10 



passage to and from it would be much like that between adjoining rooms. Con- 

 sidering the best use of space and the relation of this private enclosure, together 

 with its various requirements, to the house, it is usually preferable to locate it in the 

 side yard. 



What, then, are the possibilities and the limitations in planning side-yard gar- 

 dens on lots varying from seventy-five to one hundred and fifty feet, or thereabouts, 

 in width? To begin with, the level of this area should be as near the level of the 

 first floor of the house as is practical. The cellar of the house should be planned to 

 receive little or no light from the garden side, and coal windows and the like should 

 be on other sides of the house. With a masonry house, no difficulties will arise if the 

 ground is but a step or two below the first floor level; but with a house of frame 

 construction, the wooden sills must be protected from dampness, and for these 

 houses two or three steps may be necessary. While it is desirable that gardens 

 should be in every detail, closely related to the house, necessary steps in excess of 

 one or two may be made attractive by the use of porches or terraces one step below 

 the house-floor level, and in exceptional cases decorative stairways may be appro- 

 priate. While it is possible to make interesting gardens in side yards at levels consid- 

 erably below that of their houses, the area of such gardens is apparently reduced, 

 and due to loss in reciprocity of view and because of inconvenience in use, the much- 

 desired expression of intimacy between garden and living room is impaired. All 

 steps between houses and gardens should be made in such a ratio of rise to tread 

 that their ascent is both gradual and comfortable. The ratios of indoor stairways 

 are not suitable for out-of-door stairways. Rarely should garden steps be steeper 

 than the ratio of six inches rise to fourteen inches tread, and frequently the rise 

 should be even less in proportion to the tread, in order to express better the close 

 relationship between the various levels. Abruptness in outdoor steps, especially 

 in features closely related to a house, makes for crude appearances and seriously 

 mars an otherwise interesting garden. 



The least conventional scheme for this private side-yard enclosure is a small 

 lawn with a free-growing border of shrubs. To attempt a curvilinear outline for 

 the planting around this area is unwise, as it is wasteful of space, appears forced, 

 and is utterly inconsistent with the requisite conventionality of this area which is 

 so closely related to the house. Therefore, whether the bordering shrubs are to 

 be trimmed as a hedge or allowed to grow naturally, they should be arranged in 

 straight lines. If the effect of a trimmed hedge is desired, those shrubs or trees 

 should be selected which will make good and proper hedges. Of course, trimmed 

 hedges make for a more formal effect than free-growing hedges, and architectural 

 barriers, whether used wholly or in part, will add a still greater degree of conven- 

 tionality. If more than one species of flowering shrubs are used, the several 

 kinds should be disposed in a balanced arrangement, whether evenly mixed or 

 massed. If garden flowers are to be used within, hedges, walls, or lattices should 

 be provided as a suitable background. A balanced arrangement of potted flowers 

 or of larger plants in tubs is a simplified expression of this grass-covered and hedge- 

 bordered garden. 



Elaboration of this side-yard living room should deal first with its essentials 

 the surrounding barrier and the ground covering rather than with its decoration. 

 An effective barrier is necessary to make an interesting interior and to insure 

 privacy, if the garden is to be enjoyed. Hedges should be dense from the base to 

 the top. As they will need to be high, one can well afford to make them wide. 



