106 
PARK AND CEMETERY 
Open lawns next to the house lend an effect of spa- 
ciousness, and by massing the planting on the outer 
boundaries and against the building, the lawn is contin- 
uous and appears even larger than it really is. This 
effect may be further strengthened by bringing the 
mass of the side planting forward into the grass in at 
least one place far enough to partly conceal the rear 
garden and prevent a full view of the inclosure. Hid- 
den back of this bold promontory of verdure one is 
likely to discover the hammock nook already sug- 
gested. 
It is frequently good policy and good art to make 
part of the outer mass of foliage on small grounds 
nothing more than a mat of vines against an adjacent 
wall or fence, with perhaps a few shrubs and peren- 
nials to break up a surface that threatens to T>ok too 
long and too flat. 
An “open center’’ does not necessarily mean that 
nothing whatever shall be planted in the front part of 
the grounds. Shrubs, vines and perennials are nearly 
always admissible and desirable in any or all of the 
angles of the building as well as to round out its cor- 
ners, and may occasionally be used to good purpose 
as an agreeable break against a long wall. Clumps of 
suitable material may also often be acceptably used to 
emphasize gateways and entrances and junctions of 
walks. These subsidiary plantations may usually be 
made to seem included in the large, structural masses 
and none of them should be of a size or character to 
detract from the general effect of an “open center.” 
From the point of view of suitability, of economy of 
time and of labor, of picturesqueness of effect, from 
every point of view, hardy material is and must be the 
basis of home-ground development. Happily, the 
wealth of such material is so great that even the limita- 
tions of soil, climate, exposure and other practical re- 
quirements leave ample room for the exercise of individ- 
ual taste, and, while curiosities in the way of home- 
ground development are undesirable, individuality may 
be a good and a pleasant thing. Indeed, I think it is 
one of the greatest of the possibilities in question. 
One way of imparting character to such grounds is 
to make some one thing a feature of the planting. This 
prominent variety, or, possibly, species, should be 
chosen with care to harmonize with the style of the 
house, with its surroundings, and with the personality 
of its inmates. Planting is just as truly a medium of 
expression as any other of the fine arts. 
The prevailing feature may be thorn trees, spiraeas, 
honeysuckles, clematises, peonies, roses or any one of 
many other things, but, whatever is selected, there 
should be enough of it to call attention to itself, to 
make what I am striving to make — a clear, agreeable 
and permanent impression. 
Other things being equal, plant what you like best, 
but make your chosen material take its place as a part 
of the structural planting, and mass varieties together 
to avoid a “spotty” effect. 
To emphasize the idea of imparting character and 
individuality of expression to one’s grounds, why 
should not the rose-lover uses roses in abundance, the 
bird-lover make a garden for birds, or the lover of 
white flowers have a white garden? To my mind, any 
of these fascinating conceits might be charmingly and 
successfully carried out. 
After planting your grounds, give the vegetable 
members of your kingdom a chance for their physical 
and their artistic lives. Permit them to express the 
character with which their Maker endowed them. 
Don’t dwarf and distort them by means of the shears 
and the pruning hook into caricatures. They have as 
much right to be themselves as have the human mem- 
bers. Encourage both to be as interesting as they can. 
Let them dare to be beautiful. 
Having mentioned the leading positive factors of 
the matter in question, it seems well to touch upon 
some of the most promising negative possibilities. 
On such grounds it would seem quite possible to get 
along without carpet beds to be shaven and shorn ; 
to avoid unnecessary artificial terraces ; to omit cast- 
iron mastiffs on the lookout for trouble ; to steer clear 
of statuesquely startled deer and imitation white rab- 
bits, timid of aspect; of knights in armor, adroitly 
placed to frighten the wits out of a ghost-fearing com- 
munity; of conch-shell borders in unrelated regions; 
and of gypsy kettles in locations where the advent of a 
fortune teller would paralyze the mothers of the neigh- 
borhood. From these and from others of their ilk, 
may the goddess Flora kindly deliver us ! 
All of the planting so far outlined is confined strictly 
to the limits of the home plot, but to make the most of 
the possibilities afford, individual interest and effort 
must extend beyond its confines. Each house plot 
should take its place in the larger picture presented by 
a block, and each block become an integral part of the 
panorama of a street. In this way, and in no other, 
can the town or city beautiful become a reality. Ap- 
propriate planting in the little parkway between the 
sidewalk and the curb line, in conjunction with judi- 
cious street tree planting, is of the utmost value in cre- 
ating a harmonious setting for the series of pictures 
fronting on the street. Without co-operative interest 
among residents, each improved plot becomes a de- 
tached fragment and loses much of its effectiveness. 
Finally, make your home a picture, but let it har- 
monize with and enhance the pictures on either side 
of it; let your planting blend with that on adjoining 
properties ; niake yours one of a long gallery of pleas- 
ant homes. 
Frances Copley Seavey. 
