December, 19 21 
21 
The various divisions in this narrow plot are characteristic of the French economy 
of space. Vegetables in beds are an attractive feature 
of the house there is no lawn. 
Pavements and steps are of 
broken stone slabs. The gar¬ 
den is enclosed by a high 
wall over which vines are 
trained. 
While the initial cost of 
such a garden would be ap¬ 
preciable, its upkeep would 
not be expensive. If the land 
at the rear of the property is 
flat, one might use the earth 
taken from the house exca¬ 
vation to form the basis of 
these terraces. 
The second garden is for 
an irregular lot situated at 
the meeting of two roads or 
streets. Here again the house 
is set well back from the 
street line, with a forecourt. 
The main front axis runs 
from the vestibule to the 
front gate, w r ith a piece of 
statuary or specimen plant 
forming the center of the cir¬ 
cle. A wide pavement runs 
around this, and there are 
formal beds Ailing the outer 
rim. The house is so shaped 
as to enclose one side of this 
forecourt. A high wall fences 
in the entirety of the lot. 
At the rear the garden is laid out on the 
axes of the dining and living-room windows. 
A flat terrace faces the rear. Two steps down 
lead to a broad, middle stretch of lawn with 
paths on each side bordered by oblong flower 
beds. A high clipped hedge surrounds this 
rear garden and, with the lawn, gives the im¬ 
pressions of great length. The terminus of the 
main axis is a semi-circular pergola built 
around a little lily pool. The rear of the 
property is massed with trees or shrubbery. 
The high clipped hedges afford the perfect 
background for flowers. Specimen evergreens 
are placed at regular accent points. 
For the greater part of the day much of this 
garden is in half shadow, which adds materi¬ 
ally to its sense of depth and size, so that its 
hedges and walls are really not limitations. 
This type of garden can¬ 
not be recommended for every 
kind of house; it requires the 
background of fairly formal 
architecture and it would 
need to be kept in perfect 
condition. On the other 
hand, our American suburbs 
are sadly in need of just this 
sort of garden formality. 
One or two gardens of this 
kind in a community would 
set the standard for the de¬ 
velopment of other properties. 
The third garden is a per¬ 
fect example of the French 
economy of space. It is a 
limited plot of rectangular 
form. The house is placed 
in the center with the service 
entrance at one end and the 
principle entrance at the 
other. This gives a wide 
lawn on the street end of the 
house and a broad paved ter¬ 
race and pergola along the 
front, together with flower 
borders. 
The main axis runs from 
the front gate to a shelter 
against the rear wall, passing 
en route under two rose 
arches. The beds on each 
side of this can be given to roses. The front 
line of the house is continued on by a tall 
hedge which separates the flower from the 
kitchen garden. Shrubbery is planted along 
the outer wall. The setting of vegetables into 
deAnite beds is a custom that might well be 
tried by suburban gardeners in America. It 
makes for greater neatness and pride in appear¬ 
ance so important in vegetable gardening. 
The main axis of this garden runs from the front gate, across the 
paved terrace before the house and through two rose arches to a 
shelter built against the rear wall. A high hedge marks this off from 
the kitchen garden behind the house. A wall encloses the property, 
with shrubbery planted in front of it, affording the garden privacy, 
protection and a background of living green 
