GARDEN BOUNDARIES 



hedges of the common white pine; it was rapid, easily trans- 

 planted, growing in poor soil, and has there made a very satis- 

 factory boundary; of its permanent value, one cannot be sure 

 immediate effect and permanence are not always met to- 

 gether, and we Americans are not fond of planting for posterity. 

 On summer-places it is odd that deciduous hedges are not 

 used oftener. Beech makes an excellent tall hedge, as any 

 one can see who has been to the Harvard botanic garden. 

 Another tall hedge which would be admirable in the North, 

 and very sure to grow without difficulty, is the native thorn 

 Cratsegus in some of its many varieties. This is very lovely in 

 May, when its white bloom would make an exquisite setting for 

 the early bulbs, and when green again it would be as suitable a 

 background for the flowers as any privet, and in the autumn 

 it would be gay with scarlet berries which would hold their life 

 and vividness long after the last chrysanthemums had gone. 



For the remodelled farm one of the simplest of garden 

 boundaries, and one very much in keeping with farm sim- 

 plicity, is the low stone wall with a close-set row of fruit-trees 

 behind it. This makes both a definite boundary for the gar- 

 den and a very charming background for the flowers, while 

 on the fruit-tree side will be the kitchen-garden, the orchard, 

 or field. 



The windbreak often becomes a garden boundary on a 

 farm. The windbreak, as every one knows, is a row of close- 

 set trees planted about fifty feet from the house on the wind- 

 ward side and the cold side, whichever that may be. It serves 

 as a shelter for the flower-garden or the kitchen-garden; also, 

 it sets it off; it materially reduces the furnace bills. The 

 windbreak may be of any trees that grow well in that locality; 

 if made of thorn or honey-locust, it will keep out cattle as well 

 as barbed wire. In the bleak, wind-swept New England towns 



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