CHAPTER 1 



Planning the Home Grounds 



First Considerations in the Composition of a Garden — Drives — 



Lawns — Locating the Dwelling House — Treatment of the Shrubs, 



Belts, Borders, Beds — A Plea for Greater Seclusion — Home 



Planting Plans and Keys thereto 



IF one's place is but a small area of so many dozen square yards, 

 it is great fun to do one's own planning, and little can go wrong. 



Should the place be more pretentious, running to one or two 

 acres, it might be money in one's pocket to consult a landscape gar- 

 dener, or an experienced nurseryman or designer. There are several 

 excellent books, too, that can be referred to, and from which valuable 

 information can be got on the laying out of home grounds. One 

 of these is "Gridland's Practical Landscape Gardening." 



The first considerations in the composition of a garden or the 

 grounds about one's place are Privacy, Variety, Shelter, Balance. 



The planning and arrangement of the features of a garden or of 

 the grounds about the house should be as carefully considered as the 

 choice and placing of the furniture in one's home, or the choosing of a 

 suit of clothes, or a dress to wear. The same idea holds, namely, the 

 planning of a suitable, agreeable, comfortable composition. The 

 garden has been called the outdoor drawing-room. 



The arrangement of the drives and the grading of the lawns, the 

 drainage when necessary, and the arrangement of the buildings and 

 outhouses should all be preconceived and settled in an orderly, econom- 

 ical manner. As far as possible there should be no mistake about the 

 main, permanent features. The minor features may be changed quite 

 a great deal in the coming years and almost surely will, as new ideas 

 and points of view assert themselves. This changing of the minor 

 features is a part of the recreation of gardening. Thus one may 

 considerably alter the contour of a shrubbery border, or may indeed 

 ehminate it altogether. The same holds good of flower beds and 

 borders, which are easily altered, removed or added to; but with large 

 trees or the heavier groups of shrubs the expense of removal and 

 shifting prohibits this being done except out of dire necessity. 



Where one has the choice of building one's house or choosing its 

 location, the best aspect for it is where the front porch faces southeast, 

 as shown in the diagrams pps. 16 and 17; another good position is facing 

 due south. In any case, as everybody Hkes abundant sunshine or 

 ought to, see to it that the windows and living rooms face in the direc- 

 tion of abundant light. Those places that are hidden beneath a dense 

 canopy or half a forest of trees may suit, and do suit, some folks, but 



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