FIRST STEPS TOWARD THE HOME 43 



in the best taste. Along with this shrubbery the 

 housewife will probably find room for her pinks and 

 asters. Where the distance is greater and the prop- 

 erty larger, let the walk or drive follow Nature's 

 suggestion around a knoll or down a swale and some- 

 times inclose a group of trees. 



Remedying a defective driveway, I suggested to 

 a planter to leave a row of trees directly down the 

 middle of it. In the middle of one of my own drives 

 stands a superb Kentucky coffee tree. The most 

 beautiful highway that I have ever seen in New York 

 State passes through a grove of elms and maples. 

 It was on no account necessary or desirable to cut any 

 of these. 



You will almost surely find that Nature has some 

 suggestion for you at every point and has made many 

 preliminary arrangements; it is quite the thing for 

 you to accept her advice. What I have said should 

 not, however, be misunderstood as suggesting the cut- 

 ting up of every piece of property with formal walks, 

 or drives, everywhere. We can do most of our 

 walking on the turf, and as a rule our arbors and 

 retreats need to be out of the way of visitors. The 

 width of a drive should be generous, and where used 

 for both walk and drive it should not be less than 

 sixteen feet. 



If bordered with hedges, remember that these will 

 increase their width one inch a year, even with close 

 pruning. That is, one inch on each side of the 

 drive will be deducted annually, which is one foot 



