CHAPTER VI 

 PLANTING THE HOME GROUNDS 



IT is regrettable that of all phases of landscape work the least 

 attention is given to the "home grounds", or small residence 

 property, and yet this problem more directly affects the majority of 

 citizens than any other. Few such places are thoughtfully planted, 

 because few of them are developed according to an intelligent com- 

 prehensive plan. 



The general principle of "home grounds" design is that the house 

 is designed to fit the lot and in consequence the lot provides space for 

 the extension of the various rooms of the house. One may live so 

 much more comfortably and happily if it is possible to expand the 

 various living rooms and service rooms to include the portions of the 

 lot adjacent to them. With this idea in mind, we can assume that the 

 planting will serve two general purposes that of furnishing the 

 "walls" or defining lines around our "expanded" house and between 

 the "outdoor rooms", and also to provide the "furnishings" of the 

 various "rooms". 



In erecting these "walls" of living green, it is only necessary to 

 follow the same principles of design as in the walls of the house itself, 

 to obtain unity and harmony. There must be reasonable density and 

 trimness. The walls must be of pleasing color, and the same gen- 

 eral color qualities must prevail throughout. Just as we avoid 

 monotony in wall surfaces of stone, brick, or wood, by appropriate 

 introduction of ornament, openings, and variation of texture in fabric, 

 so in our plant walls we introduce variations in form, height, texture 

 and color. 



Since the front lawn area is generally the public area or "recep- 

 tion room", it should be kept open up to the house- That is, no 

 plant "walls" should be erected except those at the boundaries of the 

 property. In some cases all the people on a street eliminate the 

 "walls" around their public areas, so that the longitudinal view of the 

 street becomes more dignified by the effect of great width, the houses 

 being set back at an uniform distance. Trees in the public area serve 

 four purposes: (1) screen objectionable surroundings; (2) furnish 

 shade for lawn, street and house; (3) frame the view of the house; 



