4 LITTLE GARDENS 
carefully placed groups of plants. It always seems to me that deal- 
ing with the boundaries of a small garden is something like papering 
the walls of a room. Before these are covered they repel by their 
bareness and by the distinctness with which they define the extent 
of the room. Thus it is best, especially if the room be small, to 
choose a paper of some warmth and depth of tone, so that when the 
room is papered there is no hard, definite “face” to the walls, but 
a “softness ” that produces exactly the opposite effect. And so it is 
with the garden fences. Cover them with warm-toned leaves, and 
= - ps 
Wo 
AN IVY COVERED ARBOUR. 
there will be no sharp, defining lines round the garden, wifh the 
result that the latter will apparently gain in extent. 
Straight versus Curving Walks.—The question 
whether paths, beds and borders with curving sattine, or ie 
with straight edges, are more appropriate in a small garden is one 
upon which experts often disagree, and appears to be determinable 
by oneself only for oneself. Curving wales appeal irresistibly to 
some, no matter where or how they are placed—a straight walk is 
an eyesore and will not be tolerated. But it may be well to point 
out that a curving walk is not necessarily a graceful walk: in fact 
very often there is far more charm in a straight than in a curving 
path when the garden is small. At least, I venture to express this 
