The Garden Magazine, January, 1921 
233 
WHEN THE USEFUL IS ALSO ORNAMENTAL 
Crops for the kitchen and flowers for the table, with fruit 
trees all in one combination make a friendly garden indeed 
harmony with the naturalistic aspect of the garden from without. 
At desirable points, as where the “overlook” is pleasing, the 
planting should be low so as to admit of a peep at the lawn from 
without, and distant scenes are thus brought into the view from 
within, a peep into your neighbor’s place will permit you the 
enjoyment of features to be found there. Lilacs, Deutzias, 
Japanese Snowballs, Hydrangeas, and similar shrubs, too 
numerous to mention here, which produce their flowers toward 
their tops are effective for boundary plantings. Berried plants 
should not be over-looked, and for low planting Japanese Bar- 
berry is invaluable. Berried plants serve to attract birds which 
are useful in subduing insects and are in themselves a delight 
as they help prolong the note of life in the garden through the 
fall and winter months. Flowering Dogwood, Photinia villosa, 
Hawthorns, Bush-honeysuckles, and Rocksprays are only a 
few of this class of plants. If the scope of the plantation admits 
of it, a few Red-stemmed and Yellow-stemmed Dogwoods, 
red-and-white Birches, and some Willows will add color and 
variety to the winter scene, which must be planned for in spring. 
H ERBACEOUS perennials are of course the least trouble- 
some of the materials for flowering effects (when once 
established) but they require lifting and dividing every three or 
four years. I n arranging them in the beds or borders the matter 
of balance should not be overlooked. The height, foliage, 
and bloom on one side should have a corresponding unit on the 
other, not necessarily of the same plant, but one of similar mass 
outline and color. And it is not essential that every part of 
the garden be in bloom at the same time; rather one part may be 
arranged for a climax at one season, to be followed by another 
special effort in another part later on, while the space occupied 
by the first becomes an expanse of green. Color arrangement 
is the special bugbear of every garden, but a few general points 
are to be observed to maintain harmony. Purples and blues 
should be kept in the background; lighter colors should be in 
the foreground; blues add to distance, and reds foreshorten. 
By paying regard to these facts the size of the garden is in effect 
enhanced, besides giving a pleasing graduation of color. 
When mass effects are sought only those perennials with a long 
season of bloom should be chosen. 
Regardless of the care exercised in the selection and ar- 
rangement of perennials the garden as a whole will not be a 
success without the introduction of annuals, among which are 
some of the showiest and most useful plants, which can be raised 
from seeds at a very small cost. Many dull spots that would 
otherwise occur may be brightened throughout the summer 
