3 : 
House & Garden 
THE RECTANGULAR LOT 
Offers a J ariety of Chances for Excellent and Livable Landscaping , as Shown 
by These Five Moderate Planting Schemes 
ELIZABETH LEONARD STRANG 
' I A HE small rectangu- 
X lar lot is worthy of 
more attention from the 
landscape designer than 
it has hitherto received 
for the simple reason 
that so many of them 
exist. When the possi¬ 
bilities of this seemingly 
simple piece of ground 
are more fully realized 
by potential clients we 
shall doubtless see many 
more charming small 
places than we do now. 
Even if beauty did not 
ever justify its own ex¬ 
istence the increase in 
actual value of the prop¬ 
erty from a real estate 
standpoint would be a 
strong argument in favor 
of the improvements. 
Many factors enter in¬ 
to the design of such a 
place: the environment, 
whether city or subur¬ 
ban; the house plan and 
its relation to the lot; 
the points of the com¬ 
pass; and the tastes, 
habits and pocketbook 
of the owners. 
City Privacy 
Lot Number One 
(size 60' x 120') is situated on the outskirts 
of the growing city of Brockton, Massachusetts. 
It belongs to a busy physician with neither 
time nor inclination for gardening, who ex¬ 
pects to sell it in the near future and build 
himself a country home. To expedite this 
sale he and his wife wish to beautify the 
grounds as much as possible at small expense 
for initial work and subsequent care. The 
requirements are shade and a fair amount of 
privacy and the softening of the harsh lines 
of the boundaries and house foundations. A 
hedge of Ibota privet (the hardiest variety) 
and some good shade trees like red oak or 
sugar maple provide the former, while the 
latter is secured by massed planting of shrubs. 
The outlying boundaries are screened by na¬ 
tive thorns, gray birches, witch hazel, com¬ 
mon barberry and forsythia, with Virginia 
creeper and Clematis paniculata on the high 
wire fence. Around the house are plants of a 
more domestic character like Persian lilac, 
Spiraea Van Houtteii, Euonymus alatus for 
autumn color, the low Spiraea callosa alba or 
Deutzia Lemoinei beneath the windows, and 
elder or sweet pepper bush in the shade. 
Here and there a small tree like a hawthorn 
or dogwood breaks the monotony. For vines 
there are the climbing evergreen eounymus 
and wistaria. Against a sunny wall is 
the new shrubby Rose Hugonis with its 
arching sprays of yellow flowers. These are 
mere suggestions for a plan which in its en¬ 
tirety need not exceed a cost of fifty dollars 
for plants. 
The shape of the city lot No. 3 lent 
itself to division into parts—a rose gar¬ 
den, flower border and a bird lawn on 
one side, and on the other drying yard 
and kitchen garden. Between lies a 
square lawn, surrounded by lilacs and 
spiraeas. The cost for plants, $200 
Lot Number Three is also in the heart of 
Cambridge. It measures 70' x 110'. In this 
case the arrangement of the house interior was 
planned in conjunction with that of the 
Clipped hedges of arborvitae surround the 
central turf panel in design No. 2. This is 
on the axis of the house-depth hall and 
terrace. A perennial border lines the panel 
and an outdoor living room has been made 
with seats under the old apple trees at the 
end. Variations of this scheme can be used, 
costing from $100 to $500 
A Garden in Parts 
Lot Number Two (50' 
x 125 ) is in a densely 
populated part of Cam¬ 
bridge, Massachusetts. 
It is of necessity entirely 
fenced in and the neigh¬ 
boring houses are so 
close as to almost touch 
it. The house which is 
of the Dutch colonial 
type, is so arranged that 
the living-room and hall 
open on the rear. This 
gives an opportunity to 
develop the backyard as 
a garden where the fam¬ 
ily may work or play. 
As shown, the central 
turf panel is surrounded 
by clipped hedges of 
arborvitae in front of 
which a border of long¬ 
head perennials, like 
daffodils iris peonies, 
phlox and button chrys¬ 
anthemums, provide a 
constant succession of 
bloom. Oleanders are in 
the wooden tubs. Around 
the large existing apple 
tree are seats and a mass¬ 
ing of the best ever¬ 
greens for city condi¬ 
tions, Japanese yew, 
both tall and dwarf, and 
Mugho pines. As a 
broad-leaved evergreen Andromeda floribunda 
will succeed where Rhododendrons fail. If a 
tree must be set out, the Ailanthus is both 
quick growing and beautiful if the pistillate 
form is used. 
This plan is capable of development in 
various ways. If a less expensive type of 
planting is preferred clipped Japanese bar¬ 
berry or Ibota privet could form the hedge 
and shade-tolerant shrubs like viburnum or 
mock orange surround the seat. A garage 
could take the place of the grape arbor. A 
drive would then replace the stepping-stone 
walk and the drying yard give way to a re¬ 
movable clothes reel on the lawn. The front 
of the house needs but the simplest treatment 
—arching privet over the service walk, bar¬ 
berry hedge, and a few choice deciduous or 
evergreen shrubs. The cost of this scheme 
would vary from $100 to $500 according to 
whether or not evergreens were used. 
The aim in design No. 1 was to afford 
privacy to a city lot measuring 60' x 
120' and to soften the harsh lines of the 
boundaries and house foundations. The 
property was hedged with Ibota privet 
together with red oaks and sugar maples. 
The plant cost was about $50 
