179S LANDSCAPE GARDENING 



LANDSCAPE GARDENING 



white pine and :irlnii-vit;r, rliodoileinlroii Mnd kalniia, 

 ferns and little natundizinl sliade-loviiifj jilants, would 

 bo appropriate. (Vif^. 1.HW2.) Or it may be an open 

 siumy place and the ftvlins of the fenee-line or road- 

 side mildness tlesireil; then elioose rhus, wild roses, 

 Siimbueus, erategiis; or bireh, wild eherry, sassa- 

 frsis, nut trtvs; rtxf eixlar, Scot eh pine; wild asters, 

 sunny asclepias and coreopsis. (Via. 2091.) If more 

 refined garden feeling is desired, then lilacs, syringa, 



2091. The formal flower-garden or tierb-garden of colonial days. Piigc 17Vt;i. 



weipelas and deutzias, spireas, snowballs, may be used 

 with ginkgo, magnolia, Lombardy poplars, oaks and 

 maples; hollyhocks, larkspurs, iris and peonies. (Fig. 

 20!):j.) With rustic rockwork and stony ground one 

 should associate plant forms of the same prostrate 

 type, — charming low matted junipers and yew; trailing 

 wichuraiana roses and shrubby celastrus; erect cedars, 

 cembra and mughus pines; larch, red birch, ash and 

 hickory; and a whole list of low alpine herbaceous 

 flowers. 



Uneven sites seem to demand the cultured wildness 

 of rhododendron foliage and flowering dogwood, an 

 absence of close-cropped effect and a prevailing free- 

 dom and informality. This may be conditioned, how- 

 ever, upon the demands of the buikling, for there are 

 cases in which uneven ground may be better altered; 

 that is, when the desire is to derive the gardening lines 

 from the building lines. Uneven ground should then 

 become terraced and embellished with [>lants that are 

 more stiff and conventional in type, more man-made 

 to harmonize with the building. Privet and boxwood 

 hedges, and strong colors of foliage and flowers, Irish 

 juniper, globe-shaped arbor-vitae, Caialpa Bungei, 

 sciadopitys, and other plants of strong character would 

 be appropriate. 



Besides site and association, much d('i)ends upon the 

 personality of the designer and preferences of the 

 owner :is t<j choice of plants. To the lufthodical mind, 

 the leaning is trt rare s|)C(-ies, individu.il plants, botanical 

 sequence in arrangement; to the flower cntluisiast, all 

 niceties of ctjlor harmonies and coiribinatifins in mass; 

 to the tree-lover, generally too little room for his hobby. 

 To the iris, ro.se, peony, phlox an<l fern enthusiasts, 

 room and goo<I position is given by the front ixlgcs of 

 the shrubbery border or at sides of paths in vegetable- 

 garden to further his ambition; and to the bird-lover, 

 chance for pleasure in providing shrubs which bear 

 berries for winter attraction and comfort, to his friends. 

 But whatever is planted should be chosen with the 



thought of having it both happily jjlaced in the general 

 scheme of enihi'llishment and llu'ifty in growth. Posi- 

 tion of plantations first, choice of material secon<l, 

 I)reparat ion of ground and care always, — this is a home- 

 grounds program. 



(lardening and architecture necessarily meet upon 

 very closi' terms in siibiu'ban-lot areas. Domestic 

 architectin'e needs the .softening influence of foliage, 

 the heightening effect of trees and backgrounds, land 

 grading of an interesting and 

 artistic as well as simply practi- 

 cal kind. Hints at house design 

 should be drawn even from the 

 natural environment and exigen- 

 cies of site. Gardening requhes, 

 in small areas especially, close 

 sympathy with the architectural 

 style aiul a subservience in its 

 design to the practical require- 

 mi'iits of the house and owner. 

 Its materials, structural or plant- 

 ing, should be appropriate to the 

 character of the house and to 

 the effects that logically accom- 

 liany its design. Both architec- 

 ture and landscape gardening 

 in small lots should be simple 

 and upon a scale determined 

 by the area at disposal, not 

 so far as design is concerned, 

 but dependent uiwn the pocket- 

 book of the owner. Richness of 

 material is the only proper way 

 of extravagance, not by quan- 

 tity or by mere showiness. As to 

 planting, it is to be observed that 

 very few places are over-planted 

 when shrubbery is the material. Trees and evergreens 

 more often defeat their purpose by being planted toa 

 closely. 



Simplicity, then, is the third and always constant 

 princiijle underlying landscape gardening in small 

 grounds. By it is meant not elimination of interesting 

 subjects in grades, constructions or plants, or even 

 garden accessories, such as pools, arbors, and treillage, 

 but fitting and unobtrusive use of them. Tlie flowing 

 outlines of wild copse, of modulated contour in meadow 

 land, of unmolested trees, are simplicity ideals. In 

 domestic gardening, such ideals should almost without 

 exception prevail. Even if drawn down to straightened 

 lines of formal treatment, necessary sometimes when 

 the type of building demands architecturally treated 

 foliage nearby, the ideal of simplicity in both design and 

 plant material should govern the designer. Formal 

 garden designs are oftentimes very satisfying when 

 properly used in small areas farther from the house, 

 reached and pivoted upon an extended house line, as 

 straight walks from the house or terrace. (Fig. 2093.) 

 I'^ull of interest as regards design, beauty in detail of 

 material, construction and accessories, and with a 

 certain charm in its very primness set amidst ample 

 soft flowing lines of shrubbery and trees, the small 

 formal back yard adds a logical and an interesting 

 feature. Sparsity of planting — not the ideal of foliage 

 and growing things in a garden, — too much furniture, 

 |)aths too wide and numerous, a lack of simplicity of 

 both architectural and plant-forms, are reasons why 

 formal grotmds are not generally more pleasing. They 

 are not produced successfully by mere drawing of lines, 

 with T-s(]uare and triangle, and the amateur is safer 

 in informal gardening. However, formality exists in 

 each jjlace here illustrated by house terrace and prim 

 planting or softened wall treatments, walks, steps and 

 walls, and even in the little geometrically arranged 

 gardens, but dependent almost altogether upon hardy 

 plant growth and simplicity of plan for their charm. 



