igii 



BETTER FRUIT 



Page 39 



one must answer before the road can be 

 permanently located. The curving of a 

 drive to make it attractive seems to have 

 taken a firm hold. This is a mistaken 

 idea, however, unless other conditions 

 warrant the curve. Man naturally 

 desires to "get there," and to be forced 

 around a long detour simply because the 

 road curves is very irksome. Every 

 curve should be justified. We do not 

 hesitate to turn aside for some obstacle, 

 and various features may be introduced 

 to make our curves justifiable. A clump 

 of trees, a large mass of shrubbery, extra 

 fine views, irregularities in the contour 

 and the manner in which the entrance is 

 made may be used in relation to our 

 drive. An appreciation for the size or 

 importance of the obstacle must be 

 shown, however. For instance, it would 

 be hard to imagine one turning very far 

 aside to avoid a small flower bed stuck 

 full of nasturtiums and alyssum. On 

 the other hand, a fine clump of oaks or 

 maples would turn us aside without a 

 single question arising in our minds; in 

 fact the action would be the most nat- 

 ural thing in the world, and one would 

 never object to the detour. 



It would seem unnecessary to urge the 

 importance of a good surface, easy 

 grades and perfect drainage in the wake 

 of all that has been said advocating good 

 roads. These are matters, however, that 

 should be carefully considered and thor- 

 oughly worked out by the one who is 

 developing his home grounds. Walks 

 naturally present problems that are very 

 similar to those associated with drives. 

 They should be located where they are 

 necessary, but care should be taken that 



they do not cut the lawn up to any great 

 extent. 



The foundation work taken care of, it 

 is then time to plant with a view to set- 

 ting off the home grounds, and to so 

 frame them that they will present an 

 attractive picture. Here the art of the 

 planter can be given full play. If the 

 natural style has been adopted the plant- 

 ing should present an irregular outline 

 along the edge of the lawn and the 

 sky line should be broken here and there 

 by a small tree rearing its head above 

 the rest of the surrounding shrubbery. 

 In general it may be said that a broad 

 lawn should be the principle feature with 

 the exception of the home itself. Let 

 the general impression be that the center 

 is all open. Carry most of the planting 

 to 'lie borders, and if specimen trees or 

 plants are to be used they should be 

 supported by these border masses. A 

 great many mistakes are made in what 

 is known as mass planting because the 

 planter often lacks the boldness or the 

 means to obtain shrubs and trees in 

 sufficient quantities to produce the 

 desired effect. To overcome this trouble 

 one might plant only a small portion of 

 the border at a time. The value of a 

 plan, then, becomes apparent because 

 every improvement, however modest, 

 can be made in a permanent manner, and 

 after a few years we will find the orig- 

 inal idea well rounded out and fully 

 developed. 



The subject of plant materials is very 

 broad, and one which should be treated 

 by itself. In general, however, it can be 

 said that all the species used should 

 appear to be at home amidst their sur- 



roundings. Plants used because they are 

 rare, exotic or grotesque have no place 

 in the lawn around a rural home. 



Rare plants may be of such a charac- 

 ter that they may be used, especially in 

 close proximity to the home, but one 

 should strive to introduce sorts that 

 attract because of their own natural 

 beauty rather than because of some 

 freakish habit the plant happens to pos- 

 sess. We should guard against making 

 our home grounds into a horticultural 

 museum. It is desirable to have a con- 

 siderable amount of shrubbery around 

 the house or near to it, as it serves the 

 purpose of setting or uniting the home 

 to the grounds, and this material must 

 be carefully chosen because it is to be 

 in a location where it must bear very 

 close inspection. The plants should be 

 perfect and the character of the foliage 

 fine rather than verging on coarseness. 

 It will be readily seen that some shrubs 

 which produce beautiful effects at a dis- 

 tance of one hundred feet would be out 

 of place if used ten or fifteen feet from 

 a view point. On the other hand, many 

 shrubs can be used in both situations, 

 and with equally pleasing results. 



A fair knowledge of these materials 

 must be gained before one can carry out 

 the best work, but if there is the desire 

 to do one need not be held back because 

 of this lack of acquaintance with plant 

 materials. Careful study of the best 

 catalogues and a close observation of 

 what others are doing will soon place 

 one where he can work out his own 

 planting plan and proceed with the 

 development of his home grounds. 



