HOW TO PLAN A SMALL GARDEN 27 



and the ground carefully formed until the surface is made con- 

 vexraised at the centre of the path and sunk at the sides. 



Next, the all-important detail of drainage must be considered. 

 If the subsoil is not too heavy this can be supplied if upon the 

 foundation of the path a layer of rubble, composed of broken 

 bricks and large clinkers, be placed. This had better be not less 

 than six inches in depth, and it may be as much as nine. It will 

 be necessary to roll this thoroughly until a hard surface has been 

 obtained, and afterwards to put down a thinner layer of finer 

 clinkers. The final layer should be one of good reliable gravel, 

 and undoubtedly the best suited for the purpose in the London 

 area is Croydon gravel. It is considerably more expensive than 

 the ordinary builders' gravel, but it is worth the extra cost. Its 

 superiority rests on the fact that when it is well rolled it will 

 " bind," and in dry weather will become as hard as cement. If 

 the drainage of the subsoil be inefficient, artificial measures must 

 be taken. These consist of digging a gutter along each side of 

 the path, as shown in Figure 4, and filling in the space to a depth 

 of a foot or eighteen inches with rubble, so that it sinks below the 

 foundation of the path. A more expensive method is shown in 

 Figure 5. Here not only is the gully dug out, as in Figure 4, but 

 narrow drain-pipes are laid along the bottom of the trench. The 

 joints of the pipes must be covered with a turf, grass side down- 

 ward. After the path has been constructed it will require to be 

 attended to carefully for some time. It must be rolled frequently, 

 especially after heavy rain. 



Now we have the framework of the garden complete, and it 

 only remains to fill in the details. These must depend principally 

 upon the predilections of the owner. He will have to make up 

 his mind whether he desires a garden mainly for the production 

 of spring and summer flowers, for the growing of fruit and vege- 

 tables chiefly, or for a combination of all three. In the last case 

 it is of course essential that the plot shall be one of considerable 

 size say not less than two hundred feet long. The owner of a 

 small garden will be best advised by confining his activities to the 

 growing either of flowers or vegetables ; he cannot very well 



