42 GARDENS IN THE MAKING 



stretch of lawn near the house, especially if there 

 are good trees to back it up on one or both sides to 

 group well with the house. The level, unbroken 

 surface of the lawn and its quiet colour give the garden 

 a sense of restfulness, and a sufficient area of turf is 

 of the utmost value to the architectural character of 

 the building. Care should be taken that this lawn is 

 not needlessly broken up by beds of flowers, nor 

 unduly intersected by paths. The continuity of the 

 green surface is its chief quality, and small patches of 

 grass are seldom effective. It is a different matter, 

 of course, with grass paths, which, either as long 

 narrow walks, or paths of equal width forming the 

 pattern of a flower garden, are- in themselves very 

 beautiful. Such paths can be easily mown on 

 account of their uniformity, and the broad surface 

 of a lawn presents no difficulty to the machine ; but 

 when it is cut up with " bedding out " it is a costly 

 and trying process to keep trim, and the results are 

 out of all proportion to the labour involved. 



A lawn, if of sufficient extent, is greatly enhanced 

 by rectilinear boundaries, but on one side at least 

 it may lose itself under the shade of tall trees. If 

 the limiting hedges and walls are too low, the 



