloom still visible, but what can now rival the sunshine-imitation of a fine bush or group of golden Privet ? It is well to place this shrub in the central portion of the winter border, massing around it any of the winter-flowering Irises that we may care to buy. In the plan given Crown Imperials are placed in front of the Privet, which makes a show long ere they are up, and afterwards serves as a back- ground. Close by is Corse, that often delights the eye with golden branches in December and January ; also the yellow Jasmine, that is 110 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING our truest of all winter blossoms. Finally the Crown Imperials are carpeted by Yellow Aconite. Daphne mezereum is not known as it should be ; it would be worth cultivating for its scent alone, but its blossom, closely furled round leafless branches, is one of the very fairest that February can claim. The yellow Daphne is variable as to time of flowering. Pyrus japonica is obtainable in blush-white, as well as in the red and rose provided in the plan, and it never looks better than when irregularly trained against a trellis formed of lichened branches. The Fire Thorn does better nailed against a fence. If the border is backed by fence or wall, and faces south, as it should do, the climbing Winter Sweet (Chimonanthus fragrans) should give quaint, brownish, sweet- scented blossoms during December, while pendent purple trusses should show on that unfamiliar climber Lardizabala biternata. Prob- ably Lonicera fragrantissima will consent also to delight visitors by its perfumed white blooms, so fit for sprays and buttonholes. There is a Heath, Erica carnea, flesh-coloured, and over a foot tall, that begins in February ; the Gladwin Iris will not be in blossom, but will be richly adorned by its red-seeded fruits ; Winter Heliotrope (Petasites fragrans) will send up palest lilac sprays of delicious fragrance, that look perfect arranged with Christmas Roses, and the azure blue of the Algerian Iris should be visible. February again ushers in the Megasea's cheerful pink spikes, that harmonise with the rose and blue Hepaticas ; more elegant still is the white Corfu Lily. At the back of the border a small tree, Prunus Pissardi, will give ruby foliage, and white blossom set along crimson stems ; the old favourite Berberry is sure to show warm leaf tints. A front-row low edging will serve to show off some small Saxifrages and Seduras : in addition to these evergreens we may use variegated Arabis and Aubrietia, mingling Crocuses, Snowdrops, and blue Scilla and Chionodoxa among them. CHAPTER IX Helpful Hints on Colour Inexperienced gardeners are often in doubt how to arrange the plants in borders so as to introduce all the bright colours into a limited space without creating a garish effect. Of course, it can always be successfully achieved by planting large masses of foliage subjects or white bloomers between the others, but for this there is not always room. The accompanying figures suggest how a harmony can be gained without any waste of ground. Cream, lemon, and gold have a wonderful power of soften- ing violent contrasts, a fact which Japanese garden artists know and make fine use of. In Fig. I royal blue, which is the colour of the Cornflower, Gentian, and bedding Lobelia, also of the stately Delphinium, is the centre mass of a border, while the antagonistic shades of lavender and violet are led up to by inter- mediate hues. By lilac is meant the tint of the old-fashioned Sweet Rocket, or of many a Michaelmas Daisy. When this is separated by cream and gold from royal blue, the appearance is soft and pleasing. Pink is the natural outcome of lilac ; this deepens into carmine, and wherever carmine looks well lavender and violet can follow. On the other side of the border royal blue is judiciously separated from azure blue, with which it generally clashes, and by use of terra-cotta, the hue of many bronze red Chrysanthemums, blush or pale pink becomes possible. Scarlet is difB.cult to place, because so many flowers are pink, carmine, mauve, or Ipurple ; but with plenty of cream, yellow, orange, or flesh it is always pleasing, and the shades of blue and violet, or indigo purple, are well shown off by it. In one end of the border shown in Fig. 2 royal blue and scarlet are actually juxtaposed, but if the bronze foliage, the cream, and the gold are placed also as marked there will be no crude effect. Rodger's Bronze Leaf, or Rodgersia podopliylla, is one of the loveliest and most useful of hardy perennials, and will thrive at the back of 112 HELPFUL HINTS OX COLOUR 113 most borders ; its palmate foliage is bronze, its florescence cream, and it grows more than 3 feet high. Bocconia cordata is a beautiful cream-coloured flower. There are also cream Phloxes, Paeonies, Spiraeas, Violas, Carnations, and Chrysanthemums. I 114 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING Violet and purple should be clearly understood. The first is the blue purple of the ordinary Violet, of Campanula glomerata, the common Iris gerraanica, and countless Pansies and Violas ; the latter is the red purple of the Stock, of the Violet named Admiral Avellan, and of purple Tulips. Violet is lavender in its youth, while purple is mauve in childhood ; to combine a mauve Hower with a violet, or a lavender vi'ith a purple, is to create a di-cord. If both these shades have to be placed near each other in a border there is a means of remedying their rivalry — place a vivid mass of orange and gold between them. Golden scarlet and rose pink can be rendered tolerable together if a quantity of gold blossom separates them. The efTect of this may be tried by planting scarlet Geums, then gold Coreopsis, and Chrysanthemums for succession, around some rose-pink late Phloxes. The result will not be admirable, but it will not pain the eye, and seen from a short distance the whole piece of border will look well. Plants with, much foliage and but little white blossom, such as the Thalictrums, Spiraeas, Astilbes, etc., are exceedingly useful for separating colours in borders, but they are not sufficiently showy to make two opposing colours blend as pale lemon yellow or deep gold can do. Fortunately there are vast numbers of yellow flowers that bloom profusely during the three floral seasons of spring, summer, and autumn. Crimson and rose in the garden.— The very finest setting for crimson and rose-pink flowers in a bed, border, or shrubbery is undoubtedly a close background of gold-variegated foliage, such as that offered by the variegated Euonymus, with side masses of pure white flowers. The explanation of this is that the yellow variegation supplies the want of yellow in rose and crimson, a want of which the eye is conscious although the brain has not expressed the desire in thought. Salmon pink is more pleasing when alone, just because it contains in itself the necessary yellow. Perhaps it is because yellow is the hue of sunshine that we crave for it unconsciously. A group of Delphiniums on a lawn is charming, but if there is a bright gravel path near, or a bed of yellow or apricot flowers, the eftect is infinitely improved. Carmine Phloxes in a border against a grey wall or fence are positively unpleasing unless there are also some cream or, better still, lemon-yellow flowers, or foliage that pre- sents the same effect. Rose pink and gold can be safely mingled and are certain to delight the eye, but they must be far away from HELPFUL HINTS ON COLOUR 115 scarlet flowers or buildings, and the gold should have no tint of orange. In a perennial bed or border rose-pink Hybrid Pyrethrums look delightful placed beside Trollius europaeus, A(iuilegia chrys- antha, and lemon Iceland Poppies ; rose Hollyhocks are grand rising out of clusters of rose Phloxes, dwarf Sunflowers, Golden Piods and Viola Ardwell Gem. Another year's bedding-cut will include one combination of Calceolarias and pink Ivy-leaved or double rose Geraniums. Many shades of crimson are shown by flowers and leaves : there is the copper hue of the Copper Beech and various Chrysanthe- mums, the maroon of the single Hollyhock, the magenta of crimson Bromptou Stocks, the claret of Hedera Helix purpurea, or Ivy, the dull purple crimson of Malope grandiflora, the handsome herbaceous Mallow-wort, the true carmine of the Snapdragon, Antirrhinum carmineum, and the perfect red crimson of Clove Carnations. Great care must be taken not to grow different crimsons side by side, as though all are beautiful in themselves, in company they are discordant. That much- abused hue magenta is the deepest shade of brilliant rose pink, so is best associated with it ; but cream is the other colour that suits it excellently, as does also pale mauve or lavender. !Many so-called white flowers have the appearance of cream, notably Spiraeas, also all the white flowers that have very visible golden centres, such as Japanese Anemones ; silver foliage, like that of Cerastlum tomentosum, Stachys lanata, and the grey ot Pinks and Carnations, serves to intensify the brilliance of all pinks and crimsons. Vivid rose and carmine on a green lawn are permissible, but somewhat crude or violent ; if, however, copper foliage appears as a background, or numbers of such crimson-leaved plants as Beet are among them, the result will be artistic in the extreme. Crimson-flowering climbers look best on a cream-white house ; if placed on a grey house there should be clear yellow and cream- white roses also, and it is an excellent plan to allow a Virginian Creeper to make the foundation for the crimson. The popular Crimson llambler never looks more pleasing than when it is accompanied by a yellow or cream variegated Ivy, or has shrubs of Golden Privet near. Scarlet in Borders.— It has been claimed for scarlet that no other colour is (juite as effective in a border, and, whether this be true or not, there is certainly a value about red in a land or garden 116 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING scene that is well known to artists. In order to intensify the effect of scarlet it should be surrounded by white flowers, and, under those circumstances, will be visible across many acres. A bank summit planted with scarlet Phloxes, white Phloxes, and white Stocks and Violas for a foreground, will be marvellously showy. The Stocks should be of the Ten Week species, one of the most intensely white of all flowers. Vermilion scarlet Oriental Poppies can supply an earlier summer display, when white bedding Pansies will be their best accompaniment. White Achilleas bloom at the same time, so do white Aquilegias, but neither of these is efl'ective at a distance, though very charming. White and green foliage shrubs and trees are admirable for a background to red ; Acer negundo variegatum, the Japanese Maple, is especially excellent. Scarlet and yellow are often accused of being too gaudy in combination, but in truth they tone well one with the other, as will be seen if orange, which partakes of the nature of each, is placed between them. A stretch of lemon yellow, represented by Viola Ardwell Gem and lemon Iceland Poppies, can be followed by the deeper gold Viola A. F. Rowberry and gold Calceolarias ; then may come African Marigolds of orange colouring, after which the vermilion of the Corn Poppy will prove but a deeper shade. If gold is placed side by side with a scarlet Phlox, without any intermediate shade, however, the result is crude. The difference between vermilion and scarlet is not sufficiently recognised : the Oriental Poppy is the best example of the former, the scarlet perennial Phlox of the latter ; the first has a great deal of yellow in its tint, while the second inclines towards a crimson. There are both colours obtainable in Tulips, the Van Thol red being vermilion, that of Vesuvius scarlet ; it is also seen in Geraniums and many other flowers. These hues should never be mixed. Scarlet becomes a crimson when its shade is deepened, but it is a brown crimson, a rich sort of terra-cotta that is not often seen in blossoms, not the usual carmine crimson : Nasturtiums offer just this shade, however. It is possible to lead from scarlet to carmine crimson in a border, but only by extreme care. I should plant a quantity of a brown flower, such as the brown Calceolaria, backed by young Copper Beeches, then introduce the carmine crimson of the Phlox. By the by, there are many early Chrysanthemums of a delightful sliade of brown crimson or deep terra-cotta, and the single maroon Hollyhock will also tone. HELPFUL HINTS ON COLOUR ll? Scarlet and pale blue are so pretty together that it is sur- prising they are not more used during summer. In spring we often see red Tulips carpeted by Myosotis, but Geraniums and azure-blue Violas would prove as successful. Vermilion of the orange shade is lovely with indigo blue, a colour that is given first by some Hyacinths and then by some Delphiniums. Both types of sc;irlet are admissible with royal blue, especially when the white is introduced that softens the display of these in the national flag. Other colours to use with scarlet are lavender, either deep or in its paler form of lilac, salmon pink, which is, in artist's phraseology, merely scarlet thinned out as a pale wash, or mixed with white pigment and cream. Perhaps the last is most meritorious of all, and black shows off the combination. A bed of scarlet Geraniums, cream Violas, and black bedding Pansies, or a border effect of scarlet Lychnis, cream Violas and Tiarella cordi- folia, with black Pansies, can be strongly recommended. Violet and Purple in Borders. — Take a tube of ultramarine paint, mix some with some crimson lake, and all the shades of violet and purple, except the very deepest, can be gained, according as either the blue or the crimson predominates. To secure the darkest shades either indigo or black must be incorporated. Mix the bhie and the crimson mixture with white, and all the shades of mauve and lavender are visible. It is most useful for a gardener to have some knowledge of pigments and experiment with them. Blue purple and red purple must never be placed together, though it is quite possible to lead from one to the other in a border by massing carmine between them. Similarly lavender, which is the paler shade of blue purple, commonly called violet, and mauve, which is the paler shade of red purple, must never be combined, though they can be used close together if rose pink intervenes. Lavender is the tint of the Lavender blossom ; mauve is that of the Parma Violet, the mauve or peach Chrysanthemum, and Ten Week Stock. Violet and gold are always charming together, even orange may be well used, and cream or blush, pale pink, or pale rose are all good companions. Violet is extra well shown up by silver or variegated foliage, for which reason variegated Arabis, silver Cerastium or Pinks are suitable carjiets for Campanula glomerata and the ordinary German Iris. Violet can never be harmoniously used with blue, although it contains lilue in its composition. Purple and pale blue are remarkably charming, however, for which reason purple Tulips are so often given a groundwork of Myosotis : the blue must be of this light azure shade, never of the ROSES AND FLOWKll BOKDEKS KOUM) ABOUT TUK UOUSB HELPFUL HINTS ON COLOUR 119 lavender tinge that appears in the Viola Blue Gown. Purple Pansies and Columbines are suited by Myosotis ; the former, or Violas of the bedding species, will continue the display with azure-blue Delphi- niums : further effects can be gained with purple Michaelmas Daisies, but at that late time of year azure-blue flowers are rare, though Tradescantia caerulea is good if not showy. Purple and lemon yellow will always please, but there must be no deep gold inclining to orange employed. Purple flowers may well rise from a ground of Pyrethrum aureum, which is not as much planted for border carpets as it deserves. The yellow Stone- crop and Alyssum saxatile are also very useful, Avhile the same clear shade is abundantly provided later by Chrysanthemums ; silver foliage, or gold-variegated for preference, will always show up purples. Mauve is singularly pretty with pale pink, which is an argument in favour of carpeted borders of pink Koses with a Viola of this shade ; it is also satisfactory, though not as striking, with deep rose and carmine, but should never be allowed near salmon j)ink, which is suited by lavender. The deepest kind of purple is maroon or claret ; after this has appeared in a border there should be a stretch of yellow, cream, white, or variegated shrubs and carpet to correspond, after which almost any pale colour can be safely intro- duced. Purple and snow white are a fine contrast. A Cool July Garden Sufficient attention is not paid to the warmth of some colour schemes and the coolness of others ; our gardens might be wonder- fully diversified if we paid more notice to these matters. For example, a great stretch of scarlet in May, which may be gained by planting a whole plot, and a border or bank or two with Oriental Poppies to follow late tulips, is cheering in effect indeed, probably because it suggests the gorgeous hot hues for which summer is renowned ; a similar display all of vermilion flowers, unrelieved by white, lavender, silver-grey foliage or light blue, is, on the contrary, displeasing in July and August, when the vision craves cool colours as a refreshment, just as the palate craves cool food and drink. A white garden is always charming if built up of the white blooms of late summer, with silvery-leaved shrubs and carpet plants, yet when fierce sunshine is over all there will be a dazzling appear- 120 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING ance ; if pale-blue or lavender-blue flowers are mingled with the white ones the result is more soothing and quite as attractive. The many Sweet Peas of this shade, combined with white ones, make up the chief show in a garden of this description that I know, but there are vast quantities of white Lupins, Chrysanthemum maximum, Roses, Lilies, Carnations, Achilleas, Japanese Anemones, and Violas, while the pallid blues of Scabiosa caucasica, Jacob's Ladder, Pansies, Cam- panulas, and Michaelmas Daisies add considerably to the scene. White Hollyhocks and Dahlias, Galega officinalis, are there too. A garden within a garden was once planted and designed ex- pressly to afford a cool retreat in July and August ; the 60 by 40 feet of ground was intersected by paths paved with flagstones and edged by almost white stones ; here and there groups of evergreen shrubs were employed to hide the turns of the walks and what lay beyond, in other places great pot Eucalyptuses were bedded out, with a fore- ground of Palms, to show up white-flowering perennials and annuals. A couple of Silver Birches grew against a surrounding hedge ol Privet, white rugosa Roses, Cistus ladaniferus and Syringa. The arches were of Silver Birch wood with the bark on, and were covered by white and the palest-tinted Roses and Clematises. A pretty little artificial stream ran alongside the chief walk, hidden from it at places by Giant Reeds, Meadow Sweets, and Bamboos, but where visible showed banks covered by dwarf white-flowering plants, and towered over by Ox-eye Daisies and attractive white Poppies. A snow- white summer-house nestled Avithin a bower of Traveller's Joy and white Rambler Roses. The use of stone in a July garden is of great advantage ; graceful vases, low walls along terraces, flagstone walks, steps lead- ing up or down, all are pleasant to look upon, off'ering cool shades among the bright summer blossoms. In the winter garden we value our red brick or scarlet tiled paths, with edging to correspond, but they almost o8"end the eye under scorching sunshine. I have seen a small garden, filled with well-grown flowers, quite ruined in effect by having a yellow canvas tent put upon the lawn, and many of the scarlet-striped tent materials introduce quite a discord. A stone- l:)uilt summer-house is not often seen, but might be a really artistic ornament ; within its cavelike recess there would be perfect shelter from heat which cannot be gained within wooden or canvas walls. Chmbers could be grown over as much as wished, if a few staples were driven into the stone, and wires stretched across. CHAPTER X Rock, Wall, and Water Gardens In considering, first of all, the material to be used for such a rockery, it is desirable to take into consideration the most readily obtainable stone material. Nearly all our counties have some particular stone or slag peculiar to them, and where this is brought into use a much more natural appearance is obtained, and it is at the same time the least expensive. The flint stones from the chalk and marl pits, where they can be had, form excellent rockwork, and so, of course, do the different spars of Devonshire and Derbyshire ; but, in a general way, for rockeries which are intended to be covered with plants, any stone material may be made use of, according to the tastes, requirements, and necessities of the constructor. Although sandstone is usually regarded as the best stone to use in rock gardens, almost any stone may be utilised provided it is not too soft and liable in a few years to crumble away. When the ques- tion of expense has to be studied, one has perforce to use the cheapest stone obtainable in the neighbourhood. Even the larger stones of gravel pits may be used for this purpose, and, for want of anything better, the burnt clay or spoilt bricks from brickyards, and clinker from the smiths' furnaces, are not to be rejected. The seashore, too, provides a wide field along the coast, where material in plenty can be secured, out of which a little taste and good judgment will soon arrange something both agreeable to the eye and useful as a bed for many different classes of plants. As a rule, a rockery should never be raised on grass, but on gravel or on a concrete foundation. Rockwork forms a very suitable skirting round a pond or a water tank, and makes an effective addition to a gravel patch, such as a carriage drive, which, without such rockery, would have nothing to relieve its bareness. A rockery may be constructed by u^ing the roots of old trees piled one upon another as a basis, and covered with a good coating of loam ; an 121 122 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING excellent plan, however, when tree roots are used, is, in all suitable places, to wedge in pieces of turf, grass side downwards, to aid in making the foundations of *he structure less likely to fall to pieces. A rock garden should be in an open position away from tall- growing trees, as not only do many plants fail in a shady situation, but the roots of the trees would soon impoverish the soil. The usual idea of a rockery is often a bank on which stones are groui^ed in irregular fashion, with plants dotted here and there. This wrong impression is no doubt due to the fact that Alpine plants are gener- ally found at high elevations on hills and mountain sides. They grow in such positions, however, because the trees and other coarser vegetation will not allow them to thrive at lower elevations. In making a rock garden the mounds of soil, not the stones, must be placed in position first. The bases of the stones should as far as possible rise out of the soil, the crevices between the stones or rocks being filled with soil, and Alpine plants put in to hide the seams where visible. If mounds of soil are used to give height and effect to the garden any mould available may be used, but on the top of this a foot or fifteen inches of good soil should be placed, most of this being turfy soil, and a small portion peat if it is desired to grow Heaths or other peat-loving subjects. When planting, the special requirements of certain plants must be considered, and sand, leaf mould, or the small pieces of rock left over may be worked amongst the soil immediately surrounding their roots. Having put on the loam to the desired depth, the stones may be built up in any way that good taste suggests, spaces with more or less surface being left, which will in this way form beds for the different plants. The spring of the year .io undoubtedly the best time to construct a rockery, for the reason that the soil will have time to settle and the stones to become fixed in their positions before the next winter's frost. Although it is not advisable to keep the tall, fast-growing rock plants and the smallest Alpines altogether distinct and separate, they must not be too freely intermixed, or the former will soon spoil the latter. Give the choicer," and smaller-growing plants the best positions. When the rockery is once established it will be necessary every year to look carefully over the plants and cut out any pieces of the common kinds that are encroaching on the ground .set aside for the choicer jilants. If the extent of the ground permits of their use, a few dwarf I'ines and Japanese Maples maybe used ; the low-growing Brooms, notably Cytisus Kewensis, C ]ieani, C. purpureus, and C. Ardoini, add beauty and variety to the garden. ROCK AND WATER GARDENS 123 Hardy ferns are charming for semi-shady positions, the black Spleen- wort (Aspleniura Adiantum nigrum), the common Polypody (Poly- podium vulgare), the Oak Fern (P. Dryopteris), the Beech Fern (P. Phegopteris), and the common Hartstongue (Scolopendrium vulgare), of which there are numerous crested varieties, are a few of the most interesting. There are single white, double, and variegated Rock Cresses (Arabis albida), the Blue Rock Cress (Aubrietia) in many shades of colour ; the Moss Pink (Phlox subulata) P. divaricata, P. canadensis, P. Laphami, the Creeping Pink (P. reptans) ; the Madworts (Alyssuni saxatile), golden yellow, and the pale yellow variety citrina : the evergreen Candytufts (Iberis sempervirens and I. gibraltarica), both with white flowers. Amongst the Rockfoils or Saxifragas alone there is sufficient material to plant a rock garden. A few of the best known are S. cotyledon and the variety pyramidalis, S. longi- folia, S. Wallace], S. muscoides, and its varieties atropurpurea and Ehei. Suitable also are S. sarmentosa, commonly known as Mother of Thousands owing to the freedom with which it surrounds itself with young plants ; London Pride (S. umbrosa) and S. crassifolia, a plant with large leathery leaves and rosy-lilac blossoms. A very pretty group of rock plants are the Pinks or Dianthuses ; these are best represented by the Cheddar Pink (D. caesius), the Maiden Pink (D. deltoides), and the Rock Pink (D. petraeus). Yellow Flax (Linum arboreum) should also be included. The Primroses or Primulas may be planted largely on a rockery, some requiring open sunny positions, while others thrive best in semi-shade. P. capitata, P. cortusoides, P. denticulata, P. farinosa, P. japonica, P. marginata, and P. nivalis, the double white, sulphur, and lilac Primroses, and Alpine Auriculas are at home in the rockery. How to Make and Plant a "Water Garden In country and occasionally in suburban districts a pond or small running stream is sometimes available, where with very little trouble a water garden may be formed. I have in mind several gardens bounded on one side by a ditch, where, except in an unusually dry summer, there is always an abundance of water. By a little excava- tion in such places, accommodation for aquatic and bog plants can readily be found by diverting the water in one or more places. Broadly speaking, the chief points to consider in the 124 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING Selection of a position for water gardening are : Shelter from high wind ; clay must not be used if the position is near forest trees ; labour is saved by making the water garden where the ground is firm and low-lying ; a certain part of the garden must be exposed to full .sunlight if the cultivation of Water Lilies is attempted. If a natural water garden is not available, one of two methods is generally employed in Making a pond or tank. Assuming that the sides and bottom have been made as firm as possible, the whole area may be covered with puddled clay to the depth of a foot ; or concrete may be used. The depth of the latter may be varied, for small areas 4 to 6 inches being sufficient ; for a large stretch of water a greater thickness must be employed. The depth of the water should also be varied, so as to accommodate a wide selection of plants. Unless the owner especially wishes it deeper, 30 inches is quite deep enough for strong-growing Water Lilies, and for small tanks a depth of 18 inches to 2 feet is ample. In constructing a water garden an outlet must be pro- vided, so that there is always a gradual flow of water, not apparent to the casual observer, but just sufficient to keep the water from becoming stagnant. There must also be a supply of fresh water, natural or artificial. Soft water is the best for the plants, but unfor- tunately is not always available. The soil for aquatic plants is the next consideration. In natural ponds and lakes there is often plenty of rich mud available, the plants being simply sunk in the water where it is of a suitable depth, and kept in position on the bottom with a brick or large stone till established. Shallow baskets or hampers are very convenient things to use for clay or cement tanks. The best soil to use is fibrous loam of a fairly heavy nature and cow manure. Large flower- pots are also sometimes employed. In artificial water, where it is quite easy to empty the tank, receptacles for the plants may be formed of bricks or large stones, the Water Lilies and other aquatics being planted in these previous to filling the tank with water. In selecting plants for the water garden we naturally give first place to Water Lilies or Nymphaeas, whether the lake is several acres in extent or only a small pool in the suburban garden. The colours of the flowers vary from pure white to rich crimson, and in- clude yellow, pink, rose, etc. Half a dozen good sorts which may be obtained at a reasonable price arc alba jilenissima, a large pure white double variety of our native white Water Lily ; llubinsoni, violet 126 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING red; Marliacea rosea, bright pink; William Doogue, light pink; Seignoureti, yellow suffused with pink ; tuberosa rosea, rosy blush. For small pools or tubs the following small-growing Water Lilies are charming : pygmea alba, white ; Helveola, sulphur yellow ; Layde- keri rosea, carmine rose. Some Tavourite Waterside Plants. — Limnanthemum pelta- tum (Villarsia nymphaeoides) is a Nymphaea-like plant with yellow flowers, which when once established in a pond increases very rapidly. The Water Hawthorn (Aponogeton distachyon), a small growing South African aquatic, with fragrant white blossoms and long narrow leaves ; the Bog Bean (Menyanthes trifoliata), an ornamental British aquatic for the margins, with white sweet-scented flowers ; the Arrowhead (Sagittaria sagittifoha), a British plant with white flowers ; S. japonica plena, double white and variabilis, a North American plant ; the Water Violet (Hottonia palustris), with lilac-white flowers and fernlike foliage ; the Water Plantain (Alisma Plantago) has large pyramidal heads of small white flowers. The surroundings of a water garden are very important. Whether trees and shrubs are planted on the margins depends largely on the size of the pond or lake. Grass bunks should surround the water rather than gravel walks, with mar^h or bog plants growing in the low-lying parts and near the water's edge. A few plants commonly employed for this purpose are Gunnera manicata, Royal Fern (Osmunda regalis) ; double Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris flore pleno) ; Siberian Iris (Iris sibirica) ; Spiraeas, Marsh Forget-me-nots (Myosotis palustris), and double Lady's Smock (Cardamine pratensis flore pleno). The town or suburban garden, however small, need not be devoid of a few water plants, for a tub or two sunk in the grass form suitable places for Water Lilies and other aquatics ; these may vary in depth from 6 to 30 inches. A pleasing effect is obtained by placing stones around the tubs and planting bog or marsh plants amongst them. Fresh water must be poured into the tub, the over- flow being allowed to soak away amongst the surrounding plants. A few pieces of charcoal placed in the tubs will also assist in keeping the water sweet. Suitable plants for grouping among the stones are Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris). Marsh Forget-me-not (Myosotis palustris), Fair Maids of France (Ranunculus aconitifolius fl. pi.) and other dwarf, free-blooming, moisture-loving sorts. A surround- ing such as this much improves the appearance of a small water garden. WALL GARDENS 127 Old Walls: How to Use Them Gardens surrounded wholly or in part by hi^h old walls need special methods to make them at once as beautiful and useful as they should be ; if the ground area is not very large the walls are sure to give too much shadow, and there will be danger of damp and mildew. Persons are amazed that delicate plants thrive even in a north garden so surrounded ; others lament that south gardens, although so hot, have wet soil and mossy paths. Success or failure all depends upon how the character of the place is studied and ministered to. Constant forking of soil is needed in all gardens with high walls ; but there is this difterence : if the plot is not very large it must all be so treated, but if there is a vast open space it will be only the neighbourhood of the walls that will require it. The air and influence of the sun must be brought freely to bear upon the soil, whether this be naturally light or heavy. Paths demand attention just as often. Not a weed should be allowed to grow, or it will be drawn up into maturity and seed-bearing very quickly, the result being a fresh crop of weeds. Unless the rake, the roller, and the weed-killer are employed the best-made walk in the walled-in garden is certain to put on quickly a covering of green. Vegetable culture between high walls is a matter of greater difficulty than flower culture : Green Peas, French Beans, and Scarlet Piunners succeed best, because if thej' grow tall they do not materially suffer. All the Cabbage tribes, including Brussels Sprouts, become weak, lanky and unsatisfactory ; Turnips and Carrots go all to green tops ; Lettuces, except of the smallest close Cabbage sort, are impossible. Tomatoes, if pinched back when a sufficient height is reached, will do well, but Vegetable Marrows produce too luxuriant foliage, stems and flowers, and no fruit. Medium tall plants of the herbaceous kind become giants, but this does not injure their beauty ; Snapdragons, for example, that are of advertised medium height, prove rampant, but blossom grandly ; Foxgloves and Sunflowers become of prodigious stature, as does also Golden Piod. The Madonna Lily is a flower to avoid, as when drawn up in the neighbourhood of too much v/all, it never carries a fine spike. Pioses flourish, however. Wall fruit trees too often prove disappointing. Gardeners know that there are magnificent displays of fruit to be witnessed on high walls, so think their harvest a certain one, forgetting that those splendid results are gained where there are lart^e 128 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING open spaces, not in small gardens. Ultimately there may be fine crops, but scarcely ever is there any fruit at all upon trees in their second or third year after planting. Rambler Roses are the ideal wall decoration, combined with Clematises, Honeysuckle, Jasmines, Wistaria, Pyrus japonica, Passion Flowers, Solauum jasminoides, etc. All the relatives of the Gloire de Dijon Piose are admirable climbers, Devoniensis will flourish in the south aspect, while in a corner between a south and a west aspect it is probable that the grand Marechal Niel would succeed. An elevated summer-house should be erected wherever the garden is much enclosed by giant walls ; it can be raised on pillars, and possess a platform beneath, on which chairs can be set, as well as the pavilion-room raised on a level with the top of the walls so as to gain all the air and view beyond them. Of course this summer- house cannot be built very cheaply. Another method that costs less is to put a three-cornered platform across a corner on the top of the walls, make a fencing round two sides of it, a very low rail on the longest side that faces the garden, and construct a simple little stair- case against one w'all, to lead up to it. This elevated plateau will be a charming spot in fair but not too hot weather. CHAPTER XI Practical Hints Plainly Illustrated How to Make Garden Paths In some gardens the paths take up too much space, and do not serve a useful purpose ; in others the paths are small, and not long enough to afford access to, perhaps, the most interesting portion of the tiower garden and pleasure grounds, or to borders in the veget- able garden, so as to facilitate work day by day, and enable the cultivator to avoid undue treading upon soil in which crops are growing. In the planning of the paths every care should be taken to avoid having curves in kitchen gardens, where straight lines are sure to be the best and most useful ; they enable the worker to get close to the various growing crops. Furthermore, where there are straight paths in a vegetable garden, the open spaces form squares and parallelograms as shown in Fig. 1, on both sides of the letter c. Now it is a very easy matter for the amateur to arrange his crops in beds and rows running north and south across the plots (the south side being the long one below a in Fig. 1) shown in the accompanying sketch. Q. Should all paths, on the contrary, be winding in flower gardens and pleasure grounds generally ? A. No ; where there is a terrace or long straight border on one side of the flower garden, the most suitable form of path is a straight one, too. The path directly in front of the dwelling-house should also be a straight one if the space there be open and formally planted, i.e. laid out in geometrical designs for flowers and shrubs. Q. Should all paths be of the same width ? A. No ; it would be a big mistake to make them so, even in a garden of moderate size. In a very small garden, perhaps, where only a couple of paths at most are required, they may be of the same width, unless one is a main path and the other a side one— in such case the latter should be narrower, to economise space. J 129 130 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING Q. Why are paths generally made in winding fashion in pleasure grounds, and especially where there are lawns studded with clumpa B c n FIG. 1 "-~MiM^ ^'.'li FIG. 2 of ornamental shrubs and trees, and groups of the same on the boundary line? A. For several reasons, namely, to avoid stiffness, formality ; to MAKING GARDEN PATHS 131 fpTfry^l^rtm^hi^^^^^ifr'^^^^ FIG. 3 . , y-.';\i - . • ■>r,r,i'' re.', ; ■^ '■ '•■;'-:' FIG. 5 FIG. 6 Q. Should all paths be drainecU A. Yes ; in one way or another, by drain pipes and gravel, or by the latter alone, according to circumstances. PLANTING TREES AND SHRUBS 133 Q. In which circumstance should drain i)ipes be used, and in which should gravel or similar material only be made use of ? A. Drain pipes must be used where the soil is naturally very clayey, and also where heavy traflfie is common. Gravel, clinkers, and broken bricks are used where the subsoil is naturally dry and porous. Fig. 1 shows how to jdan paths in a vegetable garden : A, entrance ; B, path giving access to all borders ; c, a useful division path. Fig. 2 shows how to form the path : a, the necessary soil excavated ; b shows soil excavated from a path at right angles with A ; c, vegetable borders. Fig. 3 shows at A tlie main drain ; B, con- necting drains from side paths ; c, short drains conveying surface water to underground pipes, from the catch pits fixed alternately at the sides of the path on the surface. Fig. 4 shows how to mark the turf on a lawn before removing any to form a path. Fig. 5 shows at a the first layer of broken bricks, clinkers, or similar material where pipes are not necessary ; B, bottom of path not covered with the rough material. Fig. 6 shows the sections and surfaces of the finished paths : a, main drain ; B, surface with tiles at both sides ; c shows the section and surface of finished j^ath on a lawn. The roughest material must always be placed in the bottom, and the finer on the surface. Planting Trees and Shrubs No garden seems to be complete unless it contains a few nice shrubs; and the medium sized and larger garden must also contain some beautiful trees. There are suitable kinds for growing in clumps, belts, and as isolated specimens. There are suitable kinds for planting to form screens chiefly, but I do not intend to deal with such, but with those that are required to be ornamental in the garden, to form a part of it, and to give to it a finished or furnished appear- ance. The tiny garden looks all the better for the presence of the single specimen shrub or tree. Include deciduous as well as evergreen kinds, because there is greater beauty where the two are judiciously arranged together. Q. Where an amateur is engaged in putting plants in a new garden must he plant closely, or how ought he to proceed ? A. If he is about to put in shrubs and trees to form clumps and also handsome specimens, he should enter his house, stand at the windows, and direct another person, with stakes and white paper, to 134 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING drive in the stakes and fix paper to the top, in positions where he wishes to have his chief or permanent specimens. This can best be decided from the windows of the dwelling-house. Then, having planted the permanent trees or shrubs, the owner should put in others to fill up, that is, to give to the garden, or more particularly the clumps, a finished appearance. In due course the inferior specimens can be lifted, or cut out as the permanent ones require more space, until at last the latter occupy the ground. In Fig. 1, A shows the dwelling-house, B, B, specimen shrubs and trees ; c, c, c, clumps of shrubs. The dotted lines show the open view from the windows. This is the best way to dispose trees, shrubs, and clumps so that a garden appears to be a large one, though it may actually be quite small. Fig. 2 shows a small villa garden facing south-west. In this instance the tallest growing trees and shrubs are planted on the north side ; they thus break the force of the cold north winds and do not obstruct the sun's rays, as would be the case if they grew on the other side of the garden, a denotes the house ; b, the garden path ; c, c, c, fiower beds and two specimen shrubs on the small lawn. Fig. 3 shows how to plant evergreen trees and shrubs on PLANTING TREES AND SHRUBS 135 FIG. 2 a large piece of ground where they will show to great advantage. As all the evergreen-s are to remain permanently, ample space should be allowed at planting time, so that when fully grown each specimen will be still free of its neighbour, as shown in the sketch. 136 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING Q. How should the bushes and trees be arranged on a large, level lawn 1 A. As shown in Fig. -^Q '. .'.it^X.;^ iiUhU^'-iil-Xi^. FIG. 4 fiiiiil^»i^ FIG. 5 A and B show large specimens quite clear of each other ; 0 denotes clumps near paths ; d, flower beds ; E, broad main paths. There should not be any overcrowding. Fig. 5 shows how to plant bushes and trees on rough mounds or PLANTING HEDGES 137 steep slopes. When the roots are covered the side denoted by the arrow a must be deeper than the front or lower side, so that rain and other water will lodge there for the benefit of the plant. The other plants may be put in at the foot of the mound as denoted by the crosses b. Q. How should shrubs be lifted for replanting? A. If the specimen to be moved is 4 feet high, and the same in diameter, a trench should be opened 3 feet distant from the stem, the trench being 15 inches wide. From the trench work away some of 'the soil, but lift the bush with as much soil as possible adhering to the roots. Q. When should planting be done 1 A. Planting may be continued, when the weather is favourable, until the month of May. But the amateur should plant in autumn his principal specimens, and stake, water, and mulch them. October and November are the best planting months, though the work may be continued during the winter in mild weather. Plantingf Hedg:es A well kept hedge is an attractive feature of any garden. Old hedges may be improved, renovated, and made to do duty as a fence fairly well, but a young hedge, properly planted, and carefully trimmed afterwards, adds considerably to the general good appear- ance of the garden, whether the latter be used as a flower or fruit and vegetable garden. But too often sufficient preparation of the soil is not practised, with the result that the plants put in do not grow freely or form, at any time, a suitable fence. Strong fences, such as those planted to form boundary hedges, should be the result of planting Thorns, Myrobella or Cherry Plum ; the growth should be stiff' and unyielding, thus able to resist strong pressure. Hedges formed of Privet and similar plants of a yielding nature are unsuit- able, though they are often used. But for inner fences the latter kinds of plants are certainly suitable and very ornamental. Q. When should hedges be planted 1 A. Any time during the autumn and late winter months, but undoubtedly the best time is the autumn ; then the plants get settled in the soil before the drying winds of spring come. Q. How should the ground be prepared for the plants 1 A. In replying to this question I will draw attention to the accompanying sketch, Fig. 1, and I should like to say that there are 138 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING two methods of planting hedges, namely, on the level ground and on a raised bank. In cases where a low fence growing on the level ground is preferred, Figs. 1, 2, and 3 wiil be of service. Where hedges on banks are desirable, Fig. 4 will prove lielpful. But I will deal with the hedge on the level ground first. In Fig. 1 A shows where the plants must be put in in a single row or an irregular double line, b, b denote narrow .spaces from which the turf is lifted to ensure the keeping down of weeds round the plants ; and c, c show by the dotted lines bow to cut the turf so that it may be readily lifted, flik .^ w/j7mi^^--^MwM FIG. 1 FIG. 2 Q. Is it necessary to dig up and manure the soil % A. Certainly it is. Fig. 2 shows the space cleared of turf, and at c the soil must be deeply trenched and well manured before the young plants are put in at A. B, b, the narrow space to be kept clear on both sides of the fence. Fig. 3 shows the plants put in in zigzag fashion ; they wiil, in due time, form a strong fence. Now I will refer to Fig. 4, which gives the section and top views of a bank without a ditch either on one side or the other. The interior of the bank A is filled with good loam and some rotted manure. B shows the solid turves which are used on both sides of the bank, and c o denote the lawn. It is very unwise to form a bank of this kind without a sub- stantial casing of turves. Q. What should the dimensions of a bank be ? A. 3 feet 6 inches wide at the base, 18 inches higU, and 2 feet 3 inches wide at the top. PLANTING HEDGES 139 Q. Should small or large plants be put in 1 A. Rather small plants, but they must be very strong healthy ones. In Fig. 5 several kinds of plants are shown. A shows a Quick- - ; « I i-' '^ ■ ' ff ^ ■'''• /^' I- ^^-v- -fe = ^"'^n^t' FIG. 3 FIG. 4 thorn, the dark lines denote where the top shoot and the tap root must be cut otf respectively, then it will be ready to plant as shown at B ; c shows a nice Privet plant ; d a Holly, and e a Beech. The Myrobella Plum and the Privet, four plants of the former and one of the latter, form a good hedge. Thorns and Beech also answer the purpose well. The Holly should be planted to form a hedge itself. 140 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING Sometimes owners of gardens like to plant trees, both evergreen and deciduous, in their fences. Fig. 6 shows how the trees must be planted, a shows a specimen before it is lifted, b shows it duly lifted, and c, the most important sketch of all, shows how it is planted. It is absolutely necessary to prepare the positions care- fully, and advisable to put in comparatively small specimens. FIG. O FIG. 6 Making: a Small Kitchen Garden The amateur who intends to make a small kitchen garden must set about the work just as cautiously and as carefully as the person who contemplates making a very large garden. In the small garden every square foot of ground must be utilised to the very be.st advan- tage. This also should be so in the case of the large garden ; but if every available yard of ground be not cropped the loss is perhaps, not as much felt as in the case of the smaller garden. Q. Is it absolutely necessary to have a wall or other kind of fence built round a new kitchen garden \ MAKING SMALL KITCHEN GARDEN 141 A. No ; it is not absolutely necessary, but it is advisable to erect a fence of some kind. Q. Which kind of fence is the best 1 A. A wall, certainly, if a permanent fence be required, and one, too, that can be utilised for various purposes. J=^ - — 1 -B 0 -;:=:==: 11 _ — _ c — =^ ■ -^=. — r- --^=:^ FIG. 1 PIG. 13 FIG. 3 FIG. 4 Q. Yes ; but suppose an amateur wishes to have a hedge — some- thing green, that will be ornamental as well as a protection to the plants in the garden — what kind would be the most satisfactory 1 A. A Thorn and Privet hedge would be best. The proportions should be four Thorns and two Privets. High banks are not necessary; indeed, it is not advisable to have them, as they become very dry in hot summers, and then the plants suffer. The latter must be planted in zigzag fashion, 1 foot apart, to form a double row. Q. Are wood fences serviceable ? 142 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING A. Yes ; though the best do not last a very long time, and repairs, painting, etc., must be done. They may be utilised for training fruit trees on, and they certainly afford good protection to the various crops. Q. How should a small vegetable garden be laid out to the best advantage 1 A. I think I can answer this question more satisfactorily if I take the sketches as numbered, and briefly refer to each one. FIG. 5 FIG. 6 Fig. 1 shows a strong but very neat fence. A good carpenter would quickly put up such a fence round a small garden. The fences may vary in height from 3 to 6 feet. But the lowest part of a garden fence should be on the south side. Fig. 2 shows another strong fence. The boards in this case are not nailed, as they fit in grooves made at the post, and when the boards swell they are free to move, and as they dry again they close up. There are never any openings in a fence of this kind, cold draughts do not come through, and so the plants trained on them are quite cosy, a shows the posts ; B, the strips of wood nailed to the latter ; c, the boards in position ; and D denotes the way eacli board is inserted in the groove. Fig. 3 at A shows narrow strips of wood nailed to the posts, and b broader strips — in each case the opening is left as shown by the arrow at b ; c shows how the board is inserted from the top. The boards must be strong ones, and not made to lit too tightly. In the small garden, where fences are made especially. Fig. 4 sliows how it is possible MAKING SMALL KITCHEN GARDEN 143 to grow cordon or other shapes of trained fruit trees. Such erections should be made on the north and east sides of the garden, then they will not unduly obstruct the sunshine/yireventing it from reaching other plants, and the fruit trees trained on them will get the full benefit of the sunshine. Fig. 5 shows a south aspect border at s, and the north side of the fence at N. The border facing south is here shown slightly raised. Such a border is warmer and better adapted for growing early crops on than a quite flat border. It gets the maxi- mum amount of sunshine. Fig. 6 shows at a glance how to lay out the small garden : a and b are borders having south and west aspects respectively. They are broad borders, c shows a narrow border facing north, and D, one facing east. These are useful borders for summer salads, etc. ; E shows the Strawberry quarter ; F, that devoted to bush fruits ; and G, the vegetables for main crops. So planned the lines of nearly all the crops will run north and south. CHAPTER XII Flowers for Shade and Sunshine Flowers for the Shaded Garden Name Description Wood Sorrel Oxalis enneaphylla. A small native plant, with pretty- leaves and sweet-scented v^hite blossom. Quite hardy, y inches Jerusalem Sage Phlomis fruticosa. Almost a shrub, bearing effective yellow flowers. Phlomis russelliana, a larger bloomer, is also suitable. Height of each, 2k ft. Phlox Most of the varieties of late-blooming Phloxes can flower without sunshine, and offer brilliant scarlet, rose, carmine, mauve, salmon, or white trusses. The summer Phloxes are admirable also if the taller kiuds are chosen May Apple Podophyllum Emodi succeeds best in rockery nooks, where the green marbled foliage clusters charmingly ; the flowers are white, and followed by fine red fruits. 1ft. Jacob's Ladder The common form, Polemonium coeruleum, will blossom freely, and the leaves are as pretty as ferns. 1| to 2 ft. Giant Knot Weed Polygonum sachalinense is a robust plant producing white florescence of considerable value to the garden laud- scape. 6 ft. Lungwort There are few bordc-rs, whether in town or country, where Pulmonaria mollis will not thrive. The flowers are mingled ultramarine blue and rose, the leaves beauti- fully spotted with cream. 9 inches Giant Daisy Pyrethrum uliginosum. Masses of large white flowers with centre discs of velvety pale green. Grand for gathering in late autumn, and perfectly hardy. 4 to 5 ft. Double Buttercup Ranunculus speciosus has double golden flowers of fine size, and spreads like a weed in rich moist borders. 1 ft. Rodgers' Saxifrage Rodgersia podophylla is one of the best ornaments for shaded beds, but requires peat in the soil. The flores- cence comes in large heads, and is white ; the foliage is a beautiful bronze. 2 ft. Sage Salvia ringens is a semi-shrubby variety with blue and white blossom ; flowers freely on a north border. 2 ft. Bloodroot Saiigiiinaria cauadensis succeeds under deciduous small trees, such as Prunus Pissardi ; the rounded foliage is a shining blue green, the flowers white and star- shaped. G inches 144 FLOWERS FOR SHADE 145 Kame Description Pyi-amid Saxifrage Saxifraga cotyledon pyramidalis is a fine plant with grand foliage and spikes of minute white blossom. Vigorous. 2 ft. London Pride Saxifraga umbrosa. Indispensable evergreen plant. 1^ ft. Miniature Saxifrage Saxifraga taj'getea ; this will cover the soil with folfage and white flower, and is good for banksides. 3 inches, Tall Stonecrop Sedum speetabile. This is a grand plant with large heads of pinkish-purple flowers and grey- green succulent leaves. 1 ft. Purple Stonecrop Sedum purpureum. IJ feet tall, leaves and stems shaded to crimson and purple. Very effective Giant Groundsel Senecio Doria. Yellow bloom in abundance in August. 4 ft. Chinese Groundsel Senecio clivorum. Immense plant of vivid gi'een with branching heads of orange flowers for several months. 5 ft. Purple Snowdrop Sisyrinchium grandiflorum. A beautiful little tufted plant for the shady or semi-shady sides of rockeries. The purple flowers appear in March and April. 1 ft. There is a lovely white variety Blue Moouwort Needs peat in the soil, and succeeds best in shady rockery nooks. Catalogued as Soldanella alpina. Bluebell flowers in spr'ng. 4 inches. Maryland Pink-root Spigelia marilandica. Suited to the waterside, or any damp shady border ; gives very beautiful sprays of long- throated crimson and yellow flowers. 1 ft. Goat's Beard Spiraea aruncus ■ 5 ft. tall, vigorous Spiraea, with bold masses of blossom. The variety S. a. Kneifiii is only 2 ft. tall, but has extra handsome foliage Spray Flower Spiraea venusta is a rose-coloured variety, quite robust, and 3 ft. tall. Spiraea palmata, rose-crimson, 2 ft. ; alba, li ft., are also admii-able Celandine Poppy Stylophorum diphyllum. This has pretty pale yellow open flowers all summer. 1 and 1| ft. Spiderwort Tradescantia virginica is mauve, carmine, purple, white, blue, or pale pink ; the plants have shining green foli- age, and reach a height of 18 inches Wood Lily Trilliums all enjoy shaded moist soil. T. grandiflorum is the large white Wake Robin, and has a pale pink variety. Trillium erythrocarpum, the Painted Wood Lily, is white with crimson blotches : TrilUum recur- vatum, purple, Trillium sessile californicum, cream- white, 2 ft., TrilHum stylosum, 1 ft., all are charming and should be better known Colt's-foot Tnssilago farfara variegata is a green and gold foliage plant for massing under trees Bellwort Uvularia grandiflora. A delicate looking yet fairly hardy plant, with pendent yellow, spring and early summer blossom. 1 ft. Prefers rockery nooks White False Helle- Veratrum album will go on throwing up long spikes of bore white blossom from July to late autumn. 3 ft. Vera- trum californicum is a giant, with fine branching blossom. 6 ft. Creeping Sandwort Arenaria balearica. A minute white flowering plant to cover rocks in shade Hazelwort Asarum europacum. For use as Arenaria, or will do on a baukside or summit. Brown florescence K 146 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING Name Description Masterwoit Astrautia major. Blush-white blooms during summer; attractive looking plant. 2 ft. Snakeroot Cimicifuga racemosa. Masses of fluffy white flower. 4 ft. CimicLfuga cordif olia. Very similar to above, but with curious black stems. 4 ft. Lady's Slipper Cypripedium hirsutum. Needs peat in the soil ; bright gold, free blooming, lift. Chinese Cyclamen- Eomecou chionantha. Recommended to all owners of leaved Poppy shady gardens. Large open white flowers with gold centres in early summer. 1^ ft. Fairy's Wand Galax aphylla. White flowers rising from evergreen leaves that become gorgeously tinted in autumn. 1 ft. Gaultheria Gaultheria procumbens. Evergreen, white blooming, red- berried. Will thi-ive under trees, even evergreens. 6 inches Willow Gentian Gentiana asclepiadea. Purplish blue, handsome. 2 ft. Sea Milkweed Glaux maritima. An unfamiliar fern ; pale salmon colour. Excellent bankside carpet. 4 inches Stud Flower Helonias bullata. Deep green foliage tufts, spikes of pink blossom in late spring. 1 ft. Alpine Colt's- foot Homogyue alpina. Red purple, with evergreen foliage. Hardy, so good for carpets on damp soU. 4 inches. St. John's- Wort Hypericum calycinum, the popular Rose of Sharon, \\ ft. Hypericum kalmianum, bushy, with pale yellow, smaller flowers. 2 ft. Loosestrife Lysimachia verticillata. Sjiikes of upright yellow flowers, on 2 ft. tall plants Creeping Jenny Lysimachia nummularia. The well-known dwarf yellow blooming plant : there is a beautiful gold-leaved variety Two-leaved Lily- Maianthemum bifolium ; masses of small white flowers of of-the- Valley sweet scent. 6 inches Monkey Flower Mimulus luteus. Yellow. Hardy. 1 ft. Flowefs to Grow for Gathering: Herbaceous plants that are required to give plentiful supplies of flower for the vases should be ordered early, say in September, as then they will be sent to the purchaser in time to be planted in October ; it should be remembered that most florists book orders to send out in rotation, the only fair method of dealing with them, so gardeners who wait until they should be ]ilanting before they purchase are sure to be at a disadvantage compared with their more provident neighbours. The Hardy Scabious.— 8cabiosa caucasica, in its ordinary lavender variety, is exceedingly useful, but undoubtedly for vase arrangements its pure white form is more valuable ; this grows as tall, often attaining three feet, has blossoms as tine, and equally as robust, so should be well represented in every border. Scabiosa lutea FLOWERS TO GATHER 147 gigantea reaches to a height of eight feet, is altogether a coarser tiower, but is nevertheless most serviceable on account of its exquisite primrose yellow blooms that last a very long time in water, Rudbeckia Golden Glow is more like a small, deep-gold double sunflower than a Cone Flower, and can be truly described as one of the finest of all plants to cut from, the blossom period lasting from July to October. Rudbeckia Newmanni is perhaps the best single Cone Flower for gathering ; the colour is a real orange gold, the centre disc is almost black, the height is only two feet, and the variety will thrive in semi-shady places, even beneath tall trees. Aquilegia Munstead Giant White is the Columbine I would never be without, for the immense sprays of snowy flowers are as elegant as they are handsome. Another white spring bloomer that should always be grown is the Double Arabis. There are still some flower-lovers to whom the name Arabis means only a single, rather insignificant, untidy edging plant, but Arabis albida fl. pi. attains a height of a foot, and its sprays of intensely double rosette blossoms, tapering with pearly buds, give a unique table decoration with ferns, or will charmingly arrange with their own elegant-shaped silvery foliage. The false Starwort, or Boltonia asteroides, is far too little known; most amateur floriculturists who see it call it a pink Michaelmas Daisy. Beginning to bloom in September, it continues throughout that month and October, rises five feet high, and is of a salmon pink, or flesh-coloured shade, quite unlike the usual Michael- mas Daisy rose. There is a white species that can also be highly commended for cutting, a flower of similar season, each bloom often an inch and a half across and set at intervals on branching stem ; of identical height and hardiness, and catalogued as Boltonia latis- quama. Centaureas are noted for their vase value. A year or two ago the Great Knapweed, Centaurea macrocephala, became very popular for its yellow blossom, but now growers usually prefer Centaurea glastifolia, which yields an abundance of thistle-like yellow flowers during July, August, and September, and is a grand flower for giant vases, the branches being picked with plenty of foliage. Centaurea ruthenica is an exceedingly artistic graceful grower, but the tint is dull or straw yellow ; its height is but a yard, whereas the others rise taller. Of all Chrysanthemum maximum varieties I prefer William Kobinson for gathering, because the huge flowers are not 148 GARDEN PLANNING AND PLANTING only possessed of very narrow but also gracefully waved petals : the other fringe-like variety, Chrysanthemum maximum filiforme, though very beautiful, does not show this attractive waviness in the same degree. Quite a few blossoms of either of these, arranged rising out of crimson-tiated leaves of Berberis Aquifolium, give a perfect centrepiece for any table. Coloured Cowslips give great pleasure for the vases in spring : less showy than Giant Polyanthuses, they are yet much more elegant, and the colours are exceptionally brilliant, the orange and scarlet especially : then there is their delicious scent to recommend them further. Erigerons are popular already, but no doubt will become more so. The loveliest is the pure white, Erigeron Coulteri, a Daisy- like flower with bright gold centre : however, a choice can also safely be made between the deep blue-violet Erigeron macranthus, the lilac Erigeron glabellus, and the rosy Erigeron philadelphicus. These look pretty massed together in the herbaceous border. Galega officinalis Snowball is a snow-white pea flower pro- duced in dense masses among very attractive leaves ; it will thrive on an east border, even, and should be grown by all, being immensely suuerior to the ordinary lilac kind. INDEX Agathaea, 103 Alpine Colt's-foot. 146 Altering and improving gardens, 19 Anemones, Japanese, 109 Annuals, borders of, 99; round beds of, 62 Aquatic plants, soil for, 124 Aquilegia Munstead Giant White, 147 Arenaria balearica, 145 Asarum europaenm, 145 Astrantia major, 146 Autumn border, 107 Basket bed, a, 70 Bedding out, designs, 97; in shady positions, 102 Begonias, tuberous, 102 Bellwort, 145 Bloodroot, 144 Blue Marguerite, 103 Blue Moonwort, 145 Boltonia asteroides, 147 Borders, and how to plant them, 81 ; for small gardens, 84; of bedding plants, 101; of surj)lus seedling plants, 102 Buttercup, double, 144 Celandine Poppy, 145 Centaureas, 147 Chinese Cyclamen leaved Poppy, 146 Chrysanthemum maximum, 147 Cimicifuga racemosa, 146 Colour, helpful hints on, 112 Coloured Cowslips, 148 Colt's-foot, 145 Cool July garden, a, 119 Creeping Jenny, 146 Creeping Sandwort, 145 Cypripedium hirsutum, 146 Effective bank and flower border, 103 Elaborate designs for flower beds, 67 Eomecon chionantha. 146 Evergreens and flowers, beds of, 56 Fairy's Wand, 146 False Starwort, 147 Flower arrangements for beds, 77 Flower beds, elaborate, 67; half moon, 54; large and small, 49; of annuals, 62; of one colour, 73; of various shapes, 58; original, 52; round and square, 64; with evergreens, 56 Flowers, for the shaded garden, 144; to grow for gathering, 146 Foliage, pretty beds of, 74 Formal borders, 92 Oalas aphylla, 146 Galega officinalis Snowball, 148 Garden within a garden, 120 Gaultheria procumbens, 146 Gentiana asclepiadea, 146 Giant Daisy, 144 Giant Knot Weed, 144 Glaux maritima, 146 Goat's Beard, 145 Groundsel, 145 H Half-acre gardens, 44 Halfmoon beds, 54 Hazelwort, 145 Hedges, planting, 137 Helonias buUata, 146 Herbaceous borders, 30 Homogyne alpina, 146 Hypericum calycinum, 146 Jacob's Ladder, 144 Jerusalem Sage, 144 Kitchen garden, making a small, 140 L Lady's Slipper, 146 Lawn edges, 17; edging, a new idea, I 20; of irregular curves, 24 149 150 INDEX Lily of the Valley, two leaved, 146 London Pride, 145 Loosestrife, 146 Lungwort, 144 Lysimachia nummularia, 146 Lysimachia verticillata, 146 M Maianthemum bifolium. 146 Maryland Pink-root, 145 Masterwort, 146 May Apple, 144 Mimulus luteus, 146 Monkey Flower, 146 N Narrow borders, 90 Narrow gardens, 36 Original flower beds, 52 Oxalis enneaphylla, 144 Pampas grass, 109 Path making. 129 Paths, winding, between Rose plots, 7 Phlcmis fruticosa, 144 Phlox, 144 Planning, hints on, 2 Planting, hedges. 137; trees and shrubs, 133 Podophyllum Emodi, 144 Polemonium coeruleum, 144 Polygonum sachalinense, 144 Pond or tank, making a, 124 Pulmonaria mollis, 144 Pyrethrum uliginosum, 144 Quarter-acre gardens, 42 Rambler Roses for wall decoration, 128 Ranunculus speciosus, 144 Rock gardens, 121 Rodgers' Saxifrage, 144 Rose-beds: designs for planting, 8; sloping, 46 Rose gardens, beautiful. 7 Rosery, an old-world, 12 Round flower beds, 64 Rudbeckia Golden Glow, 147 Rustic poles for climbers, 107 S Sage, 144 Salvia ringens, 144 Sanguinaria canadensis, 144 Saxifraga cotyledon pyramidalia 145; umbrosa, 145 Scabious, hardy, 146 Sea Milkweed, 146 Sedum, 145 Senecio, 145 Shrubs for the border, 108 Sisyrinchium grandiflorum, 145 Snakeroot, 146 Snowdrop, purple, 145 Soldanella alpina, 145 Spiderwort, 145 Spigelia marilandica, 145 Spiraea aruncus, 145; venusta, 145 Spray Flower, 145 Spring border, 105 Square, flower beds. 64; gardens, 34 St. John's Wort, 146 Stone, the use of, 120 Stonecrop, 145 Stud Flower, 146 Stylophorum diphyllum, 145 Summer border, a, 104 Suburban gardens, 24 Sweet Peas, handsome beds, 77 Tradescantia virginica, 145 Trees and shrubs, planting, 133 Trilliums, 145 Tussilago farfara variegata, 145 Urns and baskets, fillings for, 75 Uvularia grandiflora, 145 Veratrum album, 145 W Wall gardening, 127 Water gardens, 123; Lilies, 124; plants in town garden, 126 Waterside plants, favourite, 126 Waved borders, 91 White False Hellebore, 145 Willow Gentian. 146 Winter border, 109 Wood Lily, 145 Wood Sorrel, 144 Printed by Cassell & Company, Limited, La Belle Sauvage, London. E C. •JO.:. If) ==^ OASSEM^I^'S '' Work" Handbooks USEFUL TECHNICAL VOLUMES A Series of Practical Manuals. Edited by leading experts. Illustrated with numerous useful Drawings and Diagrams. Motor Cycles: A Practical Handbook on Their Building, Care, and Management Dynamo and Electric Motor Building Photography Simplified Bamboo WorR Bashet WorR Beehives and BeeReepers' Appliances Bent Iron WorR Bookbinding BootmaRing and Mending Building Model Boats Clay Modelling and Plaster Casting Conjuring Apparatus Cycle Repairing and Adjusting Decorative Designs of all Ages and for all Purposes Domestic Jobbing Electric Accumulators Electric Bells, How to Make and Fit Them Electric Primary Batteries Electro>plating Engraving Metals Furniture Repairing Glass WorRing Glass Writing, Embossing, and Fascia WorR Gramophones and Phonographs Handyman's 1,000 Practical Receipts, The House Decoration How to Write Signs, Tickets and Posters Other Volumes Incubators Knotting and Splicing Ropes and Cordage Microscopes and Accessories Mounting and Framing Pic- tures Photographic Cameras and Accessories Photographic Chemistry Photographic Studios and DarR Rooms Pianos Pumps and Hydraulic Rams Rustic Carpentry Sewing Machines Smiths' WorR Tailoring Taxidermy Telescope MaRing Terra-Cotta WorR Tinplate WorR Upholstery Violins and Other Stringed Instruments Window Blinds Wireless Telegraphy Wood Finishing in preparation Is. net each CASSELL AND CO., LTD., LONDON, NEW YORK. TORONTO AND MELBOURNE. -y ^AX I'l '■tHl.HION JM:-! THE TWO CARNATIONS A^ ^ Max ■ '^ Pembi'r(f)t> CASSELL'S FAMOUS SHILLING (net) NOVELS Printrd in clear rendahle type, bound in strong and attractive cloth covers, vntk three-colour pictorial paper jacket. A SELECTION OF VOLUMES The Little Minister The Two Carnations Tuxter's Little Maid BARRIE. J. M. BOWEN, MARJORIE BURGIN. G. B. CHESTERTON. G K. The Innocence of Father Brown DEEPING. WARWICK The Red Saint Return of the Petticoat The Seven Streams * The House of Spies FOWLER, ELLEN THORNEYCROFT Miss Fallowfield's Fortune FLOWER. NEWMAN Red Harvest GERARD. MORICE Under the Red Star The Red Seal HAGGARD. H, RIDER * Child of Storm Marie The Yellow God Morning Star HANSHEW. T. W. Cleek. the Man of the Forty Faces HEWLETT. MAURICE The Spanish Jade HOCKING. JOSEPH The AA/oman of Babylon HORNUNG, E. W. My Lord Duke LE QUEUX. WILLIAM Fatal Fingers The Money Spider The Spider's Eye MARCHMONT. A. W. Sir Gregorys Silence OPPENHEIM. E. PHILLIPS Mr. Laxworthy's Adventures The Double Four ORCZY, THE BARONESS Lady Molly of Scotland Yard PEMBERTON. MAX * Millionaire's Island The Giant's Gate Captain Black Kronstadt Red Morn The Diamond Ship The Garden of Swords _ Sir Richard Escombe PHILLPOTTS. EDEN. & BENNETT. ARNOLD The Statue PRAED. MRS. CAMPBELL By Their Fruits RUSSELL. W. CLARK What Cheer ! SHAW, CAPT. F. H. A Daughter of the Storm STEVENSON. R. L. Kidnapped Treasure Island SUTCLIFFE. HALLIWELL Under the ■White Cockade VAIZEY. MRS. G. DE HORNE A Honeymoon in Hiding WADSLEY. OLIVE • The Flame • Denotes New Volumes. Comtitte List on Appacation. CASSF.Ll. & CO., LTD. t.a Hclte Hauvaf^e, l.otutnn, E.C. RedMoi CASSELL'S HOME HANDBOOKS A series of useful Volumes for every Household, averaging from 200-300 peiges. The Elements of Modern Dressmaking By J. E. Davis. Practical papers by an experienced writer on dressmaking, illustrated with numerous diagrams. Vegetarian Cookery By A. G. Payne. Appeals to those who ought to adopt a vegetarian diet on account of their health, and to those who would follow it with great advantage also to their pockets. Practical Home Cookery By A. G. Payne. A number of articles on home cookery, suited to housewives of moderate means. Simple and easy recipes are given for attractive dishes, and there is a special chapter on diet for invalids. Advice to Women A useful and instructive volume, by Florence Stacpoole, on the care of the health bu&re, during, and after confinement, with helpful hints on the care of the new-born infant. Practical Housekeeping By Phyllis Browne. A collection of practical hints on the management of ordinary households, intended for the use of those who are just beginning the responsibilities of a home. The Home Lawyer A volume which explains the law for householders and business men in so clear a manner that it can be comprehended with ease and satisfaction. It furnishes valuable legal advice on a variety of subjects. Cassell's Home Doctor The commoner ailments of life can be warded oflf without external aid with the help of this useful volume. Its explanations are full and simple, and the prescriptions popular in style. Cookery for Common Ailments By A Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Phyllis Browne. A practical dietetic guide to the invalid, in which the food problem is stated not merely in scientific terms, but in the form of actual dishes which will prove digestible and palatable. The Making of the Home By Mrs. Samuel A. Barnett, contains in its pages much useful information on the important subject of domestic economy. Etiquette of Good Society Edited and revised by Lady Colin Campbell. A handy little volume which describes in detail the etiquette to be observed on all special occasions. Poultry and Profit By William W. Broomhead. It is written in a thoroughly modem and practical fashion, with helpful illustrations, likely to be of real help to those seeking for profit. Cloth, 1/- net. At all Booksellers, or post free 1/3 from CASSELL AND COMPANY, LIMITED, LA BELLE SAUVAGE, LONDON, E.C. The Gardener A Practical Journal for all interested in Gardening Beautiful Flowers I Abundant Vegetables If you would make your garden a great success you should get "The Gardener " every week. Each number contains valuable information on all branches, written in simple language by experts, and is profusely illustrated. Practical, well-informed and brightly written articles on all seasonable subjects are special features. Readers are kept thoroughly up to date with descrip- tions of all the newest varieties of all flowers, fruit and vegetables. Each issue is profusely illustrated with Photographs and Diagrams. Its expert answers to amateurs' questions are unique, ONE PENNY WEEKLY. At all Newsagents and Booksellers. SPECIMEN COPY post free lid., from CASSELL AND COMPANY, LIMITED, LA BELLE SAUVAGE, LONDON, E.C. Face C'jsor J 0 GERRARE lie Garden aiS on applimtitii '^2*6*1 i 6 1 of 26 hig s in 20 fii BS iulbs of fine .mi Suininf naturalise Catalogue. DON. ited Cover 3 MacMILLAN LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF B.C. LIBRARY 3 9424 00618 2411 University of British Columbia Library DUE DATE ¥U' ^^RFCD -f. APR y 3 1987 MAR 2 4 RECO OC" i^r^ Telegrams— " BARR, LONDON." Tclephone~410 GERRARD Foi^ Flower ^ Kitchen Garden AWARDED FOR VEGETABLES Royal Horticultural Society's Gold Medal R.H.S. Siiver.gilt Knigrhtian Medal and Three Gold Medals National Vegetable Society. BARR'S SEED GUIDE contains a Select List of the best Seeds for the Vegetable Garden a; the most beautiful Annuals and Perennials for Garden and Greenhouse. Sent free on appi Barr's Collections of SUPERIOR VEGETABLE SEEDS 5s. 6d.. 7s. 6d.. 12s. 6d.. 21s.. 42s.. 63s.. to 105s. Barr's Collections of CHOICE FLOWER SEEDS 2s. 6d.. 5s. 6d.. 7s. 6d., IDs. 6d.. 15s.. 21s.. 30s.. 42s.. and 6 Fu// pay-tictdars on application. WSDAffODILS The most lovely of all Spt^inc Flowef^s I Awarded for Daffodils FORTY GOLD MEDALS and a TEN GUINEA CHALLENGE CUP Barr's 21/- Amateur's Collection of Daffodils contains 6 Bulbs each of 26 high- class Daffodils suitable for the Greenhouse or Select Mower Border. Barr's 21/- "Woodland" Collection of Daffodils contains 500 Bulbs in 20 fine showy varieties suitable for naturalising in Grass, Shrubberies, etc. BARR'S COLLECTIONS OF BULBS For Indoors and Outdoors Barr's 21/- "Greenhouse" Collection contains 300 Spring-flowering Bulb? of finest quality. Barr's 21/- "Flower Garden" Collection contains 600 Spring and Summer- flowering Bulbs, all decorative. Barr's 21/- " \A/oodland " Collection contains 800 Bulbs, suitable to naturalise in Woodlands, Orchards. Wild Gardens, etc. For JuU partiadars of the above and other Collections, see Barr's Bulb Catalogue. BARR &» SOIVS, 11, 12. & 13 King Street, Covent Garden, LONDON. Nurseries at Tapiow. Bucks. Visitors invited