HOME GROUNDS 153 



one room. In like manner, a small yard may com- 

 prise more features than should be contained in a 

 large one. For the sake of retaining the largest 

 available space about a house, a small yard may 

 even include the flower- and kitchen-gardens, and 

 occasionally the service yard as well. In describ- 

 ing the front yard, the aim has been to call to mind 

 what is ideal, an arrangement of grounds and plant- 

 ing that will give most pleasure to the intelligent 

 and appreciative. 



FLOWER-GARDENS 



When one thinks of the best, one often uses in 

 connection with it the word flower, as the flower 

 of manhood, the flower of the army, the flower of 

 youth. Perhaps something of the same idea is 

 present when one thinks of the most charming 

 part of a plant. Many delightful books have been 

 written about flower-gardens, and it would seem 

 that the designing of such gardens ought to be a 

 profession by itself. There might be designers for 

 different kinds of gardens, one making a specialty 

 of formal gardens, another of bog-gardens, and so 

 on through the list, including gardens of special 

 flowers like roses, peonies, chrysanthemums, and 



