| Landscape gardening has often been likened to the | | | | beautiful curve. No one can tell you how to do this. |
| painting of a picture. Your art-work teacher has | | | | Garden paths may be of gravel, of dirt, or of grass. |
| doubtless told you that a good picture should have a | | | | One sees grass paths in some very lovely gardens. I |
| point of chief interest, and the rest of the points | | | | doubt, however, if they would serve as well in your |
| simply go to make more beautiful the central idea, or | | | | small gardens. Your garden areas are so limited that |
| to form a fine setting for it. So in landscape | | | | they should be re-spaded each season, and the grass |
| gardening there must be in the gardener's mind a | | | | paths are a great bother in this work. Of course, a |
| picture of what he desires the whole to be when he | | | | gravel path makes a fine appearance, but again you |
| completes his work. | | | | may not have gravel at your command. It is possible |
| From this study we shall be able to work out a little | | | | for any of you to dig out the path for two feet. |
| theory of landscape gardening. | | | | Then put in six inches of stone or clinker. Over this, |
| Let us go to the lawn. A good extent of open lawn | | | | pack in the dirt, rounding it slightly toward the centre |
| space is always beautiful. It is restful. It adds a feeling | | | | of the path. There should never be depressions |
| of space to even small grounds. So we might | | | | through the central part of paths, since these form |
| generalize and say that it is well to keep open lawn | | | | convenient places for water to stand. The under |
| spaces. If one covers his lawn space with many | | | | layer of stone makes a natural drainage system. |
| trees, with little flower beds here and there, the | | | | A building often needs the help of vines or flowers or |
| general effect is choppy and fussy. It is a bit like an | | | | both to tie it to the grounds in such a way as to |
| over-dressed person. One's grounds lose all | | | | form a harmonious whole. Vines lend themselves well |
| individuality thus treated. A single tree or a small | | | | to this work. It is better to plant a perennial vine, and |
| group is not a bad arrangement on the lawn. Do not | | | | so let it form a permanent part of your landscape |
| centre the tree or trees. Let them drop a bit into the | | | | scheme. The Virginia creeper, wistaria, honeysuckle, a |
| background. Make a pleasing side feature of them. In | | | | climbing rose, the clematis and trumpet vine are all |
| choosing trees one must keep in mind a number of | | | | most satisfactory.close your eyes and picture a |
| things. You should not choose an overpowering tree; | | | | house of natural colour, that mellow gray of the |
| the tree should be one of good shape, with | | | | weathered shingles. Now add to this old house a |
| something interesting about its bark, leaves, flowers | | | | purple wistaria. Can you see the beauty of it? I shall |
| or fruit. While the poplar is a rapid grower, it sheds its | | | | not forget soon a rather ugly corner of my childhood |
| leaves early and so is left standing, bare and ugly, | | | | home, where the dining room and kitchen met. Just |
| before the fall is old. Mind you, there are places | | | | there climbing over, and falling over a trellis was a |
| where a row or double row of Lombardy poplars is | | | | trumpet vine. It made beautiful an awkward angle, an |
| very effective. But I think you'll agree with me that | | | | ugly bit of carpenter work. |
| one lone poplar is not. The catalpa is quite lovely by | | | | Of course, the morning-glory is an annual vine, as is |
| itself. Its leaves are broad, its flowers attractive, the | | | | the moon-vine and wild cucumber. Now, these have |
| seed pods which cling to the tree until away into the | | | | their special function. For often, it is necessary to |
| winter, add a bit of picture squeness. The bright | | | | cover an ugly thing for just a time, until the better |
| berries of the ash, the brilliant foliage of the sugar | | | | things and better times come. The annual is 'the chap' |
| maple, the blossoms of the tulip tree, the bark of the | | | | for this work. |
| white birch, and the leaves of the copper beech all | | | | Along an old fence a hop vine is a thing of beauty. |
| these are beauty points to consider. | | | | One might try to rival the woods' landscape work. |
| Place makes a difference in the selection of a tree. | | | | For often one sees festooned from one rotted tree |
| Suppose the lower portion of the grounds is a bit low | | | | to another the ampelopsis vine. |
| and moist, then the spot is ideal for a willow. Don't | | | | Flowers may well go along the side of the building, or |
| group trees together which look awkward. A | | | | bordering a walk. In general, though, keep the front |
| long-looking poplar does not go with a nice rather | | | | lawn space open and unbroken by beds. What |
| rounded little tulip tree. A juniper, so neat and prim, | | | | lovelier in early spring than a bed of daffodils close to |
| would look silly beside a spreading chestnut. One | | | | the house? Hyacinths and tulips, too, form a blaze of |
| must keep proportion and suitability in mind. | | | | glory. These are little or no bother, and start the |
| I'd never advise the planting of a group of | | | | spring aright. One may make of some bulbs an |
| evergreens close to a house, and in the front yard. | | | | exception to the rule of unbroken front lawn. |
| The effect is very gloomy indeed. Houses thus | | | | Snowdrops and crocuses planted through the lawn |
| surrounded are overcapped by such trees and are | | | | are beautiful. They do not disturb the general effect, |
| not only gloomy to live in, but truly unhealthful. The | | | | but just blend with the whole. One expert bulb |
| chief requisite inside a house is sunlight and plenty of | | | | gardener says to take a basketful of bulbs in the fall, |
| it. | | | | walk about your grounds, and just drop bulbs out |
| As trees are chosen because of certain good points, | | | | here and there. Wherever the bulbs drop, plant them. |
| so shrubs should be. In a clump I should wish some | | | | Such small bulbs as those we plant in lawns should be |
| which bloomed early, some which bloomed late, some | | | | in groups of four to six. Daffodils may be thus |
| for the beauty of their fall foliage, some for the | | | | planted, too. You all remember the grape hyacinths |
| colour of their bark and others for the fruit. Some | | | | that grow all through Katharine's side yard. |
| spireas and the forsythia bloom early. The red bark | | | | The place for a flower garden is generally at the side |
| of the dogwood makes a bit of colour all winter, and | | | | or rear of the house. The backyard garden is a lovely |
| the red berries of the barberry cling to the shrub well | | | | idea, is it not? Who wishes to leave a beautiful |
| into the winter. | | | | looking front yard, turn the corner of a house, and |
| Certain shrubs are good to use for hedge purposes. | | | | find a dump heap? Not I. The flower garden may be |
| A hedge is rather prettier usually than a fence. The | | | | laid out formally in neat little beds, or it may be more |
| Californian privet is excellent for this purpose. Osage | | | | of a careless, hit-or-miss sort. Both have their good |
| orange, Japan barberry, buckthorn, Japan quince, and | | | | points. Great masses of bloom are attractive. |
| Van Houtte's spirea are other shrubs which make | | | | You should have in mind some notion of the blending |
| good hedges. | | | | of colour. Nature appears not to consider this at all, |
| I forgot to say that in tree and shrub selection it is | | | | and still gets wondrous effects. This is because of |
| usually better to choose those of the locality one | | | | the tremendous amount of her perfect background |
| lives in. Unusual and foreign plants do less well, and | | | | of green, and the limitlessness of her space, while we |
| often harmonize but poorly with their new setting. | | | | are confined at the best to relatively small areas. So |
| Landscape gardening may follow along very formal | | | | we should endeavour not to blind people's eyes with |
| lines or along informal lines. The first would have | | | | clashes of colours which do not at close range blend |
| straight paths, straight rows in stiff beds, everything, | | | | well. In order to break up extremes of colours you |
| as the name tells, perfectly formal. The other | | | | can always use masses of white flowers, or |
| method is, of course, the exact opposite. There are | | | | something like mignonette, which is in effect green. |
| danger points in each. | | | | Finally, let us sum up our landscape lesson. The |
| The formal arrangement is likely to look too stiff; the | | | | grounds are a setting for the house or buildings. |
| informal, too fussy, too wiggly. As far as paths go, | | | | Open, free lawn spaces, a tree or a proper group |
| keep this in mind, that a path should always lead | | | | well placed, flowers which do not clutter up the front |
| somewhere. That is its business to direct one to a | | | | yard, groups of shrubbery these are points to be |
| definite place. Now, straight, even paths are not | | | | remembered. The paths should lead somewhere, and |
| unpleasing if the effect is to be that of a formal | | | | be either straight or well curved. If one starts with a |
| garden. The danger in the curved path is an abrupt | | | | formal garden, one should not mix the informal with it |
| curve, a whirligig effect. It is far better for you to | | | | before the work is done. |
| stick to straight paths unless you can make a really | | | | |