ANNUALS

No garden is complete without its quota of annuals. The so-called perennial garden, to be really successful, must be supplementedeach year with a quantity of annuals, especially if the garden is to bestudied in close detail. If only the larger mass effects of flowers andfoliage are required, a perennial planting properly selected is sufficientin itself.

The opinion prevails among those who have devoted but little studyto this subject that a complete flower garden can be developed duringthe first one or two years after planting through the use of properlyselected types of perennials only. Such a garden may be developedafter the first one or two years, under the care of an expert gardener.It is almost impossible to develop such a garden in the early stages,because perennials, on account of the nature of the plants, continueeach year to increase their mass and so require more space for theirnormal development. Therefore, when perennials are first planted,sufficient space should be allowed between plants to permit of a normaldevelopment for at least three or four years, at the end of which periodthe clumps of plants, except the peony, should be "divided." (See"Maintenance of Perennials.") If the first planting is not over-crowded there will be during the first year, and often during the secondyear, bare spots in the garden which should be filled with annuals.Perennials during the first year after transplanting rarely become es-tablished sufficiently to produce normal flower effects, and this is onereason for the use of annuals to develop a successful garden.