Perennial Links
IN THE FLOWER GARDEN
If you would have flowers in profusion, the separate flower garden should be placed in some corner of the yard, or possibly divided from the rest of the garden by a hedge or other barrier. In this space have flowerbeds to accommodate the desired plants, with walks. Such a garden may be formal or informal in design, as suggested by the plans.
In the beds of this flower garden plants will be ranged according to height and color so as to be viewed to best advantage from the paths. Have the beds or borders from three to six feet in width, depending on whether they are to be viewed from both sides or from only one side. Wider than this they are rather difficult to care for. The paths should be of ample width to allow two persons to walk abreast.
Spring-flowering bulbs should be planted in the beds without regard to the later-blooming perennials. The center beds may be used effectively for large masses of one flower, such as phlox, peony, iris, or hardy chrysanthemums, each bed being planted to prevent a mass of bloom at one particular time.
Temporary foundation plantings about the newly built home may be of herbaceous perennials, using for this purpose those perennials, which retain their foliage in good condition throughout the season. This will include plants such as hardy chrysanthemum, baptisia, gasplant, peony, Japanese anemone, shrubby clematis, daylily, hardy aster, and plume poppy. On the other hand, if the planting around the house consists of shrubs, perennial flowers may be used in front of the shrubs just as in the shrub border and allow there a wide opportunity for expression of personal taste or fancy. As an example: Try a few tiger lilies against the side of the house in back of the lower-growing shrubs. Or in the same place the plume poppy or hardy chrysanthemum may prove quite effective. In front of the shrubs coreopsis, gaillardia, Shasta daisy; or even lower plants, such as moss pink, grass, and hardy candytuft, may be effectively used.
IN THE CUTTING GARDEN
All too often the regular flower beds and border either do not furnish a sufficient quantity of flowers for use in the home or we hesitate to remove any of their bloom before we have to for use as cut flowers. If you have need for a considerable quantity of flowers for cutting, it may be advisable, from both the standpoint of appearance of the yard and the quality of the flowers, to grow them in rows in a special cutting garden. In such a garden only those flowers should be grown that are best suited for the purpose in view. They will be planted at their normal planting distance in the rows and space left between the rows for cultivating, weeding, as well as ease of gathering them. Although individual tastes will differ in the selection of flowers, the following list will be found to be good all-around satisfactory forms. Incidentally, the cutting garden in many ways offers the ideal place for the growing of peonies, collections of iris, or collections of other flowers, which are not desired in quantities in the regular borders.
Anemone japonica
Aquilegia
Campanula persifolia
Centaurea montana
Chrysanthemum maximum
Chrysanthemum (hardy varieties)
Coreopsis
Delphinium
Helenium autumnale
Riverton Gem
Hemerocallis
Hesperis
Iris
Penstemon barbatus torreyi
Phlox
Salvia azurea
Stokesia
Tritoma
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Japanese anemone
Columbine
Peachleaf bellflower
Perennial cornflower
Shasta daisy
Chrysanthemum
Coreopsis
Larkspur
Common sneezeweed
Daylily
Sweet rocket
Iris
Torrey penstemon
Phlox
Blue sage
Stokesia
Redhot-poker
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In addition to these some of the smaller flowers will be grown as fillers in arrangements. Suggested for this purpose are:
Achillea ptarmica
Boltonia
Gypsophila
Galium
Statice
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Sneezewort
Boltonia
Babysbreath
Bedstraw
Thrift
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In the Vegetable garden.
The vegetable garden may be used for growing cut flowers, young seedlings, and plants during their first year, or those, which, because of their overly vigorous growth, may be objectionable in the perennial border. Those which may be grown under such favorable conditions are the hardy aster, false-dragonhead, plume poppy, and most forms of the hardy sunflower (Helianthus). All of these have a tendency to spread over a considerable area. By being grown in the vegetable garden they may be kept in bounds.
Low-growing | Taller-growing | Background | Foliage effects | Continuous bloom | Cutting Garden | Among the Shrubs | Shady | Rock Garden | Naturalized | Secluded Garden Design |
