TREES AND SHRUBS FOR THE HOME GROUNDS 



BY LILIAN M. CROMELIN 



AMERICAN FORESTRY is pleased to believe that 

 there is a growing interest in the use of shrubs 

 in beautifying the home grounds and wishes to 

 encourage those who may hesitate to make ornamental 

 plantings because of the supposed large amount of time 

 necessary to set and care for the shrubs. As an example 

 of what has been done in ornamental planting by a busy 

 man before and after office hours and on holidays and 

 all in addition to caring for a large fruit and vegetable 

 garden the experience of Mr. C. P. Close, of College 

 Park, Maryland, is given, together with photographs 

 showing the beginning in the spring of 1909, the prog- 

 ress made, and the present appearance of his home. 

 Besides the increase in property value due to the shrub- 



The yard on Mr. Close's property is 150 feet across and 

 187 feet deep with the house facing east and set a little 

 to the north and east of the center of the yard. It was 

 built in 1908 and the landscape plan was worked out 

 during the following winter. The place was bleak and 

 lonesome in the spring of 1909 (Fig. i) when the first 

 planting was done. Additional planting was made in 

 1910 and a very little in following years. The growth 

 in most cases was vigorous, almost too much so, for 

 the shrubs seemed to think they were running wild and 

 had to be tamed with the pruning shears two or three 

 times a year. This growth means good soil, for practi- 

 cally no manure or fertilizer was used only a little 

 mulch of leaves or other vegetable matter. 



The front walk 

 has a double 

 curve, which in- 

 vites planting at 

 both ends. The 

 lawn was seeded 

 in the fall of 1908 

 and reseeded in 

 the spring of 

 1909. The house 

 faces east, and 

 part of the porch 

 is uncovered. 



FIGURE 1. 



THE PLACE IN THE SPRING OF 1909, BEFORE .\NY PERMANENT PLANTING WAS DONE. 

 LONESOME? BUT WATCH THE TRANSFORMATION! 



Surface drain- 

 age is only fairly 

 good in this sec- 

 tion, so the cellar 

 floor is only i8 

 inches below the 

 ground surface, 

 leaving most of 

 the cellar wall 

 above ground. 

 This high xvall 

 permits the use 

 of the tall shrubs 

 shown in later 

 pictures. 



COULD ANYTHING LOOK MORE 



bery, the satisfaction of creating a beautiful spot in which 

 to entertain one's friends and the birds and bees and rab- 

 bits, and the invigorating health resulting from out-door 

 work in such surroundings, make it much worth one's 

 while to spend a few dollars for shrubs for home planting. 

 Like everything else, the price of shrubs and trees has 

 shot upward, but not in proportion to that of the wages 

 of most classes of labor. Prices vary according to the 

 kind of shrub, but range usually between fifty cents and 

 one dollar each. The price of young trees like those 

 shown in the photographs will probably vary from two 

 to four or five dollars each. The investment is not 

 great when it is realized that a dollar will grow into a 

 ten to twenty-five dollar increased valuation in two or 

 three years. 



The pictures tell a part of the story of plant life on 

 this attractive place, but space forbids the use of others 

 which show the snowballs, lilacs, philadelphus, deutzia 

 and spirea ; colored-twigged dogwoods, jasmine and gold- 

 en yellow Russian willow with evergreen background for 

 Vi'inter effect ; coral berry, abelia which flowers all sum- 

 mer ; Japanese barberry eight feet high, magnolias, dwarf 

 fruit trees and filberts in separate clumps, and a few nut 

 trees and other things. 



The house sets on a high cellar wall so large shrubs 

 were needed next to the house and shorter ones next to 

 the lawn. At the front to the left of the front steps is 

 a group of forsythia suspensa or golden bell. These 

 think nothing of shooting up eight or nine feet on short 

 notice and need about three prunings a year, one after 



