April, 1907 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



133 



were gradually thrown open to the highway, and the latter 

 was planted with shrubbery or trees, like private grounds. 

 The drift in this direction is so strong to-day that our high- 

 ways bid fair to become continuous parks over the whole con- 

 tinent. The grouping of lawn trees frequently runs down to 

 the public driveway; in other cases the orchard or small fruit 

 garden takes possession of the street, so that the traveler 

 finds himself walking or driving through private grounds 

 given to the public. 



The hedge era naturally brought in more or less of the 

 grotesque. There was an effort, not got rid of before the 

 latter part of the century, to shear these hedges into fantastic 

 forms, with animals sitting on top. At the same tirne beauti- 

 ful arbor vitaes and hemlocks and box trees were compelled 

 to exhibit themselves as flat-topped, or square as a dry goods 

 box, or ridged up like roofs, or terraced into pagodas. This 

 reign of false taste, running from i860 to 1890, was quite 

 long enough, for it spoiled many yards, and mutilated many 

 hedges. A simpler taste came in with the increase of Nature 

 study. The evergreen is now expected to sit flat on the 

 ground, while hedges are used mainly to divide our grounds 

 into lawns, gardens, and retreats. The windbreak is grow- 

 ing in popularity, and is certainly one of the chief needs of an 

 ornamental or fruit-bearing homestead. Shears should touch 

 a hedge only to make it thicker and firmer. 



The era of fantastic hedges coincided with the era of geo- 

 metric gardening. The achyranthes was introduced about 

 i860; and soon after the beautiful coleus was, unfortunately, 

 discovered — or created. F'olk must have great masses of 

 color; and then the lawns were spattered over with moons 

 and stars in yellow, red, and blue. Knolls were leveled to 

 make this carpet gardening more conspicuous. Wealth ex- 

 ploited itself on showy grounds — without taste. This craze 

 was fortunately brief. 



Before the stock law had driven cattle out of the street, 

 trees were often mutilated. As a consequence, people some- 

 times planted the three-thorned gleditschia, which was capa- 

 ble of defending itself, while others set avenues of Lom- 

 bardy poplar. This tree was introduced by Jefferson, about 

 1 8 10. The roots ran fifty to seventy-five feet through the 

 soil, spoiling not only dooryards but cornfields; and if 

 scratched they threw up suckers innumerable. By 1830 farm- 

 ers had made a wiser choice of the sugar maple and the 

 white ash. These began to line our street sides, and if they 

 had been dealt with honorably, would still be the glory of 

 American streets. The maple is very sensitive to wounds, 

 and if trimmed so as to let the sun strike the bark, it will 

 blister. Worms follow, and the latter days of such trees are 

 unsightly. We have unfortunately few good maple avenues 

 left in the country. The ash and the basswood heal over 

 more readily, and make better street trees. The ash is de- 

 sirable because it puts out its leaves late and drops them early 



in the fall; and the basswood is very desirable because its 

 flowers yield such quantities of honey. While the farmers 

 were throwing out the poplar and similar trees, the cities 

 were getting rid of the ailanthus, and adopting the elrn. At 

 present the Norway maple and catalpa and basswood con- 

 stitute a trio of sweet trees pre-eminently excellent — rapid in 

 growth, beautiful in foliage, and not infested by worms. 



Modern home grounds are laid out largely on the basis of 

 economy. The shrubs form a "shrubbery," or are scattered in 

 groups to brighten the whole place. We have so many va- 

 rieties that they can be blossoming in succession, through the 

 whole season; while in winter the grounds are made bright 

 with the berries of the high-bush cranberry, euonymus, and 

 barberry. We find it desirable to plant our roses and most 

 of our flowers in rows that can be cultivated by horse power. 

 The apiary should be in close relation to a basswood grove, 

 with the apple orchard not far away. We know that we 

 can not have success with fruit without the help of the bees. 

 A windbreak of shrubs, such as Tartarian honeysuckle, is both 

 delightful and useful. The front yard is entirely dispensed 

 with, and nearly all fences. The aim is to make the whole 

 grounds about equally beautiful, while not detracting from 

 the useful. Removing the street fences and planting down 

 to the ditch has eliminated weeds and thistles, while the trees 

 no longer need boxing, and the sidewalks are kept clean. 



One thing we are now making sure of, that our house 

 grounds in the country are not a modification of city grounds, 

 but are unadulterated country in their makeup; something 

 that one may always look at and say. This place has grown 

 naturally, and man has not interfered, but helped. We have 

 fortunately outlived the artificial; only that here and there 

 we run upon a pretty little lawn run over diurnally with a 

 rattling grass clipper. If anything belongs to the country 

 appropriately it is grass. A lawn cut just often enough to 

 have a good cushion of clover is all right. Do it with a 

 scythe. 



I can not but feel that flowers are less beautiful where 

 there is no love, and the love must include the flowers. The 

 old-time mothers identified every flower in the garden for its 

 relation of some sort to the family. The herbs were essential 

 parts of family health; nasturtiums were good for pickles; 

 love-lies-bleeding told a pathetic story to the kindly heart. 'T 

 declare," said Mother Williams, "but this grape hyacinth 

 smells like a new-born baby." Spring can be Identified by the 

 smell of cherry blossoms. Our mothers had not so much but 

 that they could study and love each thing; living their lives 

 over again in the trees and flowers of their grounds. The 

 children grew up to know everything by such companionable 

 names as heart'sease, baby's head, wakerobin, wallflower, 

 maid in the mist, sweet-william, Jacob's ladder, and were 

 expected always to ask for flowers before taking them — even 

 to the well-loved schoolmistress. 



