SUBURBAN GARDENING 



his mind a charming picture of what his place is to be a veri- 

 table little Eden, rare and secluded, "all grace summed up 

 and closed in little." But how is he to accomplish this? His 

 may be a suburb where the street presents a pleasing and 

 uniformly "parked" appearance. Village improvement socie- 

 ties have bereft him of his fences, and dogs may work havoc at 

 will among the flowers. Then, too, when the street is " parked " 

 and the planting is much alike, there is very little seclusion, 

 and a suburbanite who, if he lived in the country, might 

 boldly experiment and perhaps achieve something wholly 

 charming feels a bit shamefaced about following his heart's 

 desire under his neighbor's scrutiny; for gardens, like children, 

 go through an "awkward age," when only the parent's eyes 

 can discern the coming beauty. So the dreamer sighs in- 

 wardly for his rose-arbor, and, like his neighbor, plants Hydran- 

 gea paniculata grandiflora. 



Besides the general aspect of the street, there is the neigh- 

 bor to consider; for how can a peacefully inclined suburbanite 

 plant crimson rambler roses on a trellis while within three feet 

 are grandiflorum rhododendrons, the magenta blossoms of 

 which will fight the roses as long as a petal stays on the bush ? 

 And if he plants to harmonize with his neighbor and the street, 

 where is the fun of gardening ? 



The simplest way of meeting most of the difficulty of the 

 street and the neighbor is to compromise to divide the grounds 

 into the "street side" and the "garden side"; to "render 

 unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's," and on the street 

 side plant to promote the general welfare, so that the house 

 may with some degree of grace take its place among its fel- 

 lows, while at the back of the house one may cheerfully en- 

 gage in the pursuit of individual happiness and, planting after 

 the imaginations of his heart, make his garden to suit himself. 



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