always interesting. You can easily choose this graduation from the lists referred to. Speci- 
men trees or shrubs should be planted sparingly, and with plenty of “elbow room” so that 
their beauty may be fully appreciated. 
When shrubs get old and become unsightly or coarse they should be grubbed out and 
replaced by new ones of slender willowy growth. The modern practice is to allow about 
three feet for each shrub. The tendency is to crowd the shrubs for a denser more pleasing ef- 
fect. They will thrive just as well but require pruning from time to time. Landscape gar- 
deners are generally planting a border of summer flowering perennials in front of each plan- 
ting of shrubs to cover their stems, and also to carry the color attraction after the shrub it- 
self has lost its flowers. The perennial that was once grown “in the flower garden” is now 
a legitimate part of every landscape planting. 
One may have an “elegant house” but it is impossible to have a Beautiful Home that is 
not surrounded in some degree with the verdure of nature. No matter how substantial or 
how costly, no building is complete until it is set in a frame of God’s own making. Many 
an old and unsighty building is made beautiful by the trees and foliage with which it is 
surrounded. 
No other investment possible for man to make will bring the pleasure that will spring 
into his heart at the sight of his home surrounded with lovely shrubs and trees, and in addi- 
tion to its dividends of satisfaction such plantings have an economic value of as great pro- 
portion. Your new house may be all that you can ask for, the niftiest on the street, but you 
must know that in a few years nicer and newer ones will overshadow it. If you let nature 
help you, you need fear no rivals. The newcomer must wait until they can grow surround- 
