AN ISLAND HOME 



different varieties of Japanese retinospora, juniper, 

 yew, both Japanese and American, and the curious 

 umbrella pine of Japan closely allied to the yews. 

 By the employment of about a dozen varieties 

 of these evergreens a wide variation of color effect 

 is produced, ranging from the deepest green 

 through the shades of gold, purple, and blue. In 

 all cases the most dwarf plants are kept in the 

 central beds, with the sizes increasing in undulating 

 contours, with high points carefully developed in 

 each group, a system without formality. These beds 

 spread like a Persian carpet over a broad stretch 

 of the center of the garden. Many low dwarf 

 evergreens are kept along the borders of the 

 grassy walks, thus varying somewhat their line 

 and color. In order to keep these evergreens in 

 perfection and in proper relation to one another 

 for a considerable length of time, it would be 

 necessary to pinch them or use the knife just 

 before the young growth comes to ripeness in 

 order to induce compactness. 



The beauty of such a garden as this for both 

 winter and summer would be unrivaled if it were 

 not for the danger of winter killing some of the 

 evergreens. Moreover, there would be a little 

 monotony in the purely evergreen effect, brilliant 

 as it is during certain parts of the season. Also 

 fewer herbaceous plants could be used in this 

 than in the other scheme of treatment. 



The second design, which was the one eventu- 

 ally chosen by the owners of the island and 

 carried out in detail, contemplates the use of de- 



[79] 



