Page:The Wild Garden William Robinson.djvu/21

 been a gradual rooting out of all the old favourites in favour of the bedding system. This was carried to such an extent that of late it has not been uncommon, indeed it has been the rule, to find the largest gardens in the country without a single hardy flower, all energy and expense being devoted to the production of the many thousand exotics required for the summer decoration. It should be distinctly borne in mind that the expense for this system is an annual one ; that no matter what amount of money may be spent in this way, no matter how many years may be devoted to perfecting it, the first sharp frost of November merely prepares a yet further expense and labour. Its highest results need hardly be described ; they are seen in all our great public gardens ; our London and many other city parks show them in the shape of beds filled with vast quantities of flowers, covering the ground frequently in a showy way, and not unfrequently in a repulsively gaudy manner : every private garden is taken possession of by the same simple beauties. Occasionally some variety is introduced. We go to Kew or the Crystal Palace to see what looks best there, or the weekly gardening papers tell us ; and the following season sees tens of thousands of