88 WORCESTER COUNTY HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. [1900. 



spicuous and unobtrusive as possible. If there is room to 

 have the carriage circle at one side or in the rear of the house, 

 by all means let us put it there. The occasional visitor can 

 much better afford to drive a few rods farther to turn his team 

 than we can afford to be confronted for years by the increased 

 expense of gravel or pavement, where we should see only the 

 green velvety lawn. In few cases should the drive be straight. 

 A gentle curve is just as direct, is far more attractive and allows 

 of group planting along the sides, thus shutting out of view the 

 pathway ahead. The same is true of the walks. Balanced or 

 regular curves should not be employed. 



It is sometimes desirable to make the walk and drive appear 

 as one, especially if they have the same objective points, and it 

 is never desirable to bisect a lawn by running a path or road 

 through the centre of it, if it can be avoided. Sometimes it can 

 not. In most cases, however, it is possible to have the entrance 

 on one side of the lot and skirt the lawn near the border plant- 

 ing to the house, thus leaving the broad central area of green 

 sward directly in front of the residence. 



THE BACKGROUND. 



One feature that seems to be essential to each well-planted 

 place is a background. No matter how beautiful a structure is 

 the house itself, if it stands in bold relief against the sky, it will 

 not appear to its best advantage. It needs a background of 

 verdure, to give it a setting; when viewed from the street. We 

 rind many farm houses have this background in the shape of an 

 orchard, and an orchard makes a good background, only the trees 

 are too uniform in height and so lack character or expression. 

 By planting a tall growing tree in the background this defect 

 can be remedied and a very attractive landscape formed. 



THE GROUP AND BORDER. 



I have already suggested that by grouping trees and shrubs 

 we can obtain a more satisfactory effect than by scattering them 

 about over the place, as is an altogether too common practise. 



