August, 1918. 



THE GARDEN AND FIELD. 



123 



lUgs vnth. one aii'othcr, with the 

 hiphway, aud with th<) farm lamis. 

 It is essential that thov shoiikl be 

 included in thS' coinprchensive i.inii 

 plan. They should be studied in 

 relation to the sites and to the 

 grounds. What are the requisites 

 oi good walks and drives ? First 

 of all the location should be logi- 

 cal. They 'are for use. They 

 should be placed where they are 

 needed. They should be direct. 

 They should have no unnecessary 

 nieanderings or meaningless curves. 

 In the main they should follow the 

 topography. The grades should be 

 easy and 'comfortable. If the 

 grounds are small and the land al- 

 most Hat it is usi'ially best to have 



: ) straight walks and drives. For in 

 such cases straight lines are most 

 economical of spac^, most agree- 

 able to use, and most satisfying 

 to the eye. On larger places where 

 the house is situated at some. lit- 

 tle distance from the road and the 

 ground is more or less irregular, 



f** curving drives are usually best. 

 Yet here there must be some rea- 

 son for a curve. This justification 

 may be a matter of grades, la. pro- 

 jecting ledge or hillock, but never 

 a mere flower bed or a group of 

 shrubs. There must be a real ob- 

 stacle. The curve itself should 

 always be free, flowing and grace- 

 ful., In all this matter the topo- 

 graphy should be our guide. We 

 should foUow it, adjusting our lines 

 so that they may be as graceful 

 as possible while conforming to 

 the facts of grades. Never should 

 the length and width be greater 

 than utility requires. For a walk 

 or a drive which has an unneces- 

 sary length or width exacts a 

 waste of time^ and energy in pas- 

 sage and requires an uncalled for 

 expense in construction and main- 

 tenance. With, regard to construc- 

 tion, local cooditions play a, con- 

 siderable part. If there is good 

 native road material at hand it is 

 desirable to iuse it. For it will 

 usually be most economical as well 

 as most harmonious with our 

 grounds. There should be a com- 

 pact mass, good drainage,^ and a 

 uniform surface. Then there should 

 be careful maintenance. Thei sur- 

 face should be free from stones, 

 the ruts should be filled, jahd good 

 drainage maintained. The lines of 

 demarcation should be sharp. These 

 deflnite edges and grass free sur- 

 faces do more to give snap and dis- 

 tinction to the grounds "than al- 

 most any feature. 



— planting. — 



Now it is time for us to dis- 

 cover where we shall plant our 

 trees and shrubs and what shall 

 be their character. For successful 



results planting must always be 

 (lone with a ^definite object in view. 

 If there is np reason for it then it 

 should not be done. The principal 

 purposes of planting are as fiol- 

 lows : to secure protection from 

 sun, wind and storm ; to screen 

 unsightly features ; to unite a 

 ljuilding with its site ; to enframe 

 the lawn or grounds ; and finally 

 to secure the fuUillment of those 

 pleasures which plants so abund- 

 antly bestow. This matter of pro- 

 tection is pretty well understood. 

 There are formal rows of trees, 

 tall hedges or irregular masses of 

 trees and shrubs to shield from 

 wind and storm. The house should 

 have some shelter from the sun's 

 rays in summer. The trees should 

 not be too close to the house nor 

 should the shade be too dense. Nor 

 shoiuld they be so planted as to 

 shut out an undue amount of the 

 sun's warmth and cheer or to hide 

 pleasant views. 



The concealing of objectionable 

 features by means of planting is 

 not so well understood nor so 

 commonly practiced. In spite ot 

 our very best efforts, irritating or 

 ugly scenes sometimes persist. 

 Even if we have been (successful in 

 obliterating our own^ we, may still 

 have with us those of our neigh- 

 bours. 



Then the lawns or grounds 

 should be enframed. This charac- 

 ter of planting gives unity to the 

 scene, enclosing it in much the 

 way that an appropriate frame 

 does a good picture. Then it, se- 

 cures a certain privacy and seclu- 

 sion and gives the feeling of se- 

 curity and repose. Thus the value 

 of this planting is very real and 

 very great.. 



Then plants may be' used for the 

 intrinsic pleasure which they af- 

 ford. There is a charm of form, 

 of texture and of color. Yet we 

 must not permit these mor© obvi- 

 ous • appeals to interfere with the 

 realization of that greater, higher 

 and ijiore fundamental pleasure of 

 good composition. There is a 

 pleasure to be derived from the 

 fitting arrangement of plants. 



— Principles of Planting. — 



Tills logically leads to an exam- 

 ination of the principles governing 

 good planting. These may be as- 

 sembled under the heads of sim- 

 plicity, breadth and harmony. As 

 to simplicity, it ought to charac- 

 terize our attempts. When we 

 have determined our needs wei must 

 meet them in as straightforward a 

 manner as possible. Keep in view 

 the fitness of the attempt. Avoid 

 over-elaborateness. Likewise ob- 

 serve simplicity in the number of 



plants used. Do not crowd,. Be- 

 ware of an over use, particularly 

 of evergreen trees and shrubs. 

 Then choose comparatively few 

 varieties. 



As for breadth, what is it ? It 

 may be said to be the making of 

 one feature principal and the keep- 

 ing of subordinate features from 

 obscuring or belittling it. The 

 meaning may be clear when view- 

 ed in relation to some definite fea- 

 ture, as the lawn. This is the 

 foreground of our scene and should 

 be principal. It should have a 

 fringe of .shrubs or of trees and 

 shrubs about its borders. Never 

 should it be spotted with flcJwer 

 beds or cluttered and crowded wit, 

 individual shrubs or groups of 

 shrubs. 



Harmony should prevail through- 

 out. There should be harm-ony be- 

 tween the trees and shrubs and 

 their surroundings. They should 

 not be too small nor too large. 

 This size-harmony should exist be- 

 tween the plants themselves. Usu- 

 ally a tall shrub and a low shrub 

 should not be placed side by side. 

 In the mass there should be a 

 gradual graduation in height. 

 There should be a nice transition 

 from the grass to the tallest 

 shrubs. 



Now that we have seen what we 

 ought to do let us renew our de- 

 termination to better our sur- 

 roundings, for what greater influ- 

 ence can affect our lives than their 

 character ? If our surroundings be 

 mean, so will our lives be mean. 

 If they be sweet and beautiful, our 

 lives will mirror their very good- 

 ness. Nor is this matter of influ- 

 ence mere speculation. Everywhere 

 examples of evil and of good attest 

 its truth. Great men of all times 

 have proclaimed its power. ' The 

 first thing is to formulate our 

 scheme. It does not matter if it 

 cannot be carried out at once or 

 in its completeness. The real need 

 is for a carefully thought-ouit and 

 a fuUy preconceived plan. It is to 

 be expected that its execution will 

 be gradual. There are other 

 things to be done. Nor is this on 

 the whole a disadvantage. This 

 gradual and healthy working out 

 of a scheme makes possible the 

 avoidance of certain mistakes, per- 

 mits of nicer adjustments, afiords 

 greater pleasure, and arouses a 

 livelier interest. Thus we must 

 say to ourselves what we would 

 do to arrange our grounds ■ and 

 buildings to secure the greatest 

 degree of comfort, contentment 

 and joy, take on an abundant 

 measure of courage, and do what 

 we have to do steadfastly to the 

 end. 



