336 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



into and apparently behind them makes the 

 l?.\vn look as if it extends outward indefin- 

 itely, adding materially to the broad effect 

 where the area is decidedly limited. These 

 points of turf can be put where there is a 

 line of view to a beautiful distant landscape, 

 and so be made doubly useful. A New 

 Hampshire man whose lawn was large and 

 set full of trees and shrubs, found that hiii 

 house was too much shaded for good health. 

 So he employed an intelligent Boston land- 

 scape gardener to advise him what best to 

 do to keep a good lawn and also plenty of 

 sunshine. Most of the trees around the 

 outside were left, some needing a little prun- 

 ing; the trees in the central portions were 

 dug out, and the shrubs were dug out and 

 planted in masses in the corners, leaving an 

 open area of grass which looked larger than 

 the original lawn, and giving unobstructed 

 views of neighboring hills and mountains in 

 three directions, and yet when the grounds 

 were viewed from a neighboring hill they 

 appeared to be as shady as they were before 

 any improvements had been made. A ber- 

 berry hedge along the street in front was 

 left, so that the effect of an enclosed Eng- 

 lish " garden " was retained, while the ap- 

 parent size of the grounds was doubled, as 

 viewed from the street. A lawn men- 

 tioned by Jacob Riis in his " Making of an 

 lAmerican," as " decorated " by cast-iron 

 idogs, has recently had half its trees cut out, 

 and yet those left are so scattered about the 

 lawn that it impresses the observer with a 

 sense of confinement, or crowding, while a 

 neighbor's lawn, not two-thirds the size, is 

 so planted that it appears much the larger 

 of the two. Just beyond is a lawn cut in 

 two by a row of hydrangeas and golden 

 elders, so that from the street the house ap- 

 pears to be set in a small lawn back from 

 the front, more retired and, cut off from 

 view than the New Hampshire one not so 

 large, with its berberry hedge in front. The 

 general effect is spoiled, as far as landscape 



beauty is concerned. Such instances re 

 loo common, and from them one may learn 

 how not to do it. 



TREES SHOUI.D BE) IN HARMONY WITH 

 SURROUNDINGS. 



It makes little difference as to what trees 

 and plants are used, provided they are so 

 placed that they are in harmony with the 

 surrounding conditions. But it is generally 

 better, in order to secure sati'sfactory results 

 ■in the long run, to use trees and shrubs na- 

 tive to the locality. The white spruce of 

 Northern New York is quite sure to live to 

 a much greater age, and to retain its sym- 

 metry, than the Norway spruce, which is 

 generally used because it grows faster, costs 

 less to propagate, so is cheaper at the out- 

 set. In 30 to 50 years the Norway spruce 

 \vill begin to fail, while the native sort will 

 scarcely have attained maturity of growth, 

 and then it will retain its beauty another half 

 century or more. In arranging the trees 

 the largest (when full grown) are to form 

 the background of the plantation, being 

 careful not to plant so as to hide fine distant 

 views in the future. Then, as far as color 

 is concerned, the darkest foliage should be 

 farthest from the viewpoint. 



FI.OWER BEDS. 



The flower beds, if any, should generally 

 be placed against the foundation walls of 

 the house, or along the borders of the shrub- 

 bery. A small lawn will look large an<.l 

 wide if no shrubs or flower beds are cut into 

 the expanse of turf, because the eye has no 

 ■scale of measurement, while if two or three 

 flower beds or mounds of cannas or bulbous 

 flowering plants are set in the middle of the 

 lawn, the ordinary eye easily estimates the 

 distance between the beds and the border of 

 the lawn, and so it looks limited. The 

 more the beds or shrubs are multiplied, the 

 smaller seems the lawn to the inexperienced 

 eye. In all cases, whether at the first plant- 



