Planning the Garden for the City Lot— By c. E. Morgan, 



New 

 York 



A CITY garden may seem to be a 

 contradiction in terms; yet it is 

 perfectly possible to have a garden 

 the year round, not only in the sub- 

 urbs, but right in the city and within the 

 confines of an ordinary city lot. By far 

 too many town dwellers are convinced that 

 the conversion of the city yard into a garden 

 without interfering with its chief reason for 

 being — a place in which to dry the family 

 wash and to sweep the rugs — is utterly 

 impractical if not impossible. Handbooks 

 and articles without number are published 

 to guide and encourage the owners of es- 

 tates and suburban residences, but the 

 poor city man with his meagre plot of 20 

 ft. or 16 ft. 8 in. x 35 ft. has been neglected, 

 left to the all but universal grass in the 

 middle and border around the fence. 



A garden, which is to be carefully dis- 

 tinguished from a heterogeneous mass of 

 blooming plants is characterized by pro- 

 portion and harmony. Its design is ap- 

 parent though not obtrusive, and it pos- 

 sesses permanent features which give 

 character and solidarity. A wild garden 

 is a thing of beauty on a large place, but 

 not in the artificial and cramped quarters 

 of the backyard. Moreover a garden, and 

 particularly a city garden, is judged by the 

 effect of the whole. 



The design, the architecture so to speak, 

 is, then, the first consideration in planning a 

 garden; the second is the selection and dis- 

 position of plants in the design; the third, 

 their care and cultivation. With the last, 

 this article is not concerned except in a 

 general way. See that the ground is rich, 

 add plenty of cow manure and dig in grass 

 cuttings, then add some more fertilizer, 

 and finally feed the plants about once a 

 month. Be sure the plants are moist 

 enough; water thoroughly in time of 

 drought and keep the ground dug up and 

 covered with leaves and grass clippings to 

 act as a mulch and hold the moisture. 

 Supply the plants with the conditions that 

 the catalogues and nurserymen tell you 

 that they require; if you can not do this, 

 eschew the plant for it will not thrive. 

 Finally prune vigorously but not rashly, 

 and above all not ignorantly. Nor is this 

 article much concerned with the arrange- 

 ment of the plants; generally speaking, 

 clumps look better than rows and care 

 must be exercised to see that some plants 

 will be in bloom in all parts of the border 



at all times and that these do not clash in 

 color. 



Five factors enter into the selection of a 

 plan: the gardener's purpose; the size of 

 the plot; the exposure; the time available 

 for cultivation; the expense that may be 

 incurred. If the gardener has a definite 

 purpose such as the cultivation of special 

 plants, the hiding of an ugly object, or the 

 screening of his domain from the over- 

 curious, he has a special problem and with 

 the aid of the nurseryman must supply his 

 peculiar needs. If on the contrary, the 

 object be simply a pretty garden, the prob- 

 lem becomes general. If the available 

 space be only 16 ft. 8 in. x 35 ft., the usual 

 arrangement of a narrow border around the 

 sides and a slightly deeper one at the back 

 cannot be bettered. Should the space be 

 very much smaller, tub plants, ferns, palms 

 etc., can be arranged after the manner of a 

 European court. But, granted the average 

 yard of 20x35 ft-j there are many possi- 

 bilities. By doing away with the side- 

 borders, the clothes-posts can be moved - 

 closer to the fence and to the house, and 

 thus, without affecting the laundry yard, 

 a space 20 x 14 ft. or thereabouts can 

 be secured exclusively for gardening pur- 

 poses. 



The land being secured, the next con- 

 sideration is the exposure, light, water, and 

 air, for it would be foolish to lay out beds 

 for summer annuals or roses, if, due to 

 northern exposure or the shade of build- 

 ings or trees, the sun does not shine on the 

 garden more than a couple of hours a day. 

 If this be the case, rhododendrons, ferns, 

 and a few shade-loving, flowering plants 

 — foxgloves, Japanese anemone, monks- 

 hood, Nicotiana alata, lilies — are all 

 that will thrive and the beds must be 

 large and roomy as the first two are of 

 spreading habit. If there be no direct 

 sunlight, there will oe no flowers but ferns 

 and choice foliage plants are attractive. 

 Because a place is shady it is assumed that 

 it is moist, but such is seldom the case in 

 the city; the walls and the trees that cut 

 off the sun also cut off the rain and the 

 trees take for themselves all moisture and 

 food that they can find. Water, however, 

 is something that the city gardener must 

 be prepared to supply, and with all the 

 facilities at his command it is the least of 

 his difficulties. Finally there remains the 

 question of air. Most plants require, if 



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they are to flourish, a good circulation; 

 lack of it often causes mildew. If the 

 boundaries are house walls, nothing can 

 be done, but if, as is more likely, they are 

 the usual wooden fences, chicken wire can 

 be substituted. Neighbors seldom object, 

 especially if the privacy of the laundry 

 yard be retained by running the wire only 

 the length of the garden plot. It is wise, 

 too, to leave the boards for a foot or two at 

 the bottom, especially if dogs or small 

 children use the neighboring side. Hedges 

 are pretty but they cut off too much light 

 and air and absorb too much moisture and 

 nourishment for a small place. 



The time to be spent in cultivation 

 should modify the choice of design, for 

 the greater the number of beds, the 

 more intricate the paths, the more del- 

 icate the plants, the greater the care re- 

 quired. Grass paths require more labor 

 than those of flags or pebbles, small plants 

 more than shrubs, roses more than geran- 

 iums. The plans here set forth require on 

 the average about five hours a week with 

 additional time at special seasons such as at 

 the spring and autumn plantings and during 

 summer droughts. But perhaps the garden 

 is for some special season: if for spring or for 

 spring and fall, as with so many city people 

 a shrubbery or a shrubbery and beds of 

 bulbs best serve the purpose. Unless some 

 work is to be done in the summer the for- 

 mer is advisable for the weeds will run riot 

 in the beds. For a summer garden, that 

 is from May to October, flower beds with 

 just enough green to serve as a setting 

 offer the greatest scope. A winter garden 

 requires a specially planned shrubbery and 

 is so difficult and expensive to manage 

 successfully that it has not been given 

 consideration here. The all-the-year-round 

 garden, and that is what most of us want, 

 practically demands a shrubbery which 

 shall contain some evergreens as well as 

 flowering bushes, and plenty of flowering 

 plants. 



Flowering plants, especially summer 

 annuals raised from seed, are cheap, and 

 the ordinary perennials and shrubs fairly 

 reasonable, but the evergreens, conifers 

 in particular, and the unusual shrubs so 

 well adapted for city planting are expen- 

 sive. Perennials are usually $1.50 a dozen, 

 small deciduous shrubs $.35 to $.75 apiece, 

 broadleaved evergreens, rhododendrons, 

 laurel, $1 to $2 each, and conifers, little 4 



