too 



The Garden Magazine, April, 1922 



INFORMALITY IS THE KEY-NOTE 



Wisteria and Climbing Roses, supplemented by Spiraea and Peonies, link this dwelling to the earth with an airy effect- 

 iveness quite unlike the usual "foundation planting" so often merely commonplace and stodgy in composition 



(i) to tie the house to the ground upon which it rests and to 

 minimize the apparent height of foundations; 



(2) to add to the architectural beauty by an adequate foil of 



foliage offering a pleasing contrast to the lines and the 

 color of the house, and tending to soften the appearance 

 of the base of the structure as a whole; 



(3) to conceal the lines of the foundation and its several ob- 



jectionable adjuncts. 

 These points are of relatively greater importance to the owner 

 of the small and medium sized home than to the master of larger 

 areas, because such small buildings are usually high in relation to 

 the ground space which they occupy; have less architectural in- 

 terest in the foundations; are placed much closer to the view of 

 the passer-by; are usually situated on relatively small lots and so 

 do not have the advantage of a large mass of attendant shrub- 

 bery plantings on the remainder of the property. 



FUNDAMENTALLY desirable effects in a foundation 

 planting may be expressed thus: (1) grace of outline; (2) 

 individual points of interest; (3) an adequate sense of cover for 

 the foundations. It is in the first and last mentioned points — 

 particularly the last — that the planting so often falls short of its 

 purpose. 



To obtain graceful outline. Employ plants which are in them- 

 selves graceful in outline and which will tend to give a soft and 



pleasing appearance to the entire mass of foliage; and so arrange 

 the material that it somewhat varies in height and in denseness 

 — that is, by making some portions of the planting heavier than 

 others, the outside line of the mass will be irregular in character, 

 the planting tending to soften the straight architectural lines of 

 the foundation. 



To obtain individual points of interest. Choose plants that 

 exhibit a variation in the color and texture of the leaves and 

 present an interesting play of light and shadow with a con- 

 tinual variation in the color scheme. Additional interest 

 may be given through the introduction of a judicious amount 

 of profusely flowering shrubbery and some berry-bearing 

 specimens. 



To secure an adequate cover for the foundation. Select plants of 

 fairly spreading character and supplement them by a cover- 

 planting of smaller, low-headed shrubs to fill the interstices and 

 cover the base of the larger shrubbery. 



Putting into practical effect all these principles means that the 

 individual plants in the beds shall be so arranged that they do 

 not produce a straight line along the foundation, keeping them 

 farther distant from the house at points where the planting is to 

 assume thicker proportions, as for example to soften down cor- 

 ners or to fill up angles in the architecture. Solid planting 

 around the house is to be avoided, as rendering a rather mo- 

 notonous composition, and, furthermore, cellar windows usually 



