The Garden Magazine, January, 1924 
279 
rounded by gaudy Coleus and edged with I len-and-Chickens, what 
William Robinson calls “an Italian pastrycook’s idea of beauty.” 
As a matter of fact, excepting in the most formal of places, the 
advocate of design is willing to allow great leeway in the selec¬ 
tion and arrangement of plant material. He feels, however, 
that there are advantages in a certain formality and symmetry 
of layout, making paths go directly to destinations instead of 
describing meaningless curves, and having the flower-beds as an 
integral part of the design. He may feel that the part of a 
garden which is near the house should be regarded as an ex¬ 
tension of it, and may not wish it to simulate a forest any more 
than he would want the house to be the replica of a cave. He 
will appreciate the esthetic and the practical advantages of 
having the main path or axis start from the natural entrance 
from house to garden and end at a seat or summerhouse, thus 
focusing the interest within the garden. The formal garden, 
he will claim, is both easier to design and to plant than one 
which at best can be merely an attempt to imitate nature, 
maintaining also that in the small garden, where its boundaries 
can never really be concealed, there should be a frank recogni¬ 
tion that the garden is a work of art, therefore artificial. 
On the usually rectangular lot straight lines will harmonize 
with the boundaries and be economical of space. 
Making Out a Plan 
F THE amateur proposes to make his own plan, he should 
first draw to scale the outline of his property, indicating the 
points of the compass, and putting in the house. Where 
irregularities of contour exist, these should be indicated. He 
can then draw in service ways and yard, automobile road and 
garage. Where these must be provided for, it is best to confine 
them to one side, preferably the north, and to screen them 
either by trellises or by shrubs and trees. Where the lot is on a 
corner and access to a garage in the rear may be had from the 
side street, it simplifies the problem. 
The next step is to map out the areas to be devoted to lawns, 
borders, trees and shrubs, and flowers. All paths and beds 
should be drawn to scale, and all garden accessories should be 
properly located and indicated on the plan. On the areas to be 
planted, or preferably on separate enlarged drawings of them, 
detailed arrangements of all proposed plantings should be made, 
and lists of materials and quantities be prepared. 
On a lot measuring 50 by not more than 150 feet, little more 
can be done in the front and on the garden side than to 
put in a lawn and frame it with suitable trees and shrubs. 
The base of the house 
should also be screened, 
preferably with ever¬ 
green shrubs of refined 
growth. The use of large 
numbers of bulbous 
plants in the foundation 
beds may give a striking 
effect for a few weeks, 
but an unattractive 
spectacle follows. The 
real garden will be be¬ 
hind the house, where 
privacy is more easily ob¬ 
tained. This side, which 
the English often call the 
garden front, can be made 
most attractive by good 
gardening. To keep it al¬ 
ways presentable it will 
be well, in planning, to re¬ 
serve a small portion at 
the rear, best shut off by 
a trellis which may be 
planted with vines, for 
garden processes such as 
raising new plants for use in the garden proper. Where the 
gardener has a specialty of limited seasonal beauty, such as the 
Gladiolus, the Iris, or the Dahlia, an alternative use of a 
screened-off portion would be todevote it wholly to the specialty. 
Planning on a 100-ft. Lot 
O N THE lot of 50-foot frontage the greatest simplicity of 
design is essential. When the frontage is twice as great, 
more complexity is permissible; that is, the garden space, while 
still planned as a unit, will have parts more or less screened off 
for particular purposes and to add to the interest of the whole. 
On a lot 100 feet square, with the house set rather to the front 
of the northern half and the automo*bile drive along the northern 
boundary, by the informal framing of the front lawn with trees 
and shrubs a place will be provided on the south side of the 
house where leisure hours may be pleasantly spent. This space 
may be informally hedged off from the rear garden, and should 
be planted in a lawn, shaded by an occasional tree or two, and 
furnished with comfortable seats. The wider area across the 
rear may either be altogether given to a flower garden or the 
smaller part directly given to a flower garden or the smaller 
part directly behind the house may be treated in a formal manner, 
with a sunken garden, a pool, or a path ending in a summerhouse. 
The remaining section of the rear will still be available for a 
general flower garden or for a rose garden or other specialty. 
The Grass Lawn and Substitutes 
ON DN ESS for making lawns is not by any means a universal 
accompaniment to a love of flower growing. Many ex¬ 
cellent gardeners regard it as a loathsome task either to make or 
to take care of grass. Where they feel so and can afford it, it is 
far better that they employ a competent lawn-maker, for there 
can be no doubt that a fine lawn is in itself a great asset to any 
garden and its assistance in bringing out the beauties of trees, 
shrubs, and flowers can hardly be over-estimated. The making 
of a good lawn entails much preliminary hard work, and its 
maintenance demands continual attention. Kentucky Blue 
Grass will make the finest lawn. For a quick, easy lawn, Aus¬ 
tralian Rye is generally used. 
The cost of making and maintaining lawns in a semi-arid 
country has naturally resulted in the attempt to find substitutes. 
Their greatest use is unquestionably for the covering of sloping 
ground, where lawns are excessively difficult to maintain through 
the summer. It is particularly for situations such as this that 
Lippia repens (syn. L. canescens) is to be commended, as it is 
very resistant to drought 
and spreads rapidly, 
rooting at every joint. 
The gray-green foliage is 
rather dull, and the light 
purple flowers which ap¬ 
pear in summer are of a 
color not particularly ap¬ 
preciated, but they may 
be easily kept down by 
mowing. Another sub¬ 
stitute is the Sand-straw¬ 
berry (Fragaria chiloen- 
sis) also good for slopes. A 
warm sunny place is ex¬ 
cellently adapted to the 
growing of the various 
trailing Mesembryanthe- 
mums. The English Ivy 
has been much used in a 
few places, as a ground 
cover. Its greater value 
is for planting in shady 
places as, for example, 
under trees, but it will not 
endure being walked on. 
A LITTLE GARDEN FOR LITTLE FOLKS 
Larkspurs and Hollyhocks, Roses and Honeysuckle weave an airof country simplicity 
and homeliness about this child’s playhouse in a sophisticated city yard—such is the 
power of plants, plus man’s imagination! J. Wilkinson Elliott, Landscape Architect 
