The Planting of Shrubbery. 



511 



is the house. To scatter trees and bushes over the area defeats 

 the fundamental purpose of the place, — the purpose to make 

 -every part of the grounds lead up to the home and to accentuate 

 its homelikeness. Keep the center of the place open. Plant the 

 borders. Avoid all disconnected, cheap, patch v, and curious 

 effects. 



It is not enough that the bushes be planted in masses. They 

 must be kept in masses by letting them grow freely in a natural 

 manner. The pruning-knife is the most inveterate enemy of 

 shrubbery. Pictures 154 and 155 illustrate what I mean. The 



158.— A front yard before planting. 



former represents a good group of bushes so far as arrangement 

 is concerned, but it has been ruined bv the shears. The atten- 

 tion of the observer is instantly arrested by the individual bushes. 

 Instead of one free and expressive object, there are several stiff 

 and expressionless ones. If the observer stops to consider his own 

 thoughts when he comes upon such a collection, he will likely 

 find himself counting the bushes; or, at least, he will be making 

 mental comparisons of the various bushes and wondering why 

 they are not all sheared to be exactly alike. Fig. 155 shows 

 how the same " artist " has treated two deutzias and a juniper. 



