42 



TREES. SHRUBS AND PLANTS 



VINES 



Vines are as essential in harmonizing the house with its surroundings 

 as the trees and shrubs we plant about it. When used in this manner, 

 their principal function is to tone down the stiff, bold angles and bare 

 surfaces of the house, producing a softness in the landscape that could 

 be obtained in no other way. They are also valuable in covering steep 

 banks, walls and fences; in the production of quick screens and in the 

 covering of stumps or conspicuous trunks of trees. 



The principal determinants to success in their use consists in selecting 

 the proper places to plant the vines and the most appropriate vine for 

 each place. As one frequently sees them used, they are covering spaces 

 which would be far more beautiful if left open or leaving spaces exposed 



Vines should enhance rather than conceal the architecture. The Boston Ivy 



(Parthenocissus tricuspidata Veitchii) is excellent for 



covering brick or stone work. 



which should be covered, thus ruining the architectural features of the 

 building. If correctly used, they should embellish rather than conceal 

 the architecture. Porch columns, cornice lines, corners and angles of 

 buildings should be left open here and there to reveal the form and design 

 of the structure. By planting the less sightly portions and leaving the 

 more beautiful elements of the design exposed, even the most ordinary 

 looking houses may often become very attractive. The style of architec- 



