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Show iiH0W TD BEAUTIFY Ip (lYiUtt HOME EBDUMDSIH Y cArrange trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants about the yard JxN f so that they will improve appearance of place::Take Nature ff cJtegv- as safest guide for really graceful arrangement " "" 7 I r - UK first essential In the s adornment of a home aron (, A Is the formation of a suit-V. suit-V. uhle plan. In making this ffiw l''un principal things )V to be considered are the ZjSiSl size of the area, the J 2 nmount which the owner j J feels able to expend for ' the purpose, the climatic conditions, the soil, the exposure, the peculiarities of the site, and the style of treatment, whether formal or natural. nat-ural. Small places, consisting of an acre or less, situated among others of like dimensions, can only be appropriately Improved In n formal style. On the other hand, large suburban places or country seats should, In order to maintain main-tain unify and harmony with their surroundings, be treated in the natural ntyle. It is Impossible to develop a forest, a park, or even a grove on an area less than an ncre in extent; and It Is equally impossible to maintain fountains, terraces, sheared trees, hedges and carpet bedding over an area of several acres. Hence the two general, styles of landscape gardening have been developed. One of these may be adopted, or both may be combined com-bined to suit the circumstances. Before a tree or shrub Is placed in Its permanent location an outline map of the area to be treated should be made. This map should locate all existing ex-isting structures, indicating the direction direc-tion In which most pleasing outlooks are to be had, and also the contour of the ground to be beautified. The aim should be to hide by means of trees and shrubbery all objectionable buildings build-ings or portions of the place and also to shut from view all unsightly objects ob-jects maintained by neighbors ; to locate lo-cate the trees and shrubs so as to allow al-low an uninterrupted line of vision where the outlook Is pleasing; and to locate the plantings on large estates as to afford the greatest protection from winds and undesirable surroundings surround-ings consistent with good landscape effect. A variety of trees and shrubs should be used. The plan to be adopted and the selection of varieties must always depend more or less on local condl- Hons. Where trees and shrubs are needed neither as screens nor windbreaks, wind-breaks, their disposition should be such as will afford a pleasing effect and at the same time preserve as large an area of unbroken greensward as practicable. All walks and drives on small lots should be direct. The planting plant-ing of trees and shrubs or the placing of fountains and flagpoles in the course of a walk which will cause the traveler to deviate unduly from his natural course is a common but objectionable ob-jectionable arrangement. On small areas walks and drives should be straight unless there be good reason, because the contour of the surface, for making them curved. With trees, shrubs, vines, and herbaceous herba-ceous bedding plants, pleasing contrasts con-trasts can be produced. Each plant or group of plants has an expression peculiarly its own. and when used with suitable suroundings the effect Is pleasing. While each of these plants possesses an intrinsic decorative value, this value is enhanced in proportion pro-portion to the perfection of the greensward green-sward in which it is set. Green grass Is not only useful as a covering for the earth, but it is of Itself beautiful. A KSSJ-V Mfl The Same Yard Shown in Fig. 1, Showing the Pleasing Effect After. perfect lawn Is one of the rarest possessions pos-sessions of either public or private establishments. es-tablishments. A good lawn demands great skill and Judgment in Its making mak-ing as well as in its maintenance. The llflicultles of lawn-making become more accentuated as the heavy clays and clay loams of the North and West are replaced by the light, sandy soils of the South. The superb Kentucky bluegrass, which produces such perfect per-fect lawns In regions with heavy soils and abundant rainfall, must be supplemented sup-plemented by white clover as the soils become light and sandy, and finally, as southern latitudes are reached, both these must be replaced by Bermuda grass or by St. Augustine grass. In the South, however, lawns can only be successfully made from turf or from rootstocks. The grasses which succeed In the North and are there comparatively easily grown from seed are not successful in the South. Grasses which develop underground stems are most successful under southern south-ern conditions. In general trees should stand either as single specimens In isolated posl- ifilipaiiiiii Fig. 1. The Back Yard of a Residence which Is Merely a Dumping Ground for Rubbish A Condition Which Often Exists. tions or In irregular groups rather than in long rows. Under certain conditions con-ditions long avenues of trees regularly disposed on either side of a prominent drive or vista may contribute a very pleasing and Imposing effect to a large place. The general rule for trees also applies to shrubs, except that their use should be chiefly in groups or belts rather than as specimen plants, although, al-though, specimen plants are of value in formal plantations. Few shrubs possess a sufficiently graceful and characteristic habit of growth to make them pleasing objects when grown singly upon the lawn, but where a number of specimens of varying habit are brought together in a single group, the differences are emphasized by contrast con-trast and the variety produces a pleasing pleas-ing effect, particularly if the rate and habit of growth as well as the colrfr and character of the foliage be somewhat some-what different. Pleasing results in groups of shrubs do not come from large numbers of the same variety in mass, but from a harmonious arrangement arrange-ment of different genera, species, and varieties. In order to secure the greatest pleatire from shrubs In groups, each group should represent some Idea either ot spirit or oi resi, and always of beauty. These effects come from the habit of growth of the plants used. Tall-growing, graceful, reedlike plants produce an effect of grace and beauty, while plants of a more sturdy habit may Indicate strength and resistance. The latter are well suited for windbreaks or shelter belts, while the former lend themselves to the formation of screens or masks, either for walks or drives or for fences or unsightly buildings. Each group or plantation made upon the grounds should have an excuse for its existence and a reason for occupying occupy-ing the particular spot it does. If there are unsightly rear views, plantations in groups or belts should be provided, in order to hide such objects. ob-jects. If a portion of the grounds is to be used for a garden or a stable, then the planting should be so made as to effectively shut these areas from view. Pleasing effects in shrubbery plantations planta-tions come also from massing sorts so as to produce a floral display each month of the year. A group which blooms in May or June, and which presents no additional feature other than a mass of foliage from June until autumn, has little merit from a decorative deco-rative point of view. Variety Is the secret se-cret of pleasing effects In shrubbery groups. Glaring contrasts in habit of growth or in color of flowers or foliage are as objectionable in planting groups as in tapestries, but reasonable and harmonious contrasts only add beauty and variety to the landscape. Not only do the flowers and foliage of spring and summer contribute to these results, but autumn colors add a most desirable and valuable contribution to the season's panorama. In grouping shrubs, those with an upright habit and robust growth should occupy either a rear or a central cen-tral location in order that they may form the general barriers against which all lower-growing sorts may be arranged In regular gradation to the border line, which later should be given up to the decumbent and effeminate effemi-nate sorts, in order that the eye may be carried from the greensward to the top of the group without receiving offense of-fense from bare stalks between the turf and the foliage of the group Itself. Avoid bare trunks In evergreens and bare stalks in the group. Low-growing dense-foliaged plants are as essential to a successful group or border as are the tall-growing sorts. Nature herself is one of the safest-guides. safest-guides. Her groups are always made up of a variety of light-loving and shade enduring plants growing together, to-gether, each one assisting the other to secure the environment best suited to its highest development. Modern landscape horticulture is at best only a poor reproduction of the model set by nature herself, but in making the counterfeit every possible advantage should be taken of the natural nat-ural adaptations of plants In order to secure the most pleasing effects from the mat' al at command. In all planting it should be the aim to conceal con-ceal the hand of the gardener to the utmost possible extent. In small formal for-mal places with straight walks and hedges, the gardener's shears must be used frequently, but the aim should always al-ways be to produce harmony and symmetry sym-metry without materially altering th-; natural habit of the plants. Formal hedges are an exception, but specimen trees and shrubs need not be. |