16 



THE "ILLINOIS WAY" OF BEAUTIFYING THE FARM 



49. The Gaudy Style of Lawn Costs More to Maintain 



To say nothing of its bad taste! It takes more hand work to cut the grass around It can be mowed by horse-power, and in the country mowing need not be do 



flower-beds and specimen plants that are scattered over the lawn. The most expensive often as in the city. The open lawn is simpler, more dignified, more restful, and 



50. The Open Lawn Costs Less to Maintain 



It can be mowed by horse-power, and in the country mowing need not be done so 



item in gardening is labor. 



FLOWER-GARDENS THAT REALLY FIT THE 

 ILLINOIS FARM 



The kind of flower-garden for which every farmer's wife 

 secretly yearns is the kind her great-grandmother had the 

 Colonial garden, with box-edged beds filled with roses and 

 annual flowers. (See Fig. 61.) The boxwood is not hardy in 

 Illinois, and comparatively few large, double roses are thor- 

 oughly satisfactory here. The farmer's wife cannot find an 

 hour a day for her flowers, and she cannot find anyone to spade 

 a flower-garden in the spring. But there are certain fundamen- 

 tal needs which people always have felt for flowers, and always 

 must gratify. The heart cries out for these things, and the 

 cry cannot be stifled. These fundamental flower needs are 

 about eight in number: (i) Every mother wants to grow the 

 famous old flowers that everybody has always known and 

 loved. (2) Every woman that ever lived wants cut-flowers 

 in her house. (3) Every family has some member that loves 

 birds, and wishes to bring their song, flight, and color nearer 

 to the house. (4) All parents want their children to learn 

 independence, and to love the country and wish to stay there. 

 (5) Every civilized being needs a chance to get back to nature 

 some playground, picnic spot, or bit of wildness. (6) Every 

 dweller on the prairie knows that about half the year is leafless, 

 and dumbly feels the need of winter comfort and cheer. (7) 

 Every farmer has at least a rudimentary admiration for old 

 trees and other things that grow more precious every year. 

 (8) Every citizen of Illinois is proud of his state, takes an 

 interest in his state flower, and is glad of every chance to show 

 an honest state pride based upon real achievements. Now let 



com 

 moi 

 repose 



51. The Gaudy Way of Using "Horticultural Varieties" 



Horticultural varieties are cut-leaved, weeping, and variegated trees and shrubs. The 



nmon way is to scatter ^them over a lawn. This system makes the biggest show for the 

 >ney, but it spoils the view of house and lawn and destroys all simplicity, dignity, and 

 tose. Here we have weeping beech, weeping elm, and purple maples. These particular 

 .pics are comparatively mild because they turn green in summer. The worst offenders 

 against good taste are purple barberry, purple plum (Prunus Pissardi), and golden cider. 



appropriate to the country. Without it you cannot frame a good view of your home. 



us see how all these fundamental needs can be satisfied by 

 up-to-date flower-gardens that are not total misfits, like the 

 Colonial garden, but are really adapted to the Illinois climate, 

 soil, labor, and farm life. 



1. A Flower-Garden for the Illinois Farmer's Wife 



We believe that it is impractical for the farmer's wife to have 

 a separate flower-garden at the present time. But she can make 

 her whole place a garden by planning to beautify her farm in 

 the "Illinois way." She will have all the flowers she most de- 

 sires, but they will not be in a separate garden; each will be 

 in the place where it is most needed and can be cared for at 

 the least expense. For example, her lilacs, sweet shrub, 

 weigela, golden bells, and Tartarian honeysuckle will not be 

 in the garden, but in the borders of the lawn. Her mock 

 orange may hide the outbuildings. Her spirea, deutzia, and 

 barberry will not be in a neglected garden, but against the 



52. The "Illinois Way" of Using Horticultural Varieties 



Here are fancy varieties enough for anyone. They constitute less than $ percent of the 

 planting, yet beginners often use 95 per cent fancy material. The "Illinois way" is to have 

 05 per cent of the planting composed of trees and shrubs native to Illinois. (Signed) 

 Wm. C. Egan, Highland Park, HI. This is the most famous one-acre place in the West. 

 It has been visitea by thousands of home-builders and has persuaded many to have open- 

 centered lawns, with massed planting at the sides. 



