The Making of Our Home-sy Mary T. Richardson, 5, 
SIMPLE TRANSITION OF THE ORDINARY HOUSE AND LOT INTO A REAL HOME WITH A PRETTY AND 
PRODUCTIVE GARDEN—A CASE TYPIFYING MILLIONS OF DWELLINGS ALL OVER THE LAND 
ICTURE a gray shingled little 
house, surrounded by tall shrubs, 
with a Wisteria growing luxuri- 
antly over the porch; a wide lawn, 
bordered by shrubbery and hardy flow- 
ers; a garden supplying vegetables 
enough for a family of six; grape vines 
and peach trees laden in season with 
luscious fruit; cherry and pear trees 
beginning to bear; young apple trees; 
an arbor and pergola clothed with 
Roses—five years ago this was a half- 
acre meadow! Six years ago we were 
city dwellers, absolutely unversed in 
the ways of growing things, knowing 
the country only as we saw it in our 
short summer vacations; but the yearly 
miracle of spring called to us until we 
could not stand the city streets, and we 
boldly set out to find a home in the sub- 
urbs, near enough to the city to com- 
mute daily, but far enough to be “real 
country.” 
We wanted a house all made, con- 
venient to the station, with beautiful 
gardens, an orchard, and a big lawn; 
an ideal hard to attain. In the end we 
rented a house in the “village,” and set 
about finding a place to build. We had 
to give up our vision of ready-grown 
trees, and eventually bought a plain, 
flat, rectangular half acre of meadow 
land, on the outskirts of the town, and 
near the foot of a picturesque wooded 
hill. We did have our view ready-made 
f 
sina 
“A plain, flat, rectangular half-acre of meadow” was the beginning of things 
Third year: shrubbery greatly increased, grouping and massing improved 
—but that was all! Everything else 
we made or planted, and I will say—‘‘as 
shouldn’t”—that few would suspect 
that the result is only five years old. 
Yet we performed no miracles, did noth- 
ing that any man and woman with an 
ordinary supply of gray matter could 
not equally accomplish. 
When I reflect how “green” we were 
‘Hollyhocks are invaluable for planting about the new 
home; they grow to a good height and flower freely 
Q7 
to start with, I wonder that we did not 
make more mistakes. Perhaps we did 
make more than we realized—nature is 
a wonderful coverer of mistakes. She 
is so willing—so eager—to help out! 
We did study every book and magazine 
we could find on house-building and 
garden-making. We made many plans, 
finally deciding upon one which we fol- 
lowed to a certain extent—but the gar- 
den grew in some directions to suit 
itself, quite away from our plan. And 
let me say right here that the whole 
place was a gradual growth; the first 
year we built the house, made the lawn, 
planted some of the shrubs and trees; 
the next year we added more trees, 
hardy plants, and the grapes; the next, 
built a summer house and set out climb- 
ing Roses about it; and soon. And how 
we moved things! Evergreens and flow- 
ering shrubs, Roses and Peonies! Even 
a good-sized apple tree in leaf, one 
spring! By doing it ourselves, with a 
loving care which is very hard to hire, 
we have lost nothing by the moves 
made. Much of the work in garden and 
shrubbery we have done and still do 
ourselves. So far, we have managed 
garden and beds—and lawn—with the 
help of a hired man for two days a week. 
THE PLAN DEVELOPS 
The accompanying plan gives an idea 
of the place as it is to-day—it may be 
a 
Fifth year, general plan well advanced and special features developing 
