Introduction 



so many years ago the little garden, whether in town 

 or suburb, or even deep in the country, was a thought- 

 less affair ; a few beds of geraniums and roses, a border 

 of annuals and perennials in small and dull variety, and 

 perhaps a shrubbery, all laid out without reference to 

 the house or to each other. Since then the cultivation 

 of flowers and shrubs, fruit and vegetables, has 

 developed at a great speed. And it has done this side 

 by side with a growing attention to the sister art of 

 garden design, which includes not only the laying out 

 of ground on simple and artistic lines, but also the use 

 of flowers in harmonious groupings. 



1 ' All this has been well understood and practised in 

 the greater gardens, where an increasing reliance is set 

 on those more formal qualities which made the beauty 

 of the Old English garden. It remains to show that 

 the little garden is no less capable of beautiful treat- 

 ment. The miniature can be as great a work of art as 

 the full-length portrait/' 



The second object was that by so getting together 

 the ideas and thoughts of many people, and carefully 

 analyzing and, if necessary, criticizing them, much 

 helpful information might be given to people possess- 

 ing similar sites, and it is for the purpose of presenting 

 this in the most convenient form that the present 

 volume is compiled. 



Four typical sites were chosen, and their plans, now 

 reproduced on a small scale, were submitted to intend- 

 ing competitors. 



No. i shows a level site with a narrow frontage of 

 40 feet and a total depth of 120 feet. This is an 

 average small suburban plot, and its lay-out and plant- 

 ing has an importance not ordinarily recognized. 



No. 2 shows the type of site which results when an 



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