BEA UTIFYING HOME GROUNDS. 



41 



ever the stones fell. And he says that with a 

 few slight modifications the effect was all that 

 could be desired. 



2. Arrange to give an air of breadth and ex- 

 panse to the place. This is a most desirable ef- 

 fect, and is secured by preserving a more or less 

 open lawn in front of the house, by scattering 

 and grouping the larger trees at the outside of 

 the grounds so as to more or less hide the 

 boundaries. This suggests an unlimited extent, 

 beyond what the eye can see at any point. An- 

 other means is by opening vistas between the 

 trees, looking out upon distant scenes beyond 

 the boundaries. In this way we may shut out 

 undesirable objects, and we may appropriate to 

 ourselves desirable scenes, such as a wooded 

 hillside, a stretch of river, or a church spire, and 

 thus make our little grounds seem like part of 

 an extensive park. 



3. Arrange for trees to give comfort as well 

 as ornament. One of the first considerations 

 should be to shade the buildings from the heat 

 of the sun and to shelter them from the sweep 

 of the prevailing winds. On the south and west 

 should be planted a few of the largest trees, 

 such as elms or maples, not so close as to ex- 

 clude the light from any of the windows, nor so 

 that any of the branches, when the trees are 

 full grown will overhang the house, but close 

 enough that their shade will fall upon it. In all 

 planting the effect should be watched from the 

 principal windows, and we must take into con- 

 sideration what the results will be when the 

 trees are full grown. 



As a protection against the sweeping winds 

 of winter some of the strong growing ever- 

 greens, such as pines and spruces, are most use- 

 ful. Thick belts or clumps of these should be 

 planted on the most exposed quarters, and along 

 with them may be planted a few of the light 

 colored deciduous trees. In winter the ever- 

 greens give a cosy appearance to the place, and 

 in summer their sombre darkness is re- 

 lieved by the bright green of the deciduous 

 trees. 



In arranging the smaller trees and flowering 

 shrubs these may be grouped into ornamental 

 groups, or occasionally fine specimens may 

 stand out by themselves. When grouping into 

 clumps the tallest growing specimens should bc^ 

 planted in the centre, and along the border the 

 smallest shrubs should come to the front so as 

 to blend the grass with the taller trees in the 

 background. 



Beautiful color combinations and contrasts, 

 both in flower and foliage, may often be ar- 

 ranged if the planter understands his work. 

 For instance, a beautiful color contrast is ob- 

 tained by planting a purple-leaved barberry 

 near a golden-leaved spiraea or a dark Austral- 

 ian pine as a background for one of the light 

 colored Colorado spruces. 



Vines and Climbers. — Among the vines and 

 climbers we have a number of beautiful species 

 which may be made very effective in many 

 ways in beautifying the home surroundings. 

 They are particularly valuable on small 

 grounds and town lots, as they take up so little 



room, but they are also quite as valuable in 

 beautifying a country home. One of the most 

 hardy and vigorous is the common Virginia 

 creeper. This is excellent for covering a sum- 

 mer house or an unsightly wooden wall. As, a 

 covering for a brick or stone wall the Boston 

 Ivy (Ampelopsis Veitchii) is one of the hand- 

 somest. In northern sections it requires win- 

 ter protection for the first few winters, but 

 when once established it grows rapidly, and will 

 soon convert a brown or red front into a wall of 

 living green. For a handsome, hardy flowering 

 climber we have nothing to equal Clematis 

 Jackmani, with its large purple flowers ; and 

 Clematis paniculata, with its innumerable small 

 white flowers late in the fall. Hall's climbing 

 honeysuckle and the Chinese Wistaria are beau- 

 tiful climbers, well adapted to climbing veran- 

 dah posts or festooning a balcony, but they will 

 not stand our winters without protection except 

 in the southern parts of the province. 



Walks and Drives. — These are not in them- 

 selves very ornamental, but they are necessarj 

 and have an important effect in the appearance 

 of a place. 



When properly located they convey the iden 

 that the place is inhabited, and they seem to im- 

 part an air of welcome. 



As the walks and drives are artificial, and not 

 in themselves ornamental, there should be as 

 flew as possible. Business roads should as a 

 rule be straight, but pleasure drives give more 

 pleasure if they are laid out in graceful curves. 

 The curves give variety and help to relieve the 

 angular outlines of the buildings. They should 

 not, however, be introduced at the expense of 

 utility, 'and should offer no temptation to take 

 short cuts across the grass. Whenever a curve 

 is introduced there should be trees or some ob- 

 ject in the road to make the curve appear neces- 

 sary. If such are not there when the drive '^> 

 laid out, they may be planted afterwards. A 

 jurve without some apparent cause for it looks 

 meaningless and affected. 



The drive, whenever possible, should enter 

 at the side of the lawn, and curve gently around 

 towards the buildings as though it were the 

 nearest and most natural way of approach. It 

 should be dotted here and there along the sides 

 with trees and shrubbery, which partly screen 

 the buildings from sight, so that we keep getting 

 a different view of the house as we approach. 

 This gives variety and pleasure, and always 

 leaves just enough unseen to make us feel like 

 following it up to see where it leads to. 



The width of drives and walks should vary 

 according to their length and the amount of 

 travel upon them. If long and much travelled 

 the drive must be wide enough for two rigs to 

 pass easily, but if short and not so much used, 

 8 to 10 feet, or room for one wagon, is enough. 

 Walks or footpaths will vary from 3 to 5 feet. 

 The drives and walks should be properly graded 

 and made slightly crowning from the centre Ij 

 the sides so as to give good drainage. If good 

 gravel is obtainable they should be covered with 

 gravel, raked smooth and rolled hard. 



Fences. — As a rule fences largely enter Into 



