HOME GROUNDS AND GARDENS 209 



While the householder gladly puts $3,000 to $20,000 into his house, paying 

 an architect $100 to $500 for planning the house, he does not think of 

 consulting a landscape gardener to design the planting, but leaves such 

 things to the man who mows the lawn or some other person not com- 

 petent to do the work. 



The first question to be decided in laying out the grounds for a mod- 

 erate sized home is whether a fine effect from the street shall be sought 

 or privacy be secured to the residents. The old English style of securing 

 privacy is to have a thick, high hedge along the front, completely screen- 

 ing the house and grounds from the street. A modification of this method 

 is to plant a somewhat irregular screen of mixed trees and shrubs. A 

 good plan, and one I much prefer, is to make the plantings in irregular 

 borders along the sides of the lot and at the back with a few shrubs and 

 climbers against the porches and the foundation of the house. Mistakes 

 especially to be avoided are formal beds in the front lawn, shrubs and 

 trees scattered promiscuously over the area with no central idea. The 

 object of landscape gardening is to make a picture. The lawn is the 

 canvas, the house the central figure, the planting completes the composi- 

 tion and adds the color. Therefore, in planning your home grounds keep 

 the center open, frame and mass the sides, and avoid scattering effects. 



As to walks and drives, have them as few and short as possible. On 

 a small place the approach may be straight and lead directly to the house. 

 As walks and drives are a necessary evil, and do not add to the beauty of 

 the place, they should then be designed to fit the actual demands of traffic 

 about the place. 



The lawn is the first practical consideration in a landscape garden. 

 Great care should be used in preparing the ground for seeding a new 

 lawn. Deep cultivation and the soil well enriched with barnyard or com- 

 mercial fertilizers are essentials. The best grass for the foundation is 

 Kentucky bluegrass, with redtop, Rhode Island bent, and white clover 

 added for quick results. The easiest way to spoil a good lawn is to put a 

 flower bed on it. 



Next in importance to a good lawn is the shrubbery. These plants 

 are seldom used too much, and it is on their association that the charm of 

 the landscape mostly depends. For a small place, in my opinion, it is 

 wrong to distribute the different species with which a bed is planted in 

 small groups of one species only. The reason is this: the growth, form, 

 and color of such groups being naturally different, the result obtained is 

 far from presenting a harmonious whole. If space permits, delightful 

 shrubberies may be planned. These plants irregularly grouped along the 

 walls and massed in retreating angles of a building soften the sharp line 

 when building and ground unite. Plant for immediate effect, as well as 

 for future generations, buy good sized plants from your local grower if 

 possible. Life is too short for mail order plants of most varieties. Insist 

 upon the nurseryman sending what you order; here is where you can get 

 satisfaction if a mistake has been made by dealing with the people in 

 your own state. Do not expect to get plants as they are illustrated in 



