Part 22

A bed without a pretty border or edging always seems incomplete to me. It is as if the owner of it ran short of material before it was finished. The bit of lace or ribbon that is to add the last touch of grace and beauty to the gown is lacking.

Especially is a border of flowering plants satisfactory if kinds are selected which bloom throughout the greater part of the season. The plants we make use of in the centre of the bed are not always attractive before they come into bloom, neither are they that after they have passed their prime, but a pretty edging of flowers draws attention from their shortcomings, and always pleases.

One of our best flowering plants for edging purposes is Candytuft. It comes into bloom early in the season, and blooms in great profusion until the coming of frost. Keep it from developing seed and it will literally cover itself with bloom. I would advise going over it twice a week and clipping off every cluster of faded blossoms. This answers two purposes--that of preventing the formation of seed, and of removing what would be a disfigurement to the plant if it were allowed to remain.

There are two varieties of Candytuft in cultivation--one white, the other a dull red. The white variety is the one most persons will select, as it harmonizes with all other plants. But the red sort is very pleasing when used with harmonious colors. I last year saw a bed of Nasturtium bordered with it, and the effect was delightful. Its dull color blended well with the richer, stronger tones of the Nasturtium flowers, and gave them an emphasis that was suggestive of the effect of dull, rich colors used in old rugs in heightening and bringing out, by contrast, the brighter colors.

In using Candytuft for edging, set the plants about a foot apart. I would advise two rows of them, placing the plants in such a manner that they alternate in the rows. Do not attempt to train them. Let them do that for themselves. One of their most attractive features is their lack of formality when allowed to grow to suit themselves. Very pleasing results are secured by using the white and red varieties together, the colors alternating. If the centre of the bed is filled with "Golden Feather" Pyrethrum and these two Candytufts are used as an edging, the effect will be very fine as the dull red admirably supplements the greenish-yellow color of the Pyrethrum, while the white relieves what, without it, would be too sombre a color-scheme.

Sweet Alyssum is excellent for edging purposes. Its general effect is quite similar to that of the white Candytuft, but it has greater delicacy of both bloom and foliage, and the additional merit of a delightful fragrance.

Ageratum is lovely for edging beds of pink Geraniums, its soft lavender tones being in perfect harmony with their color. It is equally satisfactory when used with pale rose Phlox Drummondi, or the soft yellow shades of that flower. Combine the three colors in a bed and you will have something unusually dainty and delightful. One of the prettiest beds I saw last summer was filled with Sweet Alyssum, and edged with Ageratum. If there was any unfavorable criticism to be made, it was that a touch of some brighter, stronger color was needed to relieve its white and lavender. A free-flowering rose-colored Geranium in its centre, or a pink Verbena, would have added much to the general effect, I fancy. As it was, it was suggestive of old blue-and-white Delft, and the collector of that ware would have gone into raptures over it.

For a permanent edging, for beds, paths, and the border, Bellis perennis, whose popular name is English Daisy, is one of the best of all plants. It is entirely hardy. It blooms early in the season. It is wonderfully generous in its production of flowers. These are small, and very double, some pink, some almost white, produced on short stems which keep them close to the ground and prevent them from straggling. Its thick, bright green foliage furnishes a charming background against which the blossoms display themselves effectively. It is a plant that does well everywhere, and is always on good terms with everything else in the garden, as will be seen by the illustration that shows it in full bloom, along with Pansies and Hyacinths. Because of its compact, non-straggling habit it is especially useful for bordering paths and the border, permitting the use of the lawn-mower or the rake with perfect freedom. Plants should be set about eight inches apart. If you have but few plants of it and desire more, pull the old plants apart in spring and make a new one out of each bit that comes away with a piece of root attached. By fall the young plants will have grown together and formed a solid mass of foliage, with a great many "crowns" from which flowers will be produced the following season. Florists can generally furnish seedling plants in spring, from which immediate effects can be secured by close planting.

One of the best--if not the best--plants for all-around use in edging is Madame Salleroi Geranium. It is quite unlike any other Geranium of which I have any knowledge, in general habit. It forms a bushy, compact plant, and bears a solid mass of foliage. No attention whatever is required in the way of pruning. The plant trains itself. The ordinary flowering Geranium must be pinched back, and pruned constantly to prevent it from becoming "leggy," but there is no trouble of this kind with Madame Salleroi. Its branches, of which there will often be fifty or more from a plant, are all sent up from the crown of the plant, and seldom grow to be more than five or six inches in length. Each branch may have a score of leaves, borne on stems about four inches long. These leaves are smaller than those of any other Geranium. Their ground color is a pale green, and every leaf is bordered with creamy white. This combination of color makes the plant as attractive as a flowering one. It is a favorite plant for house-culture in winter, and those who have a specimen that has been carried over can pull it apart in May and plant each bit of cutting in the ground where it is to grow during summer, feeling sure that not one slip out of twenty will fail to grow if its base is inserted about an inch deep in soil which should be pinched firmly about it to hold it in place while roots are forming. Set the cuttings about ten inches apart. By midsummer the young plants will touch each other, and from that time on to the coming of frost your border will be a thing of beauty, and one of the delightful things about it will be--it will require no attention whatever from you. Never a branch will have to be shortened to keep it within bounds. No support will be needed. The plants will take care of themselves. I have never had a plant that is easier to grow. It harmonizes with everything. Seen against the green of the lawn it is charming. All things considered, it is an ideal plant for edging. In combination with scarlet and yellow Coleus it is exceedingly effective, because of its strong color-contrast.

Most amateur gardeners are familiar with the various merits of Coleus, Alternatheras, Achyranthes, "Golden Feather" Pyrethrum, and Centaurea maritima, better known as "Dusty Miller" because of its gray foliage. These are all good, when properly cared for, when used for edging beds and borders. Especially so when used with Cannas, Caladiums, and other plants of striking foliage, where their rich colors take the place of flowers.

Phlox decussata, commonly known as "Moss Pink" because of its fine foliage and bright pink flowers, is a most excellent plant for the hardy border, because it stands our winters quite as well as the hardiest perennials. Early in spring it will cover itself with charming blossoms that are as cheerful to look at as the song of the robin or the blue bird is to hear. It is a lovable little thing, and has but one rival among early-flowering plants for edging, and that rival is the English Daisy.

PLANNING THE GARDEN

The flower garden not being one of the necessities of life, in the usual sense of the term, people are likely to consider the making of it of so little importance that it is hardly worth while to give the matter much consideration. Consequently they simply dig up a bed here and there, sow whatever seed they happen to have, and call the thing done.

A haphazard garden of that sort is never satisfactory. In order to make even the smallest garden what it ought to be it should be carefully planned, and every detail of it well thought out before the opening of the season.

To insure thoroughness in this part of the work I would advise the garden-maker to make a diagram of it as he thinks he would like to have it. Sketch it out, no matter how roughly. When you have a map of it on paper you will be able to get a much clearer idea of it than you can obtain from any merely mental plan.

After locating your beds, decide what kind of flower you will have in each one. But before you locate your plants study your catalogue carefully, and make yourself familiar with the heights and habits of them. Quite likely this will lead to a revision of your mental diagram, for you may find that you have proposed to put low-growing kinds in the rear of tall-growing sorts, and tall-growing kinds where they would seriously interfere with the general effect.

Bear in mind that there is always a proper place for each plant you make use of--if you can find it. The making of a working diagram and the study of the leading characteristics of the plants you propose to use will help you to avoid mistakes that might seriously interfere with the effectiveness of your garden.

Do not attempt more than you are sure of your ability to carry through well. Many persons allow the enthusiasm of the spring season to get the better of their judgment, and lead them into undertaking to do so much that after a little the magnitude of the work discourages them, and, as a natural result, the garden suffers seriously, and often proves a sad failure. Bear in mind that a few really good plants will give a hundredfold more pleasure than a great many mediocre ones. Therefore concentrate your work, and aim at quality rather than quantity. Never set out to have so large a garden that the amount of labor you have to expend on it will be likely to prove a burden rather than a pleasurable recreation.

Do not attempt anything elaborate in a small garden. Leave fancy beds and striking designs to those who have a sufficient amount of room at their disposal to make them effective.

I would advise keeping each kind of plant by itself, as far as possible. Beds in which all colors are mixed promiscuously are seldom pleasing because there are sure to be colors there that are out of harmony with others, and without color-harmony a garden of most expensive plants must prove a failure to the person of good taste.

I would not, therefore, advise the purchase of "mixed" seed, in which most persons invest, because it is cheaper than that in which each color is by itself. This may cost more, but it is well worth the additional expense. Take Phlox Drummondi as an illustration of the idea governing this advice: If mixed seed is used, you will have red, pink, mauve, scarlet, crimson, violet, and lilac in the same bed,--a jumble of colors which can never be made to harmonize and the effect of which will be very unpleasant. On the other hand, by planning your bed in advance of making it, with color-harmony in mind, you can so select and arrange your colors that they will not only harmonize, but afford a contrast that will heighten the general effect greatly. For instance, you can use rose-color, white and pale yellow varieties together, or scarlet and white, or carmine and pale yellow, and these combinations will be in excellent harmony, and give entire satisfaction. The mauves, lilacs, and violets, to be satisfactory, should only be used in combination with white varieties. I am speaking of the Phlox, but the rule which applies to this plant applies with equal force to all plants in which similar colors are to be found.

If there are unsightly places anywhere about the grounds aim to hide them under a growth of pretty vines. An old fence can be made into a thing of beauty when covered with Morning Glories or Nasturtiums. By the use of a trellis covered with Sweet Peas, or a hedge of Zinnia, or of Cosmos, we can shut off the view of objectionable features which may exist in connection with the garden. Outhouses can be completely hidden in midsummer by planting groups of Ricinus about them, and filling in with Hollyhocks, and Delphinium, and Golden Glow, and other tall-growing plants. In planning your garden, study how to bring about these desirable results.

Keep in mind the fact that if you go about garden-making in a haphazard way, and happen to get plants where they do not belong, as you are quite likely to do unless you know them well, you have made a mistake which cannot be rectified until another season. This being the case, guard against such mistakes by making sure that you know just what plant to use to produce the effect you have in mind.

Plan to have a selection of plants that will give flowers throughout the entire season. The majority of annuals bloom most profusely in June and July, but the prevention of seed-development will force them into bloom during the later months.

Plan to have a few plants in reserve, to take the places of those which may fail. Something is liable to happen to a plant, at any time, and unless you have material at hand with which to make good the loss, there will be a bare spot in your beds that will be an eye-sore all the rest of the season.

Plan to have the lowest growers near the path, or under the sitting-room windows where you can look down upon them.

Plan to have a back-yard garden in which to give the plants not needed in the main garden a place. There will always be seedlings to thin out, and these ought not to be thrown away. If planted in some out-of-the-way place they will furnish you with plenty of material for cutting, and this will leave the plants in the main garden undisturbed.

THE BACK-YARD GARDEN