THE YARD 5 



gardening — and by gardening is meant the lay- 

 ing out and cultivation of gardens, whether they 

 be large or small, a square yard or an acre, 

 open or inclosed, a part of an estate or all of 

 it. The first important consideration to him 

 is the understanding of what can be done with 

 his own home grounds. It is important to com- 

 prehend the value of improving them, even 

 where the area is so small as to seem to pre- 

 clude all opportunity for such effort. Most of 

 us realize what paint will do for an old house, 

 but few of us realize what a well-kept lawn or 

 well-planted yard will do. Yet there are a num- 

 ber of examples. 



There is, for instance, the case of the owner 

 of a city home who was anxious to dispose 

 of it. The house was old and not attractive 

 and interested inquirers were few. The owner 

 painted the house but still no sale was effected. 

 Next, upon the suggestion of a friend who 

 knew the value of shrubs and vines and flow- 

 ers, the yard was planted at a cost con- 

 siderably less than the painting had entailed; 

 hedges were substituted for ugly division fences 

 and a general transformation was effected in 

 less than a season's time. The owner then 

 found not only that there were a number of 



