Home1815 Edition

EDGINGS

Volume 7 · 160 words · 1815 Edition

in Gardening, the series of small but durable plants set round the edges or borders of flower beds, &c. The best and most durable of all plants for this use is box; which, if well planted and rightly managed, will continue in strength and beauty for many years. The seasons for planting this are the autumn, and very early in the spring: and the best species for this purpose is the dwarf Dutch box.

Formerly, it was also a very common practice to plant borders, or edgings, of aromatic herbs; as thyme, savory, hyssop, lavender, and the like: but these are all apt to grow woody, and to be in part, or wholly, destroyed in hard winters. Daisies, thrift, or sea july-flower, and chamomile, are also used by some for this purpose: but they require yearly transplanting, and a great deal of trouble, else they grow out of form; and they are also subject to perish in very hard seasons.