School Grounds and School Gardens. 71 



hat on a man with a sweater. If the painting might represent a clown 

 why should not the planting be called a "circus garden?" 



If the school house is to be the central feature of the picture, it 

 must have a setting, a background, a framework. It must not be hidden 

 from the front. See how nicely this can be accomplished by following 

 a well-known principle in landscape art to the effect that the planting 

 should be massed at the sides and back, leaving the front and center 

 comparatively open. Note also how well this type of planting fits 

 around the play grounds. In massing plants, whether trees, shrubs, or 

 flowers, it is better to use comparatively few kinds and many of a kind 

 than to set a few plants each of many kinds. It produces a much beti'or 

 effect also to group the individuals of each kind together, arranging 

 the groups with regard to size of plants, color of flowers, etc., than to 

 mix the different sorts indiscriminately. 



The arrangement of school grounds may best be discussed b/ 

 reference to the accompanying diagram, which represents a school 

 ground of one and one-half acres. The house faces the east, with the 

 public road on the east and south. The house is set well toward the 

 front and to one side, the better to afford room for the play grounds, 

 three in all, one for the boys, one for the girls, and one for the smaV.est 

 children. The play grounds are separated by walks, and the boundaries 

 reinforced by groups of shrubs; otherwise they are bare of planto, 

 though grass might be encouraged to grow in them if this could be done 

 without restricting their use as play grounds. In most cases it would 

 probably be best to attempt little in the way of greensward except in 

 front of the school house. The coal shed is placed near the road for 

 convenience in unloading fuel and is also conveniently near the school 

 building. The walks lead to their destinations as directly as possible 

 (curved walks are often more direct than straight ones and at the same 

 time more graceful). The outhouses are sufiBciently separated and well 

 masked by trees and shrubs. 



The trees are for the most part massed at the north and west side3 

 of the grounds, both to furnish a background for the school yard and 

 to afford protection from winter storms. In addition to these, a few 

 trees are scattered about the south and east sides of the place to furnish 

 shade and relieve the barrenness of the front yard. The larger shrubs 

 and small trees are grouped in front of the larger trees at the north and 

 west. The smaller flowering shrubs are massed in the curves of the 

 walks. The only plants grown on the buildings are climbing roses on 

 the school house and wild grape vine on the coal house. The hardy 

 herbaceous perennial flowers are massed more or less irregularly in 

 front of the shrubs. Flowers appear to much better advantage when 



