I have since learned that if the plants in my hardy borders cannot take
care of themselves for a time, they are little comfort to me.

The joy of garden-making lies in the mental attitude and in the
sentiments.



CHAPTER II

THE GENERAL PLAN OR THEORY OF THE PLACE

Having now discussed the most essential elements of gardening, we may
give attention to such minor features as the actual way in which a
satisfying garden is to be planned and executed.

Speaking broadly, a person will get from a garden what he puts into it;
and it is of the first importance, therefore, that a clear conception of
the work be formulated at the outset. I do not mean to say that the
garden will always turn out what it was desired that it should be; but
the failure to turn out properly is usually some fault in the first plan
or some neglect in execution.

Sometimes the disappointment in an ornamental garden is a result of
confusion of ideas as to what a garden is for. One of my friends was
greatly disappointed on returning to his garden early in September to
find that it was not so full and floriferous as when he left it in July.
He had not learned the simple lesson that even a flower-garden should
exhibit the natural progress of the season. If the garden begins to show
ragged places and to decline in late August or early September, it is