14 GARDEN PLANNING 



natural drainage; but when a tennis lawn is a 

 sine qua non it is desirable that some portion 

 of the ground should be level, or have only 

 a moderate slope; otherwise much expense 

 will be entailed in excavating and banking up, 

 and the artificial contours thus created will 

 become unduly obtrusive. Happy the gar- 

 dener v/ho is content to forego this feature, 

 which rarely harmonizes with the other ele- 

 ments of the garden plan, and more often than 

 not usurps space that otherwise could be 

 utilized with advantage to the garden picture. 



In further considering the desirability of a 

 given site it is well to try to fix provisionally 

 the position for the house, which in most cases 

 will be suggested by the lay of the ground 

 and by its aspect; and, having done so, to 

 endeavour to form a mental picture of the 

 main elements of the garden, giving due weight 

 to the natural features of the ground and its 

 surroundings as factors in the arrangement. 

 By doing so it is possible to judge just how 

 far it is likely to meet one's ideal. 



In a comparatively small plot the process 

 w^ill be a simple one. In a large plot the matter 

 may involve more difficulty, as alternative 



