50 
House & Garden' 
A PLANTING of INFORMAL FORMALITY 
Small Flowering Trees, Broad-leaved Evergreens and Deciduous Shrubs 
Made into a Small Rectangular Garden of Enduring Beauty 
S EVERAL factors, so generally met with 
that they form the cominon experience 
of most small-property owners, were instru¬ 
mental in determining what treatment 
should be given the piece of land at the 
side of a certain square white Colonial 
house in the suburbs. It was necessary to 
screen out, by planting, both the busy 
street and an unpleasant view next door, 
thereby creating a place for sitting out-of- 
doors in privacy. The question of mainte¬ 
nance was important, inasmuch as but part 
of one man’s time is used, and during the 
absence of the family in midsummer the 
grounds must make shift alone. Further¬ 
more, the exigencies of the severe climate 
and gravelly soil made the choice of plant 
material a restricted one. 
.4fter studying the situation, it seemed 
best to give the modest square plot a plant¬ 
ing which would be informal in height and 
contour, yet, in its ground plan, conform to 
the boundaries instead of attempting the 
usual wavy undulations which, in such re¬ 
stricted areas, never under any circum¬ 
stances look “natural.” 
Few evergreens really flourish in this 
region of high winds and gravelly lime- 
ELIZABETH LEONARD STRANG 
stone soil, so after some eliminative trials 
thrifty Banksian pines, 8' to 10' high, were 
selected for their dark picturesque beauty 
and for the reason that they were not ex¬ 
pensive. 
However, this economy was offset by the 
next choice, some fine specimen Japanese 
yews, as tall (4'-4j4') as we could afford. 
Hemlocks were massed in the sheltered 
spot at the end of the arbor; two glaucous 
young cedars intensified the blue greens of 
the arbor’s color scheme; dwarf globe- 
shaped yews, with clumps of massive Japa¬ 
nese barberry, flanked the entrance from 
the house; and all around the front of the 
border were groups of the spreading Japa¬ 
nese yew, focalizing in depth of shadow 
and brilliance of bloom at a point opposite 
the living- room windows. 
So much for the coniferous evergreens; 
of the broad-leaved varieties, rhododendrons 
and laurels were of course out of the ques¬ 
tion in such soil. In spite of a temptation 
to fill the space with a lavish mixture of 
dwarf junipers, retinosporas, heather, ma- 
honia, cotoneaster, and the like, planted 
more than once with flattering success in 
more favorable locations, we resisted 
bravely. From motives of economy and 
common sense we limited this display to 
Japanese holly, a hardy evergreen much 
resembling box, and an experimental hand¬ 
ful of the drooping bronzy-leaved Leuco- 
thoe, the aristocratic Andromeda floribunda, 
and the fragrant daphne. In the shade of 
some larger trees were used ground covers 
of evergreen Euonymous as a relief from too 
much shrubbiness. 
The somber greens of the yews and pines 
were still further intensified by purple¬ 
leaved plum, viburnum plicatum, and cop¬ 
per beech. From their shadowy depths, in 
bright contrast, sparkled a host of dainty 
flowering trees and shrubs. 
In very early spring, pure white and 
deep pink double flowering peach, white 
shad bush, misty yellow of cornelian cherry 
and the tiny pink flowers of the purple¬ 
leaved plum overhang an enchanting fore¬ 
ground of delicate pink azalea vaseyi and 
early tulips of the same tint, the tender blue 
of nodding Virginia cowslip, and the foam- 
flower with its bronzy leaves. 
Then appear flowering crabs; white bells 
of snowdrop tree and fringed flowers of 
{Continued on page 88) 
b- 
This simply han¬ 
dled lean-to-arbor, 
with its rough, 
white-painted tim¬ 
bers and flagstone 
floor, has for its 
back the side wall 
of the garage and 
shelters a comfort¬ 
able spot from 
which to look out 
upon the lawn 
IN f-e.tr 
