Introduction 
so many years ago the little garden, whether in town 
or suburb, or even deep in the country, was a thought- 
less affair ; a few beds of geraniums and roses, a border 
of annuals and perennials in small and dull variety, and 
perhaps a shrubbery, all laid out without reference to 
the house or to each other. Since then the cultivation 
of flowers and shrubs, fruit and vegetables, has 
developed at a great speed. And it has done this side 
by side with a growing attention to the sister art of 
garden design, which includes not only the laying out 
of ground on simple and artistic lines, but also the use 
of flowers in harmonious groupings. 
‘* All this has been well understood and practised in 
the greater gardens, where an increasing reliance is set 
on those more formal qualities which made the beauty 
of the Old English garden. It remains to show that 
the little garden is no less capable of beautiful treat- 
ment. ‘The miniature can be as great a work of art as 
the full-length portrait.’’ 
The second object was that by so getting together 
the ideas and thoughts of many people, and carefully 
analyzing and, if necessary, criticizing them, much 
helpful information might be given to people possess- 
ing similar sites, and it is for the purpose of presenting 
this in the most convenient form that the present 
volume is compiled. 
Four typical sites were chosen, and their plans, now 
reproduced on a small scale, were submitted to intend- 
ing competitors. 
No. 1 shows a level site with a narrow frontage of 
40 feet and a total depth of 120 feet. This is an 
average small suburban plot, and its lay-out and plant- 
ing has an importance not ordinarily recognized. 
No. 2 shows the type of site which results when an 
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