112 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



with red-hot geraniums, growing over a small pile of stones 

 flaming with nasturtiums. Or, perhaps we see the ugly pile of 

 stones, known as a rockery, covered but a few weeks in the year, 

 with often most inappropriate vines. Good taste is not difficult to 

 acquire, for its foundation is truth and simplicity. But it does 

 require a little common sense, and it is only a small amount of 

 common sense that is needed to tell us that iron pots are not made 

 for ornaments in our gardens. 



Places are laid out with a view to their use and enjoyment, and 

 with this in mind let us briefly consider what are some of the 

 principal features that would be desirable in successfully treating 

 the small place. It is obvious that the same cut and dried rules 

 or plans cannot be adapted to any two places alike, for each has 

 its own individual character and problems, which must be solved 

 according to existing circumstances. Let us imagine, however, a 

 small, inexpensive house placed on an average sized suburban lot. 



The important living rooms are placed in the southern part of 

 the house on account of the warmth in the winter, the pleasant 

 southern breezes, and the beauty of the western sky at sundown. 

 The entrance is on the north side, and the house is so placed that 

 as much available unbroken space as possible is preserved for the 

 pleasure grounds towards the southern portion of the premises. 



As the ground slopes considerably towards the south, the 

 material from excavating the cellar is formed into a small terrace, 

 which offers a suitable plateau on which the house may rest. The 

 terrace wall is of simple field stones, laid dry, with considerable 

 batter. As this imaginary household is very fond of flowers, a 

 small plant room is built out from the dining room, opening on the 

 terrace. During the winter months this is entirely enclosed, but 

 in summer the side sashes are reinoved, the roof being supported 

 by light pillars on which awnings run. Vines on lattices embower 

 the whole. Here the family often take tea, while enjoying the 

 glimpses of their own grounds as well as the more distant views, 

 which when pleasing have been carefully preserved. The flight of 

 steps on the east side of the terrace leads to a small flower gar- 

 den, enclosed with a low spruce-pole fence, covered with vines, 

 and on the lawn side to the south planted on the outside with 

 occasional masses of shrubbery to break the monotony of the 

 fence line. 



The design of the garden is a quadrangle with a narrow straight 

 path running around it, eight feet from the fence, in which 



