TKe UmbellisKment of Home Grounds 



C. Ernest Woolverton, Landscape Designer, Grimsby, Ontario 



Mr. C. Ernest Woolverton 



TO those who have grounds of their 

 own, the subject of their improve- 

 ment for the most beautiful effect 

 should be one of the greatest interest. 



The true ar- 

 tistic features 

 of the rooms 

 of a house are 

 not brought 

 out until they 

 are properly 

 furnished. So 

 also the lawn 

 must be fur- 

 n i s h e d in 

 order to bring 

 it into true 

 relationship 

 to the house. 

 Few people 

 seem to ap- 

 preciate the 

 true beauty that lies within an open 

 green sward, but if they were to go to 

 the best art museums in the world and 

 study the finest landscape pictures that 

 the most celebrated artists can produce, 

 they would find that the very heart of 

 the landscape picture lies within this 

 tender green space. This, therefore, 

 places the lawn next in importance to 

 the house, as the home should nestle 

 down in the heart of the picture. 



It is, then, around and about the house 

 that the true value of the open lawn is 

 apparent. It lends dignity and at the 

 same time gives the house its true set- 

 ting. Shrubs and flower-beds scattered 

 about would be sure to mar the artistic 

 effect which the open lawn gives and 

 should, therefore, be confined to the 

 boundaries, grouped in the corners or 

 in turns of roadways. By so doing, the 

 framework of the picture is constructed. 

 No hard and fast rules can be given 

 for the planting of trees and shrubs. 

 Every, place requires a different treat- 

 ment and this treatment must be gov- 

 erned by its condition and location. 

 For instance, a small park in a city 

 square would be best suited by an archi- 

 tectural design, because its surroundings 

 are of a formal nature; whereas, a 

 gentleman's country home would, in 

 most instances, call for a natural design 

 to harmonize with its surroundings. 

 Where the natural style is followed, how- 

 ever, the following principles should 

 be observed: The lawn should be 

 kept open ; walks and roads, where pos- 

 sible, should be laid out in curved lines; 

 trees and shrubs should be grouped and 

 not placed in straight rows; the build- 

 ings should be united to the grounds by 

 the use of shrubbery planted at the base. 

 Climbers also aid wonderfully in bring- 

 ing into closest harmony the house with 

 the grounds. 



Very picturesque effects can be pro- 

 duced, even on small grounds, by strictly 

 following out the landscape idea. The 

 illustration shows a section of a small 

 lawn, about 100 feet deep, which has 

 been laid out in the natural style. The 

 trees and shrubs are so arranged as to 

 form points and bays of green. In the 

 depth of the bays and in front of the 

 shrubbery are planted hardy flowers. 

 No better place can be found than that 

 to plant hardy perennial flowers, as the 

 dark background of foHage sets them 

 off to a wonderful advantage. 



This section of the lawn was planted 

 so as to give the most beautiful effect 

 as seen from the house. Here you look 

 right into the recesses of the bays, 

 which give the lawn the appearance of 

 having much greater depth than it 

 really has. This effect can be height- 

 ened by planting blue flowers in the 

 innermost depths of the bays, as blue 

 always lends distance to a scene. 



When planting the border do not 



would have never-ending attractions. 

 By a good selection of shrubs and flow- 

 ers, bloom could be had the entire sea- 

 son. As one moves about the place^ 

 he is continually greeted by new sur- 

 prises, because the scene is continually 

 changing. In fact, the same objects 

 viewed from different positions appear 

 altogether changed because new settings 

 are given them. 



How much more beautiful and home- 

 like is a lawn laid out in this simple and 

 natural way than one geometrically 

 divided into so many parts, all brilliant 

 and aglow with showy beds of geraniums 

 and gaudy coleuses and acalyphus, show- 

 ing perhaps the day of the week or some 

 other extraordinary and unnatural figure I 

 Pattern bedding does not belong to the 

 architectural ideal, nor, indeed, does it 

 belong to any system of landscape 

 gardening. The architectural style suits 

 many places that the natural would not, 

 but, until pattern bedding with all its 

 oddities and monstrosities is completely 



An open Lawn with Trees and Shrubs Grouped on Border is Effective. 



make the mistake of planting one little 

 flower by itself, to be neglected and un- 

 noticed, but plant in bold masses. The 

 effect is much more striking and beau- 

 tiful. Be careful, also, about the colors. 

 Some colors are always at war with one 

 another, and unless they are blended 

 off they will continue to quarrel all 

 summer. Yellow and red, for instance, 

 would never look well together; they 

 should at least have an intermediate 

 color such as bronze, but it is best to 

 keep them well apart. Use plenty of 

 white, as it is the great harmonizer. 



A lawn planted as the illustration 

 suggests, and, of course, with the same 

 idea continued on the rest of the grounds. 



forsaken, landscape gardening cannot 

 be spoken of as a fine art. 



Amaryllis bulbs that have been semi- 

 dormant will soon show signs of growth.- 

 When this occurs pot them at once in 

 fairly rich loamy soil. 



If new chrysanthemum plants are 

 required, do not pinch off the young 

 growth. When three or four inches in 

 length, cut them off below a leaf joint 

 and insert the cuttings in sharp sand. 

 Keep them in a shady spot where the 

 temperature is about 60 degrees. When 

 rooted pot them singly into small pots.. 

 Re-pot when necessary. 



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