168 LANDSCAPE GARDENING 



of wholesale quantities of shrubs and the division 

 among many of the expense of design. 



AN AMERICAN HOME 



The typical American home may be defined as a 

 suburban residence costing from four to fifteen 

 thousand dollars, and having a lot from sixty to 

 two hundred feet wide. It is planted more or less 

 intelligently as a rule, but it can be safely said that 

 a judicious use of plant material is not one of the 

 distinguishing characteristics of the American 

 suburban home. There is too great a tendency to 

 use plants because the neighbors use them, or be- 

 cause the traveling nurseryman has forced them 

 upon one, or, a better reason, though not always 

 followed by a better result, because they happen to 

 be favorites. 



When unsuccessful planting is found about 

 suburban homes it is particularly tragic, since it 

 is really a love of plants and a vague groping after 

 the beautiful that have inspired many a pathetic 

 planting scheme. Lack of success in suburban 

 planting can usually be traced directly to a readi- 

 ness to plant something just to see it grow, and to 

 a failure to grasp the principles which underlie 

 intelligent planting an understanding of the eco- 



