Close to the House 



nor clip them into stiff or formal shapes, 

 nor trim away their lower branches and cut 

 back their heads to make them look like 

 dwarfed trees. All pruning and training 

 should be done with a view to bringing out 

 the distinctive character of the shrubs ; none 

 should be forced into alien and unnatural 

 forms. Shrubs which stand in front of a 

 plantation should sweep the grass wdth their 

 branches. Behind these may stand others of 

 a different habit ; but to place individuals 

 which naturally grow their branches high 

 above the soil in the foreground, or to clip 

 others till they present a similar but, of 

 course, less pleasing appearance, is to give 

 any shrubbery a bald, ill-grown, and un- 

 graceful look. Nor is there any shrubbery 

 where this look is so unfortunate as in one 

 the very purpose of which is to unite the 

 base of a house with the ground upon wdiich 

 it stands. If a shrub thus placed grows too 

 large, take it out, and let its neighbors grad- 

 ually fill the space or plant a smaller one in 

 its stead. Severe cutting will only spoil it, 

 and in spoiling it you will injure the effect 

 of the whole group to which it belongs. 



83 



