FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
173 
GENERAL ARRANGEMENT OF GROUNDS. 
The color of the house, barns, and all 
out-houses should be such as to harmonize 
with the general surroundings and the 
vegetation. For instance, a large and im¬ 
posing mansion on an elevation and 
standing out by itself, may be most im¬ 
posing if painted white; a smaller house 
or barn surrounded or imbedded in shrub¬ 
bery would give a much better effect if 
painted gray or brown. In other words, 
the effect sought should be to strike the 
observer, whether trained in landscape 
gardening or not, as natural, harmonious 
and beautiful. 
By the observance of a few simple 
rules an effect may be produced equal or 
often superior to that produced by profes¬ 
sional landscape gardening. The profes¬ 
sional gardener too frequently falls into 
the habit of following a stereotyped plan 
with nothing original in it. There may be 
too much monotony in his plans. 
GROUPING OF ORNAMENTALS. 
Larger trees may be used for the back¬ 
grounds in extensive grounds, medium¬ 
sized plants should be chosen for medium¬ 
sized areas. In town homes, and on ad¬ 
joining lots, co-operation between the 
owners may produce harmonious effects, 
with much better results than individual 
efforts; and the general effects of large 
areas may be produced by proper co-oper¬ 
ative planning and planting. 
On large lawns specimens of medium¬ 
sized and large trees may be planted 
singly, but this should not be done on 
small areas, where smaller growing plants 
must be chosen. Where single specimens 
are planted by themselves they should 
have a proper background of shrubbery to 
set them off. The worst fault with much 
of our planting in Florida is overcrowd¬ 
ing and an attempt to have every tree or 
shrub possible on a home ground the size 
of a city lot. 
With a large house set back from the 
highway, the arrangement should be such 
that from whatever direction the approach 
is made one may have a view of the lawn 
and house with appropriate groupings of 
shrubbery. The view from the house 
should be unobstructed. Vistas should be 
open from every point of view. 
CHOICE OF VARIETIES FOR ORNAMENTAL 
PLANTING 
In selecting* the following list I have 
confined myself chiefly to those plants 
with which I have had personal experi¬ 
ence, and others that I have had opportu¬ 
nity to observe. My remarks will apply 
more especially to the central and northern 
parts of the state. The plantings for the 
southern parts of the state have been so 
ably presented by others. 
Among the native trees I will mention 
the following: 
Oaks—Both the live oak (Quercus Vi¬ 
rens') and the water oak (Quercus nigra) 
are very ornamental and form excellent 
backgrounds to large areas, as well as 
good shade trees. I would select trees 
not over three inches in diameter. All 
branches should be pruned back to the 
main trunk, and this cut off at a height 
of ten or twelve feet. The trees should be 
selected from those not surrounded by too 
thick a growth, and from a soil that is not 
too wet. The root system should be well 
