|
The gardener is coming to rely on perennial flowering plants to a greater extent every year. This is natural; these plants possess qualities, which enable them to fill almost all our gardening needs. There is danger, we may select too many plants of too many varieties and have to take care for a larger garden than we can properly keep in condition. It is more reasonable to limit our attention to a few plants and then raise them wisely and well, rather than to spread our endeavors over too wide a field, and so, perhaps, reap only disappointment for our labor.
By limiting our selection of plants and the size of our garden, we will not fail to achieve beauty and distinction. By selecting wisely we can get a great deal of variety and a larger amount of enjoyment.
Where to begin and what to select for a garden is no easy task. Every nursery catalog always describes each species in glowing terms as the most beautiful and quite indispensable plant to purchase for your garden. Who can, name the ten best perennials or the most interesting twenty-five for there own garden, let alone his neighbors'? Personal preference goes a long way in your selection, but there are other criteria, which will guide us to a fuller realization of our ambitions. Hardiness and ease of culture should be taken into consideration. Color, height, and time of bloom are important, and above all the planning of a garden. It is far better to have a few large masses of several good varieties than a mixed collection of many inharmonious plants. But this is only an opinion.
Important is the selection, design and arrangement in the garden itself . Much of the effectiveness of small gardens depends on how well they serve as elements of decoration in the landscape scheme. Growing plants just for the sake of having them is all right, but it is horticulture, not gardening. Gardening depends more on the effectiveness of the display than on the size and luxuriance of individual plants. We should be sure, then, that our garden, though small and simple, is fundamentally well designed. It must have background and enclosure. It must relate properly to other parts of the grounds and to the house. It must have balance, unity of composition, and accent, for a garden is not merely a collection of flowering plants. It is more than that. It is an artistic entity, effective for its purpose just so far as it follows out the fundamental concepts of design. Luxuriant flowers are only one factor in its success; there are other considerations of equal, if not greater, importance.
Having chosen our plants and designed a simple garden to contain them, our next step is to care for them in such a way that they will be contented and continue to grow, blossom, and multiply. In order to achieve this important end we must know something about the maintenance of perennial gardens, starting with soil preparation and fertility and carrying on with the proper methods and procedure of cultivation, top-dressing, mulching, spraying, and all the other routine subjects recognized as important factors in gardening.
With these thoughts in mind the following URL's have been selected in the hope that those who would garden expertly may find aid and inspiration which will help them to additional success.
|
