220 THE PIvANT WORLD 



of the plot, the footpath should lead from the center of the front line 

 direct to the door of the house, bisecting the grounds evenly. Where a 

 driveway is needed, the best arrangement is that shown in Fig. 1. Here 

 there is no separate footpath, and the driveway describes a simple ellipse, 

 one arm having an extension to the rear of the house. This diagram also 

 illustrates the location of the main building in the center of a rectangle. 

 In Fig. 2 we have a tract of land that is not only heavily wooded but 

 heavily graded, as shown by the dotted contour lines. To have placed 

 the house in the level open space at the south side of the lot would have 

 ruined all artistic effects, and would have subjected the house to damp- 

 ness on account of the steep hill behind it. Therefore the slope near the 

 west line was graded, and a long sweeping terrace formed, giving space 

 not only for the building itself, but for a display of carpet bedding along 

 the edge of the terrace and a driveway loop on the north side. 



In a heavily wooded lot great care should be taken to thin the trees 

 with a definite purpose in view. The tendency is often to swing the axe 

 almost indiscriminately, and some of the finest shade trees are thus wan- 

 tonly sacrificed. In Figure 2 the ground was originall}^ almost a forest. 

 The first operation was to remove all dead or dying and a number of 

 badly shaped trees ; and thinning out was continued until there were three 

 distinct vistas through which the house could be seen, indicated by arrows 

 in the diagram . On the terrace only enough trees were left to give shade 

 to the house, while the forest on the south side was left almost unbroken. 



Where the ground is open, it is of course necessary to plant trees and 

 shrubs. In Figure 1 the cross-marks indicate the most desirable situa- 

 tions for low growing trees or groups of shrubs such as Forsythia, 

 Weigelia, Hydrangea, Viburnum and others. Shrubs should almost al- 

 ways form groups, and the principle of compensation, so important in 

 artistic photography, must be considered in this connection. In a picture 

 a deep shadow or prominent object at one side must be balanced by some- 

 thing of equal value on the other. So if we wish to secure decorative 

 effects around our houses, we must not burden one side of the yard with 

 a mass of shrubbery while the other contains merely a few low-growing 

 plants. A study of the diagram, noting the position of these groups with 

 respect to the large tree in the center, the pathway, and the house itself, 

 wall serve to make this point clear. 



Along the fence, marked by wavy lines, is intended to be what is techni- 

 cally known as the hardy border. This contains exclusively perennials, 

 which take care of themselves, and the bed requires only surface digging and 

 an annual mulch of manure. The main thing to remember in laying out 

 a border of this kind is to place the tall and stiff-growing plants at the 

 back, the lower and more bushy ones in front of these, and the dwarf 

 edging or border plants in front. Consult a reliable catalogue, and con- 



