Stark Bro's Landscape Architects and Ornamental Nurserymen Louisiana, Mo. 



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Don't make the planting too monotonous 

 and bare. Often we see shrubs planted 

 about a house in a sort of hedge form and 

 as?ain great rows of shrubs along the borders 

 of the property. This is not the way that 

 Nature would do the planting, therefore, 

 it is not in keeping with the naturalistic 

 style. The shrubs should be planted around 

 the house in irregular, uneven groups, and 

 the borders should be laid out in graceful 

 curves with bays and framed-in views. The 

 entrance to the grounds can be very effectively 

 masked so that the visitor when entering 

 the grounds will not see the entire place laid 

 out before him, but instead will be led from 

 point to point with an ever-changing view. 

 However, the mistake should not be made of 

 shutting in the place too densely. Remember 

 that the front lawn and front view of the 

 house should be semi-public. You do not 

 want the place surrounded and hidden from 

 view by a planting that would be essentially 

 a prison wall. 



In summing up the whole proposition, we 

 might say that the aim in landscape garden- 

 ing is to make the home attractive and pleas- 

 ant, and all of the planting should be sub- 

 servient to that one idea. 



Special Features of the 

 Home Grounds 



(In this we take up the matter of the treatment 

 of entrances and approaches to the house.) 



Walks and Driveways 



The entrance walk and driveways should 

 be at right-angles to the road. Do not let 

 them connect with the road at an oblique 

 angle. If it is necessary to make a turn in 

 the driveway or walk, this should be in long 

 sweeping and graceful curves and the ap- 

 proach to the house should be direct and 

 most convenient. A curved walk or driveway 

 is much prettier and more effective than a 

 straight hard line. However, we must not 

 have useless curves and the general direction 

 of the driveway or walks must always be 

 towards the house. 



It would appear ridiculous and artificial 

 to curve a walk or driveway where a straight 

 line would be the most direct way. How- 

 ever, in order to afford an excuse for curving 

 the driveway, a clump of shrubs can be 

 placed so that the driveway will appear 

 to curve around the clump. We have already ex- 

 plained that there should be just as few walks and 

 driveways as possible only the ones that are abso- 

 lutely necessary but it is better to have a walk 

 than to have a path worn on the lawn. If you find 

 it difficult to stop the use of a path across any part 

 of your property, you will find that a clump of 



shrubbery placed across the path will be one 

 of the most effective ways to stop it. 



Entrances 



If the entrance gate is used, it should be 

 of the same material and character as the 

 house. If the house is of red brick, the 

 entrance should be treated with the same 

 material. If the house is of stone, or wood, 

 the same principle will hold true. A training 

 of clinging vines over the entrance gate will 

 be found to be very effective. 



The entrance should be located at the most 

 convenient point. If most of the travel is 

 in one direction, the entrance should be 

 located at the point closest to the main 

 direction of travel. Very often this results 

 in the entrance being at one corner of the 

 property. This gives an opportunity for a 

 long, curved driveway leading up to the house. 

 We have already explained why the entrance 

 should be more or less hidden from the 

 house. Clumps of shrubbery can be planted 

 on either side of the entrance, largest shrub- 

 bery towards the center of the clump and 

 the lower, spreading shrubs in front. As 

 the visitor enters the 

 masked entrance and 

 drives towards the 

 house, he continually 

 gets a new view of the 

 property. This is 



much more effective 

 than if the whole 

 grounds were spread 

 out like a map so that 

 everything was visible 

 at one glance. 



However, the view 

 from the home should 

 overlook the street or 

 road and likewise the 

 passer-by should get a 

 good view of the house 

 and its surrounding 

 planting. 



the whole picture. In other words, the shrubs 

 are used to form a transition or connection 

 between the house and the surrounding 

 landscape. This shrub and tree planting 

 helps to blend the various parts of the pic- 

 ture and to make it appear in keeping with 

 the naturalistic surroundings. 



When planting the shrub groups about the 

 house, be sure that the groups are planted in 

 irregular clumps. Do not plant them in a 

 straight hedge effect around the foundation 

 of the house. It should also be remembered 

 that shrubs with foliage of fine texture are 

 better suited for close planting around the 

 house than the rougher and more irregular 

 growing shrubs. For instance, shrubs with 

 foliage of fine texture like Spirea Van Houttei, 

 Japanese Barberry (Berberis Thunbergii), 

 Spirea Billardi, Snowberry (Symphoricarpus 

 Racemosus) and shrubs of this type are well 

 adapted for planting near the house. Some of 

 the best trees for planting near the house 

 to form a frame and to protect the house in 

 Summer and Winter are the following kinds: 

 American White Elm, Tulip Tree, European 

 Linden, Silver Maple, European Sycamore 

 Norway Maple. 



Planting Around 

 the House 



The planting of 

 shrubs and trees about 

 the house tends to tie 

 the house to its sur- 

 roundings and make it 

 seem more a part of 



This Entrance Speaks for Itself 



Nestled among the trees and flowering shrubs the house has a homelike 

 privacy. This is the way Stark Bro's experts will plan your grounds. 



On every property there will probably be several 

 good views. The best ones should be picked out and 

 should be considered in laying out the planting. By 

 properly framing in these good views with trees 

 and shrubbery, you will get the effect of lending 

 distance to the views and also increasing the apparent 

 size of the property. Thus by framing in the 

 views, each one becomes a picture. 



Photograph, Underwood & Underwood, N. Y. 



The beautiful entrance to President Woodrow Wilson's summer home in New Jersey. The beautiful ivy covering the entrance posts 

 and the shrub planting on either side is most effective. The trees give privacy, maintaining interest in the mind of the visitor. 



