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There are no hard and fast rules that one can lay down in forming 
a pleasure garden therefore the selection of trees and shrubs should 
be very carefully done as so much depends on individual requirements, 
locality, nature of the land,. surrounding scenery and many other points 
which have to be constantly kept in view. Plants which are known 
not to succeed in the locality should be given special provisions such 
as soil and position and should not be given permanent positions until 
it has been proved that they will succeed under such conditions. 
Great care should be taken not to overcrowd the garden with tall 
growing trees as they soon form a dense thicket and apart from exclud- 
ing the air and light from the house, ruin the smaller shrubs and 
plants underneath. 
This should however always be performed with due regard to shade 
and local conditions. One of the features of a well proportioned 
garden should be an open expanse of grass lawn and this should not be 
sacrificed by the inclusion of too many single plants or beds. A few 
beds carefully placed, of bright flowering or ornamental shrubs should, 
where possible, be introduced on the lawns. These when judiciously 
selected are always a feature of a well arranged garden and have the 
advantage of lasting for a considerable time, without requiring renew- 
ing. In fact I would recommend shrubs for beds in preference to 
dowering annuals which are always objects of pity in this climate 
and last so short a time. Another very important point in arranging 
a garden is the blending of colours and shades and great care should 
he taken in selecting positions that plants are not in combination or 
close together whose colours clash. 
Considerable care should also be taken in planting that each tree 
or shrub receives the position most suited to its requirements. 
Certain dowering shrubs require full sun, others require partial shade, 
whilst to be successfully grown most foliage trees and shrubs should 
be given full sun; but these are matters which can only be learnt by 
constant observations and experiments. Planting should be conducted 
so as to prove effective at all seasons. A very effective arrangement is 
to have a border of mixed dowering and foliage shrubs, and a position 
for such can be obtained in most gardens, for example, in front of a 
strip of jungle, or along a boundary fence or wall or by the side of a 
carriage drive. To get the best effect the border should not be too 
wide, but this will depend on the length of the border, the size of the 
garden and the amount of space available in front. 
In selecting plants for a border of this kind care should be taken 
to plant the taller subjects at the back and the dwarfer growers in 
the foreground. Here again the danger of clashing shades and colours 
should be avoided. A border is in many cases to be recommended 
especially in a comparatively small space as it prevents the necessity 
of cutting up the lawn in front into small beds which is not always to 
be advised where space is limited and it should always be borne in 
mind that good gardening depends on the judgment exercised in the 
first instance by disposing of the material and space at hand to the 
best advantage. 
The foregoing must only be taken as a few general remarks on the 
selecting and arranging of trees and shrubs to the best advantage. 
