SHRUBBERY 
137 
furnishing the high growth. The general av- 
erage throughout a shrubbery mass should be 
from two and a half to three feet. 
It has been my experience that this close 
massing is more nearly an insurmountable 
obstacle to the average planter than any other 
of the innovations which gardening, treated as 
an art, require him to accept. Perpetually 
the objection is raised that the individuals in 
a mass will not “do” well; that they will be 
crowded and lose their shape; that they will 
not show. Not doing well I find usually in- 
cludes the two latter in its broad generality 
and is not a reference to the shrub’s health 
and nourishment. However that may be 
though, there is not the slightest chance of 
shrubs planted in this close company not doing 
exactly what they should in the matter of 
growth; of their not becoming just the shape 
which best suits their position and the artist- 
gardener’s general purpose; and not showing 
to the fullest degree desirable and conform- 
able with the scheme. Indeed, close company 
with its consequent mutual protection, is more 
in accord with Nature’s scheme of things al- 
ways than scattered planting. 
In this connection it may be said that al- 
though the exigencies of the suburban place 
