Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

Making a Garden of Perennials
Making a Garden of Perennials
Making a Garden of Perennials
Ebook52 pages30 minutes

Making a Garden of Perennials

Rating: 0 out of 5 stars

()

Read preview

About this ebook

This vintage book contains a fantastic guide to gardening, concentrating on planting and propagating perennials. A Perennial is a plant that lives for longer than two years and grows to boom over the spring and summer, dies every autumn and winter, and then returns in the spring from its rootstock. This term is usually often used to separate these types of plants from shorter-lived annuals and biennials, as well as to distinguish those that have little or no woody growth from trees and shrubs. This volume is highly recommended for those with a practical interest in growing these types of plants, and it would make for a worthy addition to collections of allied literature.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateOct 22, 2015
ISBN9781473377035
Making a Garden of Perennials

Related to Making a Garden of Perennials

Related ebooks

Gardening For You

View More

Related articles

Reviews for Making a Garden of Perennials

Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
0 ratings

0 ratings0 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

    Book preview

    Making a Garden of Perennials - W. C. Egan

    Making a Garden

    of Perennials

    by

    W. C. Egan

    Copyright © 2013 Read Books Ltd.

    This book is copyright and may not be

    reproduced or copied in any way without

    the express permission of the publisher in writing

    British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

    A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

    Contents

    A Short History of Gardening

    INTRODUCTION

    PREPARING THE BEDS

    WINTER MULCHING

    SUMMER MULCHING

    PLANT COMBINATIONS

    WEEDING

    LISTS OF DEPENDABLE PERENNIALS

    SOME OF THE BEST PLANTS FOR SHADY POSITIONS

    FOR DRY SOILS

    FOR WET SOILS

    ALPINES, OR ROCK PLANTS

    A Short History of Gardening

    Gardening is the practice of growing and cultivating plants as part of horticulture more broadly. In most domestic gardens, there are two main sets of plants; ‘ornamental plants’, grown for their flowers, foliage or overall appearance – and ‘useful plants’ such as root vegetables, leaf vegetables, fruits and herbs, grown for consumption or other uses. For many people, gardening is an incredibly relaxing and rewarding pastime, ranging from caring for large fruit orchards to residential yards including lawns, foundation plantings or flora in simple containers. Gardening is separated from farming or forestry more broadly in that it tends to be much more labour-intensive; involving active participation in the growing of plants.

    Home-gardening has an incredibly long history, rooted in the ‘forest gardening’ practices of prehistoric times.  In the gradual process of families improving their immediate environment, useful tree and vine species were identified, protected and improved whilst undesirable species were eliminated. Eventually foreign species were also selected and incorporated into the ‘gardens.’ It was only after the emergence of the first civilisations that wealthy individuals began to create gardens for aesthetic purposes. Egyptian tomb paintings from around 1500 BC provide some of the earliest physical evidence of ornamental horticulture and landscape design; depicting lotus ponds surrounded by symmetrical rows of acacias and palms. A notable example of an ancient ornamental garden was the ‘Hanging Gardens of Babylon’ – one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

    Ancient Rome had dozens of great gardens, and Roman estates tended to be laid out with hedges and vines and contained a wide variety of flowers – acanthus, cornflowers, crocus, cyclamen, hyacinth, iris, ivy, lavender, lilies, myrtle, narcissus, poppy, rosemary and violets as well as statues and sculptures. Flower beds were also popular in the courtyards of rich Romans. The Middle Ages represented a period of decline for gardens with aesthetic purposes however.  After the fall of Rome gardening

    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1