Now when you look over the Canterbury bells and the tall iris it is hard 
to imagine the chaos that existed before 
Even though the greenhouse is but a tiny “lean-to,” it has provided 
an inexhaustible supply of life for the garden 
A Little Suburban Garden 
HOW AN UGLY BRAMBLE PATCH WAS TURNED INTO A FINE, OLD-FASHIONED GARDEN—SEVERAL 
INTERESTING IDEAS THAT HELPED TOWARD ITS SUCCESS—A GARDEN HOUSE OF CHESTNUT SLABS 
by Estelle Palmer 
Photographs by the Author 
likely when our new pos¬ 
session, “The Philippines,” 
was purchased, it presented 
a sorry scene of shocking 
neglect to the neighbors— 
indeed it was little more 
than a plot of ground over- 
grown wit h raspberry 
bushes and other shrubs. 
Possibly the great ugliness 
was an extra stimulation 
for we set to work at once, 
and all unsightly objects 
were cleared away. A few 
venerable apple trees were 
left standing and slowly but 
surely the unloveliness 
melted into a bower of 
beauty and a true pleasure 
ground. 
Now, three years later, 
you may wander past the 
The garden summerhouse is made against a rear fence and covered 
with chestnut slabs; over this woodbine and wistaria climb 
tiny greenhouse where a few plants have wintered; past the apple 
tree in a decayed knot of which a petunia is blossoming; past the 
arbor half hidden by a catalpa stripling, trumpet vine and hy¬ 
drangea ; across a velvety lawn and then—then, be met by an old- 
fashioned girl with an old-fashioned charm and simplicity of 
manner. She will escort you through “The Philippines” while 
you make many inquiries and are informed that the shirt factory, 
chicken house and adjoining yards “are at last nearly hidden from 
view” by the young apple, cherry and plum trees—a pleasing re¬ 
ward of patience. 
As you turn from admiring the white-crested black Polanders, 
Hamburgs, and other varieties busily scratching the soil of the 
running pens, your love of beauty will be gratified by a summer¬ 
house built around an aged apple tree. The roof of bark-covered 
chestnut slabs is covered with wistaria and woodbine which scram¬ 
ble into the highest branches and hide the summer home built for 
and occupied by the wrens. The rear of this pleasure resort 
measures twenty-two feet and stands very near the line fence 
where again the chestnut slabs are used, this time for a screen. 
The uprights are locust posts with the bark left on and a few 
branches near the top form arms to the roof. 
(Continued on page 114) 
Among the other things that shut out an unpleasant view is a hedge of 
white birch brush upon which the sweet peas grow 
(86) 
