THE JOYOUS ART OF GARDENING 



the paths, tiles for stepping-stones may be used. One of the 

 easiest ways for the amateur to determine and decide on his 

 outlines is to mark out the proposed beds with tennis-tape, or 

 the like, then go to an upper window and look down on it. 

 He can tell at a glance whether the paths are too wide or too 

 narrow or if the beds are in* the right relation, and it is a sim- 

 ple matter to have these tentative boundaries shifted until it 

 "looks right." 



A difference in level, even a slight one, adds a very definite 

 charm to a little garden; also, it affords space for the kind of 

 decoration which the city gardener finds easiest to bestow. 

 There will be steps, at the side of which he may set plants in 

 decorative jars or pots. He can change them when their 

 charm is fled, and set sturdy evergreens in tubs in their place 

 in the winter. He may have a tiny terrace, a low wall against 

 which a slight growth of vine or plant has real effectiveness. 

 It will open to him all the range of potted trees dwarf fruits 

 and flowering plums and cherries. A tiny garden is an ideal 

 place for these. 



And if the city man have the garden very deeply in his 

 soul, he will make at the foot of his yard, if the exposure be 

 good, or at the beginning, if that be better, a house of good 

 design, which may be glassed in completely in the winter. It 

 would not have other heat than that of the sun through the 

 windows, and here would be planted tender rhododendrons 

 and camellias. Violets and pansies would bloom cheerfully 

 throughout the winter. 



One of the minor details which makes for charm in a city 

 garden is the matter of paths. If it is a possible thing, let 

 these be of gravel, for concrete or flagstone bring a reminis- 

 cence of the pavement into the garden which one would fain 

 keep out. 



