August, 1914 
HOUSE AND GARDEN 
93 
garden that the myriad fancy forms of Biotas and Retinospores 
and Arborvitaes, with which the nursery catalogues teem, may be 
suitably and tastefully used. 
Probably no garden material in the world is more mistakenly 
used than these fancy forms of conifers that are constantly urged 
upon the possible buyer—these and rho¬ 
dodendrons. It would be tragic, if it 
were not irritating, to see how combina¬ 
tions of every known variety are eagerly 
sought, laboriously planted, and triumph¬ 
antly displayed, even as a collection of 
curios might be. As a matter of fact, 
such plantings are curio collections, and 
nothing more. The only relation they 
bear to the art of the garden is in the 
fact that they are plants — and gardening 
as an art depends upon plants to a very 
great degree. Apart from this very ob¬ 
vious association, these assemblages have 
really nothing to do with garden making 
—except that they present an obstacle to 
the real work, if one proposes to under¬ 
take it. 
To get this class of evergreens at rest 
where it belongs will be well, I suppose, 
now that these varieties are under con¬ 
sideration — although the beginning of 
the winter garden lies, of course, away 
out with the outermost shelter belt, 
whence the planting works in. So we 
will consider the planting of the garden 
proper first of all, and its protective wind 
screens and the setting out of various kinds of shelter belts later. 
The material which is to make the winter garden, let us bear 
in mind, is of the most precise character. To preserve the eternal 
harmonies must be provided a garden design of precision, of 
symmetry, of formal lines. No slouching, no picturesque dis¬ 
array here, but polite elegance, courtly 
perfection and elegant simplicity. All 
visual effects are secondary to and de¬ 
pendent upon this pervading beauty of 
order and proportion, which must be as¬ 
sured in the design before even a tree is 
planted. However snug and warm and 
sheltered the winter garden may be, it 
will be less than perfect if it fails to 
please the eye. 
With the design the work really be¬ 
gins, in this instance as in every other, 
with the purity and beauty of that de¬ 
sign occupying even a little more ex¬ 
alted position than in an ordinary flow¬ 
ery summer garden. For flowers are 
like charity and will cover an almost end¬ 
less multitude of designing sins, from 
which the garden that is not to have 
them must be free. 
Wherever the winter garden is, there¬ 
fore, consider its relation to the house 
and the form and pattern of it most 
carefully. The axis of any prominent 
house feature — a wing or porch or win¬ 
dow—or the axis of the entire house, 
should furnish the axis of the garden. 
The form and patlern of the winter garden must be laid 
out with relation to the house. A preliminary sketch is 
advisable 
In addition to being a bulwark, the windbreak should preserve the garden harmonies 
of symmetry and formality 
White pine makes a regular, interesting hedge, with the additional advantage of 
growing well in light, sandy soil 
