Febbuabv, 1911 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



21 



The whole garden, about two acres in extent has several distinct features 



And the enjoyment and comfort of the owners are well provided for 



in the first planting, and some wild flowers 

 have been planted since, the wild garden 

 is mostly a work for future development. 



In order to screen outside objects and 

 secure a pleasing background for the 

 general planting, I set out five or six 

 species of willow along the outside fence. 

 Within three years' time these and the 

 climbing vines gave a fairly good back- 

 ground and something of a parklike effect 

 to our little pleasure ground. Laurel-leaf, 

 golden and rosemary willows were largely 

 used, these being planted quite near to- 

 gether with the intention' of thinning them 

 out as they became large. Purple foliage, 

 with the golden willow as a background, 

 gives a most charming color effect. Dur- 

 ing the past three or four years borers in 

 the willows have given me much trouble, 

 but the three kinds named have been 

 exempt from their attacks. While 

 beautiful all the year, nothing is more 

 charming than the canoe birch in a winter 

 landscape, and these have been largely 

 used in preference to the European cut 

 leaf, as the latter are apt to be killed by the 

 borer that has destroyed so many of these 

 beautiful trees in this section. 



An enjoyable feature is the path, which 





' "'"^SBF 





-f*jtitk. J <J3 



i ... > v -«, f* 



■ ■■ 







BKlrB 







i 





Cy&LMrLSr ; 





i 



SffififllLL.- 





The border of asters skirts the walk that leads 

 around the whole area 



winds gracefully among the trees and 

 shrubbery, making a circuit of the pasture 

 lot, and on the east side lying principally 

 at the left of the vista, which it crosses 

 at the farther end. Through the wild 

 garden the branches of the trees overhang 

 the path. On the west side the planting 

 is of a different nature, and includes a small 

 collection of magnolias. The final stretch 

 running east and west is the only part 

 laid out on straight lines. It runs parallel 

 with the south end of the pasture lot, 

 between which and itself is the planting 

 of lilacs, and at the right the fruit and 

 a vegetable garden. 



Care in planting, cultivating and mulch- 

 ing has resulted in the loss of but a small 

 percentage of the planting. Some that 

 failed to pull through the first season have 

 done well in the second planting. The 

 greatest loss has been among the canoe 

 birches, some of which have been replaced 

 three or four times. In the fall of 1909 

 I made an experiment, planting a cluster 

 of eight of these, placing them closely 

 together and interlocking the roots. I 

 gave the clump the usual mulching, and 

 then drove tall stakes around the planting, 

 covering them with burlap, thus securing 

 complete shade from the winter sun. 

 This screen was not removed until spring 

 was well advanced, and every one of the 

 eight trees is living and doing well. 



From the kitchen door a cement walk 

 extends back about one hundred and fifty 

 feet to the tool house, located at the rear 

 of the house lot, where it joins the two 

 acres. This walk forms the eastern or 

 the right-hand border of the vista from 

 the library window. On the farther side 

 of the walk are fruit trees and a grape 

 trellis, with some bulbs and perennial 

 flowers, but the border on the left of the 

 walk is the feature that gives color to the 

 foreground of the vista. This is filled 

 with bulbs, Narcissus poeticus, Emperor and 

 Empress, and tulips Kaiserskroon, Chrys- 

 olora and Picotee. To follow these in 

 bloom are some clumps of scarlet oriental 

 poppies. The bulbs are planted fully 

 four inches deep, and are left in the ground 

 from year to year. The last of June the 

 ripened stalks are removed, except the 

 poppies, which not entirely ripened, are 

 tied to stakes. The surface soil is worked 

 up fine, and a light covering is added of 



sifted rotten sod, with some wood ashes 

 or fertilizer. With this preparation the 

 entire border is planted with branching 

 china asters. At the left of the vista, 

 beyond the clump of Japanese evergreens 

 seen on the picture, the setigera and rugosa 

 roses are bordered with early and late 

 red tulips, with a few groups of white, and 

 some scarlet oriental poppies. The bulbs 

 here are usually followed by Salvia Bonfire, 

 and a little bay extending between the 

 roses makes a capital place for a few plants 

 of nicotiana, which mingle their white 

 blossoms with and above the rich green 

 leaves of the rugosa. Three Magnolia 

 stellata are planted so that the blossoms 

 and foliage give appearance of a bank of 

 white blossoms some thirty feet long. Two 

 clumps of forsythia, one fifty feet beyond 

 the other, give the appearance of a con- 

 tinuous mass of blossoms. 



At two points Lombardy poplars were 

 planted to screen telegraph poles and in 

 other places trees are also planted to bide 

 some object beyond. In order to get the 

 proper location for these, a long pole with a 

 white flag at the end was placed in different 

 positions until it came in line between the 

 view point and the object to be screened. 



Passing under an arbor of clematis and flowering 

 vines. See also the opposite picture 



