192 



ORNAMENTAL GARDENING. 



invest the compositions with an air of grace and freedom. 

 This is a point which the inexperienced would do well 

 to heed, for it is easy to fail right here. In nature, 

 bushes and trees, herbs and shrubs, blend together in the 

 freest manner, while the edges of the group commonly 

 round off with exquisite finish; a good example which 

 we should strive to imitate. 



Where a beautiful garden fronts on a j^ublic highway, 

 it is as commendable in the owner to allow passers on the 

 street to get glimpses of the interior, as it is to have 



Fig. 33. — DIFFERENT WATS OF ARRANGING A SMALL NUMBER OF PLANTS. 



thought of the effect of a fine house upon a neighbor- 

 hood. But then a garden is designed chiefly for the 

 pleasure of the owner's family and friends, and he likes 

 to enjoy it in seclusion. It is a luxury to sit at ease, or 

 swing in a hammock on a summer's day, and drink in 

 the sights, sounds, and perfumes peculiar to a garden, 

 without fear of interruption, and this seclusion should 

 be provided for. Figure 34 shows how masses may be set 

 so as to give the public some benefit of a garden, and yet 

 render portions of it secluded. 



By grouping, complete effects may be produced more 

 quickly than in any other manner of planting. Whether 

 dealing with trees or shrubs, we may plant very thickly 

 at the start, by using at first twice or three times as 



