Underneath the carpeting plant it is perfectly practical to have a crop of bulbs. Indeed, bulbs never look their best when growing out of bare earth. They are far prettier when seen against a background of foliage that hides the soil entirely. These carpeting plants are so shallow-rooted that they do not exhaust the soil. If you have lilies in the centre of the bed, you can have an edging of daffodils or tulips. If you have tulips or daffodils in the centre you can have spring or autumn crocuses for an edging.

In this way it is easy to get flowers at four different seasons. If each one lasts a fortnight you will have eight weeks of bloom from hardy flowers. Indeed, I believe it possible to have three months of bloom in a hardy bed and attractive foliage for seven months without the expense of annual digging and replanting.