2IO 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



May, 1 910 



beds and shrubbery being casually introduced throughout a 

 green piece of turf. Such plantings only serve to interrupt 

 the sweep of the eye, and add confusion to a picture that 

 might be pleasing if the grounds had been more simply 

 arranged. 



One should not attempt to combine lawn, flowers, trees 

 and shrubs, clothes yard or service yard, into one scheme, 

 any more than he would think of bringing together pic- 

 tures, books and parlor furniture in the kitchen. There 

 must always be certain spaces on the grounds of a subur- 

 ban place, each of which is needed for some special purpose. 



of the proper use of simple garden things. There is almost 

 always an arbor with a circular top, over which are trained 

 grape vines. This is often the central feature, and radiat- 

 ing from it are paths, which are frequently spanned with 

 trellised arches, for the support of other vines and climbers. 

 Then at the end of the garden, farthest from the house, or 

 in a snug corner, one will be apt to find a little summer- 

 house or garden seat; and the whole surrounded with a wall 

 or vines or hedge on three sides, with the house on the 

 fourth. 



How unfortunate that these secluded, intimate gardens 



A view of the garden showing how it was developed 



The writer feels that all suburban places, no matter how 

 small, should have gardens that are separate and distinct 

 from the general planting, and these gardens, to be satis- 

 fying, must have something more than flowers. They 

 should have the air of permanency, as already suggested. 

 It is this quality that is to be found in many of the later day 

 Colonial gardens, that are formal only to the degree of 

 being well designed and in good proportion; and in addi- 

 tion to their simple accessories, flowers are in abundance, 

 and grow in a natural and unchecked profusion. 



These delightful gardens, planned by the Colonists after 

 the type they had known at home, are still good exponents 



should give way to a gaudy type of bedded out plants and 

 tawdry substitutes, of which the chief virtue seems to be the 

 ease with which they can show the gardener's skill in clip- 

 ping them so closely as to resemble rugs. These tender 

 exotics always occupy a conspicuous position on a lawn, and 

 are planted in beds of set shape. This sort of gardening 

 is often to be seen, even in these enlightened times, when 

 everybody seems to be talking and thinking of gardens; but 

 they are dying a slow but sure death, and to-day there is a 

 strong plea for the old-time garden, with its air of privacy, 

 refinement and comfort — a little world by itself, wherein 

 one may entertain friends, away from the gaze of outsiders. 



