6s GARDEN DESIGN 



glass houses, frame and rubbish yards should be 

 close together, for one serves the other. It should 

 be possible to introduce a cart into the kitchen 

 garden or its precincts, for shooting manure and 

 loam. The pitching of manure, lifting it again 

 into barrows and wheeling it to its destination is a 

 labour that should be provided against. Odd 

 corners, and occasional flower beds that have to 

 be kept neat also take up time, and their presence 

 adds little to the garden's effect. 



As regards the design, the nearer the levels con- 

 form to the natural lines of the ground the less 

 earth-moving has to be done. It is unfortunate 

 if the question of expense hampers the designer 

 in what he feels will give the best result, but on 

 the other hand a well-thought-out scheme will 

 not ignore considerations of cost. Initial outlay 

 in gardening, as in other operations, can be made 

 to be a saving for ever after. The cheapest con- 

 struction costs most in the upkeep. For example, 

 a sown lawn is the least expensive way of dealing 

 with ground, but the after labour is more than for 

 gravel, or shrubberies. Verges take almost as 

 much keeping as a stretch of lawn, and should be 

 avoided if labour-saving is an object. Grass 

 banks also are troublesome to keep nice. Their 

 expensive substitute, retaining walls, need no 

 attention. Steep grass slopes give a good deal 

 of work, and slopes can be more economically kept 

 if planted with dwarf shrubs. 



