The Livable House 



with true meadow planting; the petty suburban feeling creeps in 

 by way of privet and weigelia and deutzia — and the spirit of dog- 

 wood and hawthorn (the native kinds, not foreign introduced 

 sorts), hazel nut, and sumach is gone. 



I do not mean to be decrying the obvious merits of our faithful 

 flowering shrubs; they are very useful and very beautiful, but I 

 should like to make it clear that they are essentially of the house 

 garden — that they have a tame cat feeling which belongs near the 

 house, and that they should be left behind with the house when it 

 is the spirit of woods and fields one is trying to recall in planting. 

 These principles are true of the elements of planting along drives 

 and walks according as the groups of shrubs and trees are near 

 the house or remote from it. 



The form which the planting should take depends upon the 

 form of the drive or walk. 



The avenue tvpe of planting, that is straight rows of things, 

 should be confined to walks or drives which are straight; irregular 

 lines demand irregular planting — both as to height and breadth — 

 and a drive which twists and curves should not be bordered by 

 straight ranks of trees and bushes of even height. 



It is probably unnecessary to say that no drive or walk should 

 curve without appearing to curve for a reason, and if it curves 

 just for the sake of curving an excuse has to be supplied. Under 

 some circumstances it so happens that it is undesirable to fill up 

 all the bends of a road with bushes; thev are apt to give a shut-in 

 feeling to the drive which at certain points is unpleasant. A 

 tree or a clump of trees in such a position furnishes the needed ex- 



[64] 





