It is unnecessary to repeat what was said in the first section of March about preparing and planting herbaceous borders. This task is one which will afford pleasurable occupation in favourable weather at any time in March.

Chrysanthemums For Borders

Florists' Chrysanthemums form such a beautiful class that it is small wonder that the flower gardener casts covetous eyes upon it, and wants to know if he cannot make some use of it in his borders. As a late summer and autumn flower the Chrysanthemum has only two formidable rivals, the Dahlia and the Michaelmas Daisy. The former is not an ideal border plant; moreover, it is tender. The latter is of the highest merit. But fine as they are, there is no reason why Michaelmas Daisies should monopolise the garden in autumn. They have their places in the border, and fill them worthily; but Chrysanthemums can be added without displacing any other plant by adopting the simple plan of growing them in a reserve bed, and when early plants in the borders fade, cutting them to the ground, and transferring the Chrysanthemums from their temporary quarters to the neighbourhood of the decapitated plants, whose good work they will carry on most admirably. In view of the potential usefulness of Chrysanthemums in this respect, it is satisfactory to find that they will bear transplanting quite well, even when they are in an advanced stage, and approaching the flowering period.

If the Chrysanthemum is sometimes overlooked as a flower-garden plant, it is perhaps more because amateurs have got into a way of associating it with conservatory decoration and with exhibitions, than because there is any doubt of its beauty. Perhaps this reminder that it is really hardy, really beautiful, really amenable to transplantation at a comparatively late stage, will serve to convince many an amateur of the magnitude of a misapprehension which leads to the exclusion of so glorious a plant as the Chrysanthemum from modern flower gardens.

In speaking of the Chrysanthemum as hardy, I do not overlook its not uncommon habit of dying out annually on heavy, damp, clay soils. I have had experience of that myself. But I am by no means sure that it is an unmixed evil. The clumps of Chrysanthemums which one sees in cottage borders make a brave display in autumn, and the brilliance of their colours often cheats us into overlooking their scraggy habit and puny flowers. These plants are not really cultivated. They look after themselves. The result is not bad, but it is open to improvement. Personally, when I found myself stirred into the annual renewal of border Chrysanthemums by cuttings, owing to the losses through winter damp in heavy land, I did very much better with both plant and bloom than I had done on the leave-alone system.

A simple way of getting a stock of healthy young plants is to cut back a few plants in autumn, put them in pots, and keep them in a cool house, or on a bed of ashes in a frame, through the winter. When they start growing in spring the young shoots can be taken off at about three inches long, inserted in sandy soil, and kept close until they begin to grow, then given abundance of air. By making a correct choice of varieties, bloom can be got in succession for nearly three months.