CREATING BEAUTIFUL SURROUNDINGS 
21 
By judicious placing, shrubs may shut in a secluded nook of rare 
beauty and capture that elusive privacy so treasured, or they may 
create a vista. Besides being a decorative feature of a landscape 
plan, a vista, particularly a long vista, is one of the most restful 
things in nature. It is wise, however, to have some definite point of 
interest at the end of the view. This focal point is usually a trel- 
lised arbor, a gate, a seat, a wall fountain or some structural garden¬ 
furnishing, rustic or classic in design, the choice of which depends 
on whether formality or informality has been chosen to be stressed. 
If one has a Spanish hacienda, one’s grounds will generally be 
landscaped with a more or less geometrical precision of balance 
and counterbalance in accordance with the accepted Spanish 
method of treatment of grounds and gardens. But if one owns a 
cottage or bungalow, informality is often much the better taste, 
although it is not a requisite. Generally speaking, the plan of the 
flower garden should definitely conform to the architecture of 
the house, or be so screened from the buildings by plantings of 
hedges, as to present a complete picture within its own boundaries. 
The latter is especially true of an all-rose garden, which prac¬ 
tically demands formal design, irrespective of the treatment given 
the rest of the estate. 
Nooks and 
Vistas 
Balance 
and Good 
Taste 
Construct a miniature garden of your own premises, using tray of 
sand, and outlining the boundaries to scale with large or small sprigs 
of green to indicate shrubbery and trees. This will give a compre¬ 
hensive idea of the general landscape effect, and will help to visual¬ 
ize most effectively which plants and foliage, in combination, are 
relatively correct to the design as a whole. Try various spots for the 
little cardboard buildings, for their placing on the grounds is of 
vital importance in the choice of shrubs. However, if these build¬ 
ings have been located, it is gratifying to realize that there 
are plants adaptable to every location and for any expos¬ 
ure. While there are a large number of shrubs and 
plants which enjoy sun, there are others that must 
be placed where they receive protec¬ 
tion from both sun and wind. 
Miniature 
Garden 
Flan 
