SHRUBS 



course no hard-and-fast rule can be laid down, 

 because lots differ so widely in size and shape, 

 and the houses we build on them are seldom 

 found twice in the same place. I am simply 

 advising in a general way, and the advice will 

 have to be modified to suit the conditions which 

 exist about each home. 



Do not set your shrubs out after any formal 

 fashion — just so far apart, and in straight rows 

 — as so many do. Formality should be avoided 

 whenever possible. 



I think you will find the majority of them most 

 satisfactory when grouped. That is, several of 

 a kind — or at least of kinds that harmonize in 

 general effect — planted so close together that, 

 when well developed, they form one large mass 

 of branches and foliage. I do not mean, by this, 

 that they should be crowded. Give each one 

 ample space to develop in, but let them be near 

 enough to touch, after a little. 



If it is proposed to use different kinds in 

 groups, one must make sure that he understand 

 the habit of each, or results will be likely to be 

 most unsatisfactory. The larger-growing kinds 

 must be given the centre or the rear of the group, 

 with smaller kinds at the sides, or in front. The 

 season of flowering and the peculiarities of 



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