138 



The Garden Magazine, November, 1919 



THE PLANT ENTHUSIASTS CONCEPTION OF THE SEVENTH HEAVEN! 

 Wherein he can potter to his heart's content, and raise a goodly 

 amount of things useful as well as beautiful, if so the spirit moves him 



improperly placed it ma)' irreparably mar the entire garden 

 picture; and yet, given proper thought may be an acqui- 

 sition. 



Fitting It to the Place 



M 



greenhouse design 



UCH study is now being given to 

 from an architectural as well as from a practical 

 standpoint, and structures that are pleasing in appearance 

 have been developed fit to assume a place in the garden 

 scheme. So it is no longer necessary to hide even the strictly 

 utilitarian building, if hiding it is difficult. But unless the 

 greenhouse can be made an acceptable unit of the general 

 scheme and not obviously an afterthought it is better not to 

 let it appear at all, but have it obscured by proper planting. 

 On small suburban grounds it must of course take a rela- 

 tively prominent place and may become in effect an addition 

 to the house; and here is opportunity for all of ingenuity and 

 clever devising that one may possess to bring it into such 

 harmony with its surroundings as shall subdue it to an agree- 

 able degree of unobtrusiveness. In this connection a transi- 



tion from dwelling to greenhouse by means of a glass corridor 

 will usually solve the problem of their relation to each other 

 by separating them enough to allow each its individuality; 

 which is far better than any attempt to weld them into a 

 single unit. As a matter of fact they cannot be so welded, 

 and the effort actually to bring them together usually spoils 

 both, architecturally. 



Sunshine to the fullest degree is of course requisite. Choose 

 a site therefore where this is insured and permanently so. 

 The angle of sunlight incidence at noon on the shortest day 

 of the year is 22 degrees; therefore the greenhouse must be 

 kept beyond this angle's distance from anything on its south 

 side. Be careful also to choose a well-drained spot and a com- 

 paratively high one, for poor drainage and damp conditions 

 generally are breeders of mildew; and with this handicap 

 in surroundings it is practically impossible to maintain the 

 proper atmospheric conditions under the glass. 



These conditions being observed the points of the compass 

 may be disregarded generally, though if fruits on trellises 

 are to be grown the trellis should run north and south. This 



