THE HOME AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 391 



Unless a gardener is to be kept to attend to the yard (which 

 is rarely the case on the farm), very few shrubs and vines 

 should be planted. For the climbing roses, honeysuckles, clem- 

 atis, etc., a rustic trellis made of lasting wood like the locust 

 or osage orange is preferable to any fancy work, for the beauty 

 should be in the vines, not the trellis, and the less conspicuous 

 the latter is the better. Most varieties of flowers give the best 

 effect when grown in masses, and it is best to set apart a suita- 

 ble place in the yard for a flower garden rather than cut up the 

 lawn with little beds made in fancy shapes. 



I will name a few varieties of flowers of easy cultivation 

 which will continue long in bloom and give good satisfaction. 

 Of annuals we have Pansies, Petunias, Verbenas, Phlox Drum- 

 mondii, Salvia-splendens, Portulacca, Scabiosa, and Dwarf Nas- 

 turtium. Most of these continue long in bloom, and there will 

 be an abundance of flowers from June till November. For 

 climbers the balloon vine, Sweet Pea, Clematis, and Cypress, 

 will furnish delicacy of foliage, beauty, and fragrance. A bed of 

 Geraniums will give a fine show, both of foliage and blossoms. 

 The plants named above, if well arranged, will be sufficient 

 to ornament any door-yard, will furnish fine flowers for cut- 

 ting, and give a succession of bloom for the summer and au- 

 tumn. Many others can be used to advantage if desired, and 

 there is time to attend to them properly. Foliage plants, 

 such as the Euphorbia and Ricinus, and the various Am- 

 aranthus, Celosia, Antirrhinum, Zinnias, and Dahlias, are of easy 

 cultivation. 



Fences and Walks. Fences, as far as possible, should 

 be conspicuous by their absence, and where imperatively neces- 

 sary should be given as little prominence as possible. I would 

 never build a paling fence near a dwelling and would not fence off 

 a front yard by itself, neither would I paint a fence white. Let 

 the fences at the sides of the yard be hidden by a grape trellis 

 or evergreen hedge, and at the rear let it stand well back out of 

 sight. For the front fence, a close trimmed hedge is, perhaps, 

 best, but if a fence must be built, make it low and paint a neu- 

 tral color. A plain board fence, with one board a foot wide at 



