THE, GREENING LANDSCAPE COMPANY, MONROE, MICHIGAN 33 



SCREENS 



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THE object of a screen is either to shut off an un- 

 pleasant view or else to give greater privacy to 

 grounds by shutting out views from the traffic on the 

 street; so that the owner and his family have the full use 

 of the ground without being pilloried by the scrutinizing 

 gaze of every passer-by. The idea is carried to its limit 

 in the common English practice of building brick walls 

 completely enclosing the yard ; ljut it seems to the writer 

 that a screen made of tall shrubs or small trees is in better 

 taste, as it has the appearance of a natural barrier. It is 

 remarkable what can be accomplished by good manage- 

 ment and how even trees that are naturally large-growing 

 may be kept in leash by pruning. One of the finest screens 

 I ever saw was on a country estate in Germany, and it w as 

 made of Norzmy Maple, which is normally a very large- 

 growing tree. Other good trees for the purpose are Bo.v 

 Blders, most Willows and Poplars, and especially the 

 Russian Mulberry. In Erance, where the foliage of the 

 Mulberry is used to feed silkworms, the branches are cut 

 down low to produce a dense growth of tender foliage 

 and the new wood makes a fine compact screen. To pro- 

 duce a good screen any of the above trees should be 

 planted two feet apart and cut down eighteen inches from 

 the ground. It is better to begin with small young trees. 

 Of course the evergreens, like Norway Spruce and Thuya 

 Occidentalis, make good screens. 



VIEW IN GREENING PARK 



Hedges have a great deal of beauty in themselves, and they are appropriate 

 in nearly every garden. They can be used on the lot line, around formal gardens, 

 and to border walks and driveways. The traveler in England is constantly im- 

 pressed with the beauty of hedges as garden ornaments. 



The above hedge is in the author's own garden in the antepark to Greening's 

 Big Nurseries, at Monroe, Mich. It is made of Norway Spruce, and borders a 

 gravel driveway which disappears in a graceful curve in the distance. To the right 

 of where the automobile stands is the formal garden. On each side of the avenue 

 is a row of Norway Maples. 



THE OUTDOOR PARLOR 



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A POETIC writer described the grounds about a house as the 

 " Outdoor Parlor." This epigram idealizes the spirit of 

 home, and is just what Talmage, in his ponderous way, used to 

 call " wisdom in chunks, the hand grenade of truth." It is well 

 known that a little money spent in improving grounds gives more 

 real pleasure and artistic culture than ten times the same money 

 spent in bric-a-brac. For about the price of a picture to hang on 

 your walls you may have a living picture of your entire grounds. 



Many places, however, are laid out without professional ad- 

 vice, and the results are often disappointing. A great deal of 

 valuiable material is wasted through improper arrangement and in- 



artistic grouping. i\Iost people know that thumping a piano is not 

 music, that grunting words is not oratory and that a splash of ink 

 is not a picture, but few people realize that planting trees and 

 shrubs without regard to expression is not artistic. 



The skillful gardener knows how to preserve large, restful 

 la\Mi pieces where glinting light and cloud shadows delight the 

 vision with their fitful play ; he builds a fleecy sk3'-line with his 

 border planting and regulates the ground line b}'' the contour of 

 his beds. He makes color harmonies with the varied hues of leaf 

 and twig. His art, like all art, exists by expression and for the 

 sake of expression. The magic of its spell is the secret of eternal 

 youth. 



Nor can the plea be made that a place is too small to need a 

 gardener's advice. The smaller the place the greater the need of 

 one who can concentrate expression. 



