of colors
sometimes seen in plantings. The acknowledged head of the house--she
who is probably the one who desires the flower border--is generally an
authority on pleasing color combinations.

Securely staking tall-growing plants is necessary if one desires
neatness and effectiveness in the garden. We care for a plant twelve
months in the year for the benefit we derive from its short season of
bloom, and to allow it, then, to be sprawled upon the ground by passing
storms seems cruel. Broom handles and ash rods, half an inch in
diameter, used by basket makers, may be obtained from dealers in broom
material. Bamboo canes are useful, as well as the painted stakes sold
by seed houses. The stakes should be forced well down into the soil.
Often, in dry weather when the ground is hard, they are not driven down
far enough and the first hard rain softens the soil around them, and,
if a strong wind exists, the plant may topple over and carry the stake
with it. In tying them don't hug them as you would a long-lost brother;
give them some natural freedom. In large groups, place the stakes
around them, three or four feet apart, and string from stake to stake,
running cross strings through the plants or between them. A single
large plant generally requires at least three stakes. Do it before they
are broken down by storms, for once broken it is hard to make a good
job of it, especially if left down for some time. Then the growing ends
turn up for light and harden in that bent condition.

If you raise the perennials yourself it is best to grow them one year
in a reserve bed, say in the vegetable garden, because but very few
will bloom the first year from seed. Purchased plants should have
blossoms the first year, as they are supposed to be one-year-old
seedlings or are divisions of old plants. These may be set out in the
first position upon arrival. Seedlings in the reserve bed may be
planted in rows, each row a foot apart, and the plants six inches apart
in the rows; thus planted, they take up but little room and in the
early fall or next spring they may be removed to their permanent
quarters.

In transplanting, be sure to expose the roots as little as possible to
the sun or drying winds. When plants arrive with the started foliage
looking wilted, sprinkle them overhead and set them in a shady
sheltered position for a while--say an hour. This will generally revive
them enough to go on with your planting. If you have reason to sup