4 ORNAMENTAL GARDENING 



Here in South Florida we have a lot of men who buy up land, 

 clear off the vegetation, lay it out into lots and sell it. It seems 

 to be their especial delight to get hold of hammock, put in a gang 

 of ignorant Negroes, and utterly destroy the beautiful growth that 

 it has taken centuries to create. 



If you are fortunate enough to obtain a piece of virgin ham- 

 mock, let it alone for a time; study it carefully and learn its 

 beauties, learn to love and fully appreciate it, find out all the 

 objects of interest in it and when you are fully acquainted with 

 its weird attractions a path or paths may be carefully cut through 

 it to whatever is of most interest, always leading these trails 

 along the lines of least resistance. As a general thing no large 

 or valuable trees need be removed, and abrupt turns are allow- 

 able. The walk may be carried far enough in from the border 

 of the wood so that one cannot see out and yet far enough away 

 from any of its turnings or reaches that it will be impossible to 

 see across to it. In this way it will make the hammock appear 

 to be much larger than it really is. 



There should be an open space left in front of the house for 

 a lawn or grass plot. Even if one has only a good sized lot it 

 seems to me to be better taste to lay out a small area to be 

 planted in grass than to fill up the whole with trees and shrubs. 

 Leave it all free and open; do not disfigure it by putting beds 

 of plants or shrubs in it. Its border does not need to be regular ; 

 in this one may well imitate nature, and nature doesn't make 

 straight rows or borders. Keep the roads and paths away from 

 the center of the lawn; in fact let it be an uninterrupted sheet 

 of grass if possible. 



Whatever is done in the way of laying out a place should be 

 honest and sincere; there should be no shams, no shallow trickery. 

 One should remember that he is doing work for a lifetime ; if it is 

 to be his home he will have to live with it ; it will be his constant 

 companion year by year. It is wise then to give to such a task 

 plenty of time and the very best that is within him. Of course 

 if one has an extensive tract it may be best to consult a land- 

 scape gardener, but it seems to me that in a majority of cases 

 where there is only a limited area it is best for one to find out 

 what he wants, study carefully the situation and work out a 

 plan himself. 



