The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1906-06-16
A SMALL COUNTRY PLACE.

1
In our country there is a general
ownership of small country homes,
and it is matter of regret that there
is so generalan Indifference ofmeans by
which the homes are made beautiful.
1t is in the taste and wisdom dis
played in the laying out of the pretty
grounds surrounding the house that
much of the pleasure of farm life de-
pends. frs
In arranging the grounds we FIRST
consider the roads and walks. The
house is usually built before we get
the place, and if we can not remodel
it to suit us, we must accept it as It
is and arrange the surrounding ground
from the home point of view. It II
can be afforded the best method OF
making a permanent road or walk IS
to clear out the bed eight inches deep
fill this in with fine broken stone, add
a thick layer of clay roll it over and.
over until perfectly campact. Then
an inch depth of gravel, roll again,
and you have perfect and lasting
road. If this is impossible, let the
walks and roads be laid out so that
the draining away of heavy rains
will not wash them. These walks
and roads should not be made all
over the grounds.
The cheapest and quickest way to
secure a nice lawn is to have the
ground laid out and plowed, harrow
ed, we'll inanured and sowed with
lawn grass seed. Itshould be moved
and rolled once week until about
two or three weeks before frost, when
it should be left to grow long to keep
the roots warm during the winter.
If shade trees are to be planted it
is best to use whatever trees are ma
tive to the locality; these will grow
most quickly and will prove the
hardest.
Stone walls are beautiful, but are
not always to be had. The hedge is
next in desirability. The hedge is
so often a failure that we have be-
come distrustful of it, but the fault is
not in the hedge, but in our ignorance
and carelessness. To have beauti-
full hedge it is necessary to take
little pains at first, but once grown it
is a permanent beauty for life time.
In our hurry we usually stick few
plants into the soil, give them no
more attention and anticipate beau
tiful growth. We find after a method
of this kind that the hedge is failure.
Before planting hedge we should
dig a trench two feet deep and two
feet wide; the soil should be light
and rich. If the climate is dry and
hot and the soil sandy the best plant
of the hedge is the privet the nature
of the hedge will depend largely upon
the locality in which it is to beplant-
ed. Norway spruce will do well in
cold, moist climate, and arbor vitae
aud Usage orange thrives in damp,
warm weather. White hawthorn
stands heat well. Japonica or
4.sburning bushp is very hardy and
will make mass of splendid flowers
before the leaves come in the spring.
Hardy hibiscus makes good hedge
and will grow rapidly from seed.
Whatever we may select for hedge
we should soak their roots in water
an hour or two before planting.
Spread the roots out, fill in the trench
lightly with earth, pressing firmly
around the plants. In the fall it
should be given thick mulch to pro-
tect the roots from cold in winter.
To make an inexpensive flower
garden we should plant vines and
plants that will need no renewing
from year to year. Pansy, hardy
phlox, chrysanthemums, hardy vines
and the everblooming roses will keep
the garden blaze of color and love-
illness during all the flower months.
A few years since a small country
place was purchased by woman who
had high regard for the beautiful.
There was spring in one corner of
the lawn that the previous owner had
made every possible effort to choke
up. All this was cleared out and
shaped into a shallow bowl about
three feet deep in the center and
twelve feet in diameter. The bottom
was lined with coarse, clean gravel
the edge was made tidy with three
courses of cheap brick covered with
coat of cement. In this were planted
several varieties of water lilies, and
behind this pool the caladium escu-
lentum, or elephant ear, were plant
ed, and more beautiful spot could
not be found. If we are fortunate
owner of small country place let us
make it beautiful.