View. 



homes, and their untidiness is certainly more conspicuous. 

 The average American farmer should give more time to pick- 

 ing up, not forgetting the barnyard. 18 



WHERE TO PLANT. 



Almost everybody loves plants and likes to set them out and 

 watch them grow. Nearly every farm home has plenty of 

 plants about it. The trouble is not so much that people do 

 not plant enough as that they do not plant in the right places. 19 

 It is as important to know where to plant as what to plant. 

 There are more than a dozen trees and shrubs around this 

 house, but they are scattered about the yard without any ap- 

 parent plan. The trees in front may be satisfactory for shade 

 in time, but nothing has been done to hide the most objection- 

 able feature of the place the outhouse in the rear. In plant- 

 ing the home grounds it is necessary to have some sort of a 

 plan, preferably on paper, but at least in mind. The main 

 object is to plant in such a way as to make the place look 

 homelike and comfortable. The next few slides illustrate sev- 

 eral ways of accomplishing this. If the farm home grounds 

 are not cramped for room, and usually they are not, plant trees 

 back of the house. When they grow tall the background of 

 trees will set the house off to best advantage. The farmhouse 20 

 shown here has not a very inviting foreground, but notice how 

 much the trees in the rear add to its homelike appearance. If 

 part of the trees are evergreens, as in this case, so much the 

 better. These background trees may also be useful as a pro- 

 tection from bleak winds. 



A second principle of landscape gardening applicable to the 

 farm home is this : As far as possible, keep the grounds immedi- 

 ately in front of the house, especially as viewed from the road, 

 free from low-growing trees, shrubs, and flower beds. Let 

 this space be occupied by an unbroken lawn. Generally 

 speaking, at least one-half of the grounds should be in lawn. 

 The most common mistake in planting the farm home is to 

 choke the front yard with a miscellaneous lot of trees, shrub- 

 bery, and ornamental plants. This picture shows typical 21 

 farmyard planting basswood, maple, and lilac, syringa, and 

 rose bushes all huddled together at the front of the house 

 and giving a patchy effect. Contrast with this picture the 22 

 next, which shows a farm home with a beautiful expanse of rest- 

 ful, unbroken lawn. 



In the great majority of cases most of the trees and shrubs 

 should be planted in the rear and around the sides of the place, 



No. 14 



