The Surroundings of the Farm Home 



?o63 



second seeding with accompaniment of soil is to deepen the roots of the 

 first sowing and also to develop a denser turf. A larger proportion of seed 

 and soil should be used on spots that have failed, or where, for any reason 

 there is a poor stand. In fact, seed should be kept in a dry place all 

 summer for sowing in the holes made by weeds, by temporary summer 

 grass, and the like. 



Constant care is necessary to make a good lawn, though when the lawn 

 is fully established care may be 

 given at odd moments. Neglect at 

 the outset, however, will prove 

 disastrous. A thrifty lawn is the 

 best preparation against weeds. 



PLANTINGS 

 PLANTINGS IN THE YARD 



Shrubbery plantings serve various 

 purposes. They may help correct 

 unfortunate or unavoidable mis- 

 takes in plans and grades, or may 

 serve as a frame for the whole 

 grounds, or as screens for those por- 

 tions that need to be hidden. 



Just as slopes when in turf do 

 not appear to be so steep as the 

 same grade in a roadway, so a 

 well-planted bank of shrubbery does 

 not look so high or so abrupt as 

 the same slope would in grass. 

 Houses that appear to be too high 

 from the ground may have this 

 awkwardness somewhat relieved by 

 a judicious use of shrubs or vines 

 about the foundations. Slopes that i 

 are too steep to be easily maintained ^.j^^ 216. border plantings 



in grass should be planted with Borders arranged to frame the lawn should be 



planted in rather solid masses 



some growth that will completely 



cover them, and prevent their washing, and that will require no care 

 as soon as the plants are established. The customary use of shmbs 

 and vines to cover up unsightly places may be a misuse of them. 

 The first aim should be to so improve the grounds that there is nothing 

 to hide. Ofttimes there is an effort to hide features that are in- 

 trinsically good to look at. For example, a kitchen dooryard with 

 its showy array of polished jars, pans, and implements of the kitchen 



