April, 192 3 
89 
A wall of architectural leanings is this one, formally treated in the center and 
pierced by openings arched over with ornamental iron. It is a type partic¬ 
ularly well suited to an extremely symmetrical layout of drives and lawn 
SCREENING THE OBJECTIONABLE 
How Privacy May be Achieved On the Small Place 
by the Use of Walls , Fences, and Formal Plantings 
MINGA POPE DU RYE A 
T HE place on the edge of town holds 
a very important position in the gar¬ 
den problem of today, and is to be 
treated as a thing quite apart, since its 
problem is a different one in a great mea¬ 
sure from other town plots. The sites there 
are generally larger than the lots in the 
city proper, but not so large as to afford 
all the advantages of the semi-country 
garden. Occasionally the space in the rear 
of the house is reserved for the children’s 
playground and the garden proper. The 
garage and drying-yard have to be figured 
in this same area. This means that the 
house is usually set fairly well forward on 
the lot so that it will leave enough space. 
These houses are gener¬ 
ally expensive investments 
and for the most part great 
care is given to their 
architectural design and 
a comfortable room ar¬ 
rangement. It is logical 
then that equal care 
should be put on the de¬ 
sign and arrangement of 
the grounds. A sense of 
space and the necessary 
sub-divisions can be ob¬ 
tained by the simple 
methods of applying to the 
ground the general idea 
of room arrangement that 
is found indoors. It 
seems more difficult, however, to handle the 
problem of the front of the property. In 
Europe it is the custom to build houses 
close to the road, but in practically every 
case, the space between the road and the 
house is dealt with in a manner different 
from that in America. A wall is generally 
provided, or a suitable screening. These 
walls or screens lend dignity to the beauty 
of the dwelling and add an air of mystery 
as to what is to be found behind them. 
In England, particularly, this wall prob¬ 
lem is given much thought and is worked 
out in many different ways. There, too, 
houses squat directly on the road; yet the 
Englishman maintains his privacy. Here 
A 
The interior view of a 
wall similar to that at 
the top of the page 
shows the use of sculp¬ 
ture and the planting 
we seem to have a horror of privacy; to 
have our houses so unprotected that the 
passerby can look directly into the dining 
room and see what we are having for din¬ 
ner. Heaven knows, there is little enough 
privacy in the suburbs. Hold on to what 
little you can; make an effort to increase it. 
In short, why not cheat the world outside 
of this undesirable intimacy? 
You may use the space between the 
house and the front property line for a 
small formal garden; or the lawn space can 
be edged with shrubbery and herbaceous 
plantings which will afford a pleasant out¬ 
look from your windows in Loth winter and 
summer. The front wall or screen can be 
made as decorative or as 
simple as your desire or 
purse demand. 
On this page is shown 
a way to treat the front 
property line of a brick 
or stucco house of more or 
less formal type. The 
main garden in this case 
is located on the rear of 
the lot, where a garden 
room opens upon it. 
(Continued on page 108) 
