The Canadian Horticulturi^ 



Floral Edition 



Tol. XLV. 



TORONTO, APRIL, 1922 



No. 4 



Garden Planning 



SPRING is the time for building. 

 For this reason these notes will 

 probably apply more particularly 



' home making rather than garden 

 improving, though the same lines of 

 treatment will be applicable in both 

 .cases. 



It would be an advantage were it 

 possible to design the garden before 

 the house is built. This is practically 

 out of the question in the towns and 

 cities, where street lines have to be 

 so carefully followed. The owner or 

 the gardener h^s usually to take things 

 as they are and plan the garden after 

 the house is completed. It is wise to 

 make a plan of the area to be treated. 

 A quite simple drawing is all that is 

 necessary. It should show boundary 

 lines, drives or walks, existing build- 

 ings, trees that are to be retained, a 

 note as to direction of views to be pre- 

 served and those to be shut out, not 

 forgetting the points of the compass. 

 The front garden is naturally import- 

 ant, yet not always the most important. 

 Community has to be considered in this 

 connection, and for the sake of com- 

 munity uplift the best effect po.ssible 

 should be produced here. A town front 

 garden is usually only large enough to 

 provide a proper setting for the house 

 and to take it back a little from the 

 street with its dust and noise. 



I Foundation Planting. 



Bare foundations and straight lines 

 are always noticeable features of a 

 home as yet unplanted. What is called 

 foundation planting is the attempt to 

 hide or soften the severity of a bare 

 house, and to provide a pleasing link 

 between the building and the ground. 

 Shrubs will fill this need admirably and 

 with little difficulty. The planting 

 should extend out at the corners re- 

 ceding to the face of the building. A 

 few principles to be followed may be 

 helpful. Do not plant tall growing 

 kinds under windows, but take advant- 

 age of the spAces between, and this 

 will relieve any pos.sible monotony. 

 Make the planting irregular. "Where 

 the tallest shrubs are used, the bed 

 should be the widest. A double row of- 

 plants is always the most effective, and 

 if the distance between house and road 



W. E. Groves, Hamilton, Ont. 



is not too limited even three rows is 

 possible, always having the dwarf kinds 

 in front. A brief selection for this 

 kind of planting could be made from 

 the following :■ — Tall growing varieties : 

 Syringa, lilac, snowball, weigelia, For- 

 sythia. Medium height varieties: Cy- 

 donia, Rosa rugosa, lonicera, kerria, 

 Spiraea Van Houttei, deutzia, almond, 

 snowberry, buddleia. Dwarf varie- 

 ties: Spiraea A. Waterer, Amorpha 

 canescens, Deutzia gracilis, golden 

 syringa, Berberis thunbergi. 



In the garden at the side or rear of 

 the house the objects to be kept in 

 mind are the preserving of views that 

 are worth while, the securing of a cer- 

 tain amount of seclusion, and the shut- 

 ting out of unattractive features. 

 Where it is not possible to completely 

 cut off bad features, the object to be 

 aimed at is to hide them from the points 



Two Fine Peony Blooms. 



These specimens of James Kelway, white, and 



Kugene Bigot, red, were grown by J. Walsh, 



Trenton, Ont. 



most used. "Whilst general rules are 

 usually worth considering, individual 

 taste in arrangement, the kind- of plants 

 to be used, the color schemes and sea- 

 sons of blooming should each be kept in 

 mind, especially at the time of initial 

 planting. 



Grading. 



In grading a few principles should be 



remembered. Ground near a house must 



be as level as possible. Broken surfaces 



are permitted as lawns recede from a 



building until, if necessary, they merge 

 into natural irregularities of field or 

 wood. The ground surrounding walks 

 should also be tolerably level for at least 

 a few feet, beyond which it may slope 

 up or down. The points from which to 

 grade are steps to the house floor level 

 and the path or paths in the rear or 

 front of the house. The land at the 

 rear of city houses is often sloping 

 away from or towards the house and 

 some care is necessary. If the grade 

 is but slight, it may remain much the 

 same. If, however, there is a real sense 

 of slope it is best to level for a short 

 distance back from the house, making 

 then a small terrace from which the re- 

 maining ground can assume the natural 

 grade. Artificiality in grading must 

 be avoided. This need not prevent the 

 making of a sunken garden or the level- 

 ling of a portion of the ground for 

 games. "Where the latter is desired and 

 the surrounding ground is either high- 

 er or lower the difficulty can be got 

 over with a terrace. 



Walks. 



Walks should be carefully provided 

 for, and not be more in number than 

 necessaiy. There should be a reason 

 for every path that is made. A walk 

 going to a garden seat is allowable, but 

 one leading nowhere is out of harmony. 

 Paths when they are provided should 

 be of sufficient width for comfortable 

 use; a path of thirty inches being 

 much more satisfactory than two paths 

 of fifteen inches in width. 



The Back Garden. 



The layout of a back garden depends 

 largely upon the chief purpose for 

 which it is to be used. Where there 

 are children suflScienl grass should be 

 provided for playing, which means that 

 the planting area is at the sides and 

 end. If ornamental gardening is in- 

 tended it is wise to set aside a portion 

 for flowers and group some shrubs in 

 the corners and, if there is room, at one 

 or two other spots. The front of the 

 border can be quite irregular and parts 

 might be planted to roses, hardy 

 flowers, annuals or bulbs, as is suited 

 to the taste of the owner. If the area 

 allows a tree or two they are real ad- 



