The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-01-18

ter and disposition Of the shrubbery
about the home grounds that it's
proper selection and planting becomes
of the utm ost Importance. Few home
grounds are large. enough to permit
the introduction of any great number
Of forest trees, even if they could be
established and reach their best de-
velopment within the limits of an
ordinary lifetime. The wise planter
will get the best results from a prop
erly selected collection Of shrubs.
1t the home is in the country or on
the prairie a windbreak Of trees will
be necessity to the north and west
OF the home grounds. On many prai-
RE farms these windbreaks of forest
trees have already been planted; but
unfortunately, the good work has
the country one sees a weary success
sion OF box elder and cottonwood trees
set In straight, stiff and formal lines,
wholly. devoid of artistic merit and
beauty.
If the home is in the timbered sec
tons of the state the chances are that
trees have been looked upon as enc
near the house has been cleared
away, leaving a scene of cheerless-
ness and desolation that even the
prairies can scarcely rival.
If the home is in the town or city,
we have the hard geometrical lines
of the buildings, the straight streets
and the rectangular blocks Of the
town plat, almost always stiff and in
artistic to contend with.
What shall be done to relieve the
prairie farm home from the artificial
| stiffness, and make it cheerful and
homelike? The answer is-plant
shrubs. What shall we do to mitigate
the desolation which has arisen from
the unWise clearing-up in the timbered
shrubs. What shall we do to relieve
the city home from it's geometrica]
regularity-to make it artistic and
homelike, and to shut out the CRIME
and squalor of the city? Again the
answer must be-plant shrubs.
The prairie windbreak will look less
stiff and formal if it is surrounded
by irregular paintings of lilacs and
viburnums, of dog woods and su.
berries, of ninebarks and spiraeas, OF
Philadelphuses and, bush honey
suckles, or of caraganas and oleasters
| Regarding the farm house itself as
the center of the picture, we should
have to the north and the west of it
inside of the wind break (Which
should be we'll back from the house,
irregular clumps of evergreens, con
sisting of white spruce, native juni.
per and picea pungens, surrounded by
the shrubby growing Swiss mountain
pine. About the house itself there
should be liberal grass plata blue
grass sod, unbroken for the most par
by the planting of either shrub or tree
Surrounding this blue grass lawn, blu
irregular. in its outline-full of prom
entories and bays-there should
planted the hardy shrub border. Thi:
should be planted irregularly--nt
three shrubs in a line-but with the
shrubs far enough apart to make cul
tivation easy, for shrubs will not grow
This shrub border need not neces
Sarily be continuous; in fact, it would
be better not to be- If there is {
piece of Interestingly beautiful scener,
to be viewedfrom the yaranda or. from
the front of the house, it ought not il
berry. Keep a vista open in that di
rection. Perhaps the distant prospec
includes a glimpse Of lake or bit o
river scenery, or wooded hill or ever
a noble tree; these then ought not OF
any account to be Shut out from tn
: view. If, however, there is somethin,
the reverse of beautiful, for example
a hog yard, this ought to be PLANTED
OUT as landscape artist would say
: by setting shrubbery' in that direction
so that the disagreeable object canno
be seen. &C.. '.'-... :"
In planting shrubbery it is we'll t.
plant the larger shrubs in the back
ground. Here we would set suc1
large growing things as choke cher
ries, tree lilacs and Russian Oleasters
) in front of them might be other lilac
!. such as the blue and white varietie
of the common lilac. the lilac know
as Charles the Tenth and other vari
cites Of the. common lilac as we'll a
the species known to botanists a
Syringa villosa, Syringa Persica in it
two or three varieties and Syringe
Josikaea. The lilac known as Syring
Japonica grows in tree form. It i
one of the most beautiful of lilacs an
blooms about three or four week
after other lilacs are gone. The flow
ers are white and are borne in larg
Epanicles. Syringa Josikaea is also au
other lilac that blooms very late, som
three weeks after the common lilac
are gone. The lilacs all need consid
: cradle room as in the course of tim
they develop into large shrubs.
This shrub border should also con
i. tain a number of Philadelphuses. TIL
earliest one of these to bloom is Phila
} delphus coronarius and it is the sweet
: est scented. This is followed 500
after by Philadelphus Laxus, Phila
5 delphus Zeyheri and PHILADELPHIA