24 SATURDAY IN MY GARDEN 



not more than a couple of feet wide which does duty for the 

 principal border in the vast majority of suburban gardens gives 

 no scope for bold massing and tasteful arrangement. It en- 

 courages cramping and overcrowding, than which there is no more 

 common mistake made by amateur gardeners. L^ the main 

 borjjerjthen be at least-five leet in width, and the beds be on such 

 a generous scale as to allow " f Tffljfl TFffiStBf amVn proper regard 

 for the principles of colour blending. And above all let their 

 situation be such that their occupants shall live in the sun. 



These beds and border will be the preponderating features of 

 the design ; next in order of importance will come the arrange- 

 ment of the paths, and the provision of grass, if space permits. 

 It is not necessary here to enter into a prolonged discussion of 

 the relative merits of the straight and the curved path. The 

 owner of a small garden rarely has much voice in the shaping of 

 its outline. It is fixed for him, and he must make the best of it. 

 Whether it be rectangular, oblong, triangular or curved, he is 

 compelled in the vast majority of cases to make his plan conform 

 to the outlines decided for him by other people. But he may, 

 if he choose, so construct his paths that they shall fit in with the 

 design he has selected for his principal borders and beds. Let 

 him fix firmly in his mind that his path is meant to serve a useful 

 purpose ; that it is intended to lead somewhere. His principal 

 path should start as near as possible to the door of the house, 

 and it should have an ending elsewhere than at a blank wall or 

 fence say either a summer-house or a greenhouse, if there be one 

 or the other in the garden scheme. Subsidiary diagonal paths 

 ought to be avoided; they are incongruous and ugly. The 

 winding side path may be introduced to meet the requirements 

 of the design, but there can be no two opinions about the superior 

 mi vantages of a straight broad path which shall lead past the 

 principal border, in gardens that are restricted for space. The 

 winding path is difficult to plan tastefully, while it has the further 

 serious disadvantage that it eats up ground that might much 

 more satisfactorily be devoted to the cultivation of flowers, or 

 to the provision of a generous expanse of lawn. 



