A SUCCESSFUL PLANTING FOR 
“OLD FASHIONED” EFFECT 
MARY P. CUNNINGHAM 
Landscape Architect 
A Convincing Presentation of Picture and Plan Where the New Border of 
Hardy Flowers was Settled Comfortably Among the Apple Trees of Other Days 
Apple tree is perhaps as unique a feature of our 
New England gardens as is the Hawthorn bush of the 
F: °H English gardens. We build many of our gardens 
in the orchards of our grandfathers using the old trees 
as backgrounds, or if only a single tree or two remain as is more 
often the case, they are chosen as the guardians of our garden — - 
the personifying element as it were that will link this new thing 
with the things of the past — instinctively we realize that gardens 
should never be new. 
THE TREES 
The garden shown here was designed about two old Apple 
trees. One acts as a boundary tree, an accessory to the other 
with which it frames in a lovely view (see point D on the plan). 
The main tree, though it lost one whole spreading side in a re- 
cent gale, still holds its own as thedominant feature of the garden. 
All old trees in gardens give this same feeling of age and 
association which we like so much, but the Apple tree gives 
more. It is by nature a friendly tree — familiar and benign: it 
protects and invites, and becomes like a hearthstone in the gar 
den that draws all men to it. That is why the table and cl 
find themselves here naturally instead of at the pool end of 
garden. Even in winter it has its appeal — this sturdy old sei. 
tinel watching over a sleeping garden like an old loved nurse who 
has brought us up from age to age. In spring it protects us 
against the cold winds . nd in August we seek its shade from the 
midsummer sun. But it is at tea time in any season that the 
shadeof theAppletree . ,ems infinitely superior toanyotherplace! 
Another reason for planting our gardens where formerly these 
orchards stood is that they were generally near the house, and 
our most successful gardens are those which lead directly from 
the house in such intimate relation that house and garden are 
each incomplete without the other. 
THE PLAN AND ITS RELATION TO THE HOUSE 
The problem here was how to relate the garden to the house 
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GENERAL PLAN OF GARDEN 
Detailed planting plan for the two flower borders are given on the next page. The 
view points of the accompanying photographs are indicated by the letters, A, B, etc. 
16 
