GARDENS NEAR THE SEA 



drawback, however, the long roots of the seeds started 

 in the top-dressing strike down deeply into the under- 

 lying sand and take a hold that enables them to endure 

 for many years. 



The lawns of homes which are close to the sea 

 should naturally be located well out of reach of the salt 

 spray, an enemy turning green into black and leaving 

 devastation in his wake. It then depends entirely 

 on the quality of the soil of the proposed lawn 

 whether a top-dressing is desirable, or whether the 

 lawn may be made by relying solely on such fertili- 

 zation and enrichment as plays a part in most plant 

 cultivation. 



To have a successful garden, the soil about a country 

 place must be good. It is almost as important as 

 the foundation of the house. For although there 

 are plants so long-enduring that they will live and 

 bloom under adverse conditions of soil and situation, 

 yet their beauty is then not seen at its best, nor will 

 they live for a particularly long time. They become 

 but weaklings among their kin, and are out of the 

 running as are sickly people in the human race. 



It is sometimes difficult to establish a fine lawn 

 about many country homes where the ground has 

 been filled in and much grading done, since, almost 

 invariably, the soil supplied by the contractors has 

 been of the poorest quality. For years afterward the 

 plaint is heard, "Nothing does well here, the soil is 

 so poor." By giving some attention, however, to 

 the character of the soil used for such purposes, the 

 lawn could at once be started advantageously, and the 



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