Carpet-bedding

Carpet-Bedding is not the most artistic phase of gardening, by any

means, but it has a great attraction for many persons who admire masses

of harmonious and contrasting colors more than the individual beauty of

a flower. Therefore a chapter on this subject will no doubt be gladly

welcomed by those who have seen the striking effects secured by the use

of plants having ornamental or richly colored foliage, in our large

public parks, and on the grounds of the wealthy.



Let me say, just here, that the person who attempts what, for want of a

better name, might be called pictorial gardening, is wise if he selects

a rather simple pattern, especially at the outset of his career in this

phase of garden-work. Intricate and elaborate designs call for more

skill in their successful working out than the amateur is likely to be

master of, and they demand a larger amount of time and labor than the

average amateur florist will be likely to expend upon them. And the

fact should never be lost sight of that failure to give all the care

needed brings about most discouraging results. This being the case,

select a design in which the effect aimed at can be secured by broad

masses of color, depending almost wholly on color-contrast for pleasing

results. Bear in mind that this "school" of pictorial art belongs to the

"impressionistic" rather than the "pre-Raphaelite," about which we hear

so much nowadays, and leave the fine work to the professional gardener,

or wait until you feel quite sure of your ability to attempt it with a

reasonably good show of success.



Some persons are under the impression that flowering plants can be used

to good effect in carpet-bedding. This is not the case, however. In

order to bring out a pattern or design fully and clearly, it is

absolutely necessary that we make use of plants which are capable of

giving a solid color-effect. This we obtain from foliage, but very few

flowering plants are prolific enough of bloom to give the desired

result. The effect will be thin and spotty, so never depend on them.

Quite often they can be used in combination with plants having

ornamental foliage in such a manner as to secure pleasing results, but

they always play a secondary part in this phase of gardening.



The best plants to use in carpet-bedding are the following:



Coleus, in various shades of red, maroon, and scarlet, light and dark

yellow, green and white, and varieties in which colors and shades of

color are picturesquely blended.



Achyranthes, low-growing plants in mixtures of red, pink, yellow and

green.



Alternatheras, similar to Achyranthes in habit, but with red as a

predominating color. Both are excellent for working out the finer

details of a design.



Pyrethrum--"Golden Feather"--with feathery foliage of a tawny yellow.



Centaurea _gymnocarpa_,--"Dusty Miller,"--with finely-cut foliage of a

cool gray.



Geranium Madame Salleroi--with pale green and white foliage. This is a

most excellent plant for use in carpet-bedding because of its close,

compact habit of growth, and its very symmetrical shape which is

retained throughout the entire season without shearing or pruning.



It must be borne in mind by the amateur florist that success in

carpet-bedding depends nearly as much on the care given as on the

material used. In order to bring out a design sharply, it is necessary

to go over the bed at least twice a week and cut away all branches that

show a tendency to straggle across the boundary line of the various

colors. Run your pruning shears along this line and ruthlessly cut away

everything that is not where it belongs. If this is not done, your

"pattern" will soon become blurred and indistinct. If any intermingling

of colors "from across the line" is allowed, all sharpness of outline

will be destroyed.



The plants must be clipped frequently to keep them dwarf and compact.

Make it a point to keep the larger-growing kinds, such as Coleus,

Pyrethrum and Centaurea, under six inches in height rather than over it.

Alternatheras and Achyranthes will need very little shearing, as to top,

because of their habit of low growth.



In setting these plants in the bed, be governed by the habit of each

plant. Achyranthes and Alternatheras, being the smallest, should be put

about four inches apart. Give the Coleus about six inches of lee-way,

also the Centaurea. Allow eight inches for Madame Salleroi Geranium and

Pyrethrum. These will soon meet in the row and form a solid line or mass

of foliage.



So many persons have asked for designs for carpet-bedding, that I will

accompany this chapter with several original with myself which have

proved very satisfactory. Some of them may seem rather complicated, but

when one gets down to the business of laying them out, the seeming

complications will vanish.



In laying out all but the star-shaped and circular beds, it is well to

depend upon a square as the basis to work from. Decide on the size of

bed you propose to have, and then stake out a square as shown by the

dotted lines in design No. 1, and work inside this square in filling in

the details. If this is done, the work will not be a difficult one.






Design No. 1 will be found easy to make and admits of many pleasing

combinations and modifications. Each gardener who sees fit to adopt any

of these designs should study out a color-scheme of his own. Knowing the

colors of the material he has to work with it will not be difficult to

arrange these colors to suit individual taste. I think this will be more

satisfactory than to give any arbitrary arrangement of colors, for half

the pleasure of gardening consists in originating things of this kind,

rather than copying what some one else has originated, or of following

instructions given by others. This does not apply so much to designs for

beds as it does to the colors we make use of in them.






In the designs accompanying this chapter it will be seen that simple

plans are made capable of producing more elaborate effects by making use

of the dotted lines. Indeed, one can make these designs quite intricate

by dividing the different spaces as outlined in No. 2. A plain centre

with a plain point, as shown in _a_, shows the bed in its very simplest

form. In _g_, _c_, and _d_, we see these points with three different

arrangements suggested, and the dotted line in the central portion

indicates a change that can be made there that will add considerably to

the effectiveness of the design. A little study of other designs will, I

think, make them so plain that they can be worked out with but little

trouble.






I would suggest that before deciding on any color-combinations, a rough

diagram be made of whatever bed you select and that this be colored to

correspond with the material you have to work with. Seeing these colors

side by side on paper will give you a better idea of the general effect

that will result from any of your proposed combinations than you can get

in any other way, and to test them in this manner may prevent you from

making some serious mistakes.






It will be necessary to go over the beds every day or two and remove all

dead or dying leaves. Neatness is an item of the greatest importance in

this phase of gardening, or any other, for that matter.






Large plants can be used in the centre of any of these designs, if one

cares to do so, with very good effect. For this purpose we have few

plants that will give greater satisfaction than the Dahlia. Scarlet

Salvia would be very effective if yellow Coleus were used about it, but

it would not please if surrounded with red Coleus, as the red of the

plant and the red of the flower would not harmonize. A Canna of rich,

dark green would make a fine centre plant for a bed in which red Coleus

served as a background. One of the dark copper-colored varieties would

show to fine effect if surrounded with either yellow Pyrethrum or gray

Centaurea.






Ageratum, with its delicate lavender-blue flowers, can be made extremely

attractive in combination with yellow Coleus. A pink Geranium surrounded

with gray Centaurea would be delightful in the harmony that would result

from a combination of these colors.









Nos. 7 and 8 illustrate the simplest possible form of bed. No. 7 is

designed for plants to be set in rows. In a bed of this kind flowering

plants can be used more effectively than in any of the others. Pink,

white, and pale yellow Phlox would be very pretty in such a combination.

No. 8 would be quite effective if each of the five sections were of a

different color of Coleus. Or the whole star might be of a solid color,

with a border of contrasting color. Red Coleus with Madame Salleroi

Geranium as a border would look well. So would yellow Coleus edged with

Centaurea.