THE PERSONAL NOTE IN PLANNING 15 



Every house in a community should contribute toward the en- 

 joyment of the inhabitants thereof, in some little artistic excellence, 

 and it is inexplainable why we have so many heterogeneous, unattrac- 

 tive and commonplace properties in communities otherwise refined 

 and cultured. Lack of foresight in the planning is usually the 

 cause. It is important, therefore, that not only individuals, but 

 communities in general plan carefully for the house surroundings. 



ECONOMY or EXECUTION 



From a purely practical and financial standpoint much can be 

 said of the importance of careful planning. Landscape work at- 

 tempted without the most careful consideration of all the details is 

 never very satisfactory and usually entails large additional expen- 

 ditures for omissions and revisions. In the planning of landscape 

 work the floral adornment is really only one of the many features 

 which must be considered. To make the most of our opportunities, 

 and to solve easily questions of proper grading and draining, the 

 planning for landscape features should start with the locating of 

 the house. 



From this point, questions of walk and drive arrangement, walk 

 and drive construction, lawn grading and making, drainage, the 

 garden and the garden details, should all be taken up in order. It 

 is only when we have a preconceived and specific plan combining all 

 these elements that the landscape work can proceed in an orderly 

 and economical manner. 



THE PLAN 



The plan represents the conception of the designer committed 

 to paper in a specific and comprehensive manner. 



Any development, to be worth while, should be studied in the 

 plan before attempting to execute the work on the ground. 



In landscape work it is usually advisable to have two general 

 plans — the grading plan and the planting plan. 



THE GRADING PLAN 



The grading plan is the essential beginning of the landscape 

 design; the foundation on which the picture we desire to create will 

 be realized. It shows the location and arrangement of all the prac- 

 tical and utilitarian features. It provides for the walks and drives 



