1 8 FLOWER GARDENING 



the house is not right architecturally, strive to con- 

 ceal its defects by beginning the garden there, so 

 to speak. Sometimes a single vine or a few shrubs 

 or evergreens will chasten architecture wonder- 

 fully, and at the same time serve to bridge the 

 house with the garden. 



An Italian villa would better have an Italian 

 garden, a Georgian house a formal design of the 

 English type, a rambling farmhouse an old-fash- 

 ioned layout of no set form, a house built on rocky 

 ground a rock garden, and so on. This is speak- 

 ing broadly; in actual practice, so far as the aver- 

 age place of moderate size is concerned, the idea 

 is not so much a garden that is technically accurate 

 for its class as one that in its lines, or some dis- 

 tinguishing feature, suggests that class. Nor, as 

 has previously been said, is there any need of its 

 going by this, that or the other name; it may 

 have a dominant Italian note in the broad view, 

 as seen with the house, but at close range reveal 

 such a variety of adapted touches that it can be 

 called only the garden. 



There is no occasion to fear that this limitation 

 of plans will be a serious barrier to the expression 

 of individual preference; the combinations that can 

 be worked out are endless. The real limitations 

 enter when decision must further depend on cli- 

 mate, soil, exposure to sun and wind and whether 

 the house is occupied at all seasons, not to mention 

 the matter of time. All these things must be 

 considered, and considered well. 



