Notice Plants Dead at www.japanese-home-gardens.com

The only real chore in dealing with grasses is the annual pruning of the larger types in early spring. Then you will cut the dead stems and leaves to within 6 inches of the ground, before new growth begins. The larger clump-forming grasses grow from the inside out, and you may notice plants dead the plants are dead in the center after a few years. That is the time to divide the clumps with an ax, and pass on extra plants to other gardeners. These plants are not fragile.

Regularly removing dead flowers—or "deadheading"—encourages the devel opment of further buds and prolongs the display. Blooms left on plants decay and encourage the onset of diseases. Where plants have long flower-stalks, cut these back to the base. Where flowers are borne in tight clusters close to the main stem, use scissors to cut them off. Pick up all the dead flowers and place them on a compost pile. Left among the plants, they en- Deadhead plants courage diseases.

THE BEST WAY of planning a border is to work with small groups of plants so you can concentrate on the relationship between the subjects, and so gradually build up the groups into a whole border planting. Choose plants with shapes that complement each other and which make an interesting and varied effect. You will notice plants dead that different plants create a variety of effects. Spiky plants, for example, are active and lead the eye upward and onward to neighboring plants, while gentle hummock-forming plants are calming and bland, and lead the eye horizontally along the border. At the same time think of height. Either use a tier system with tall plants at the back and shorter ones at the front, or use tall plants in the middle of the group to create peaks of interest, with shorter-growing plants leading the eye upward toward them. This will divert the eye and prevent it from traveling straight down the border, taking it all in at a glance. However, if tall plants are used toward the front of a border, they should be wispy enough to allow the eye to pass through them, yet substantial enough to break the line.