The Athena press. [volume] (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942, 1908-05-29
LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
S, bj sct Every n Ims Lover Should
Give Al ention.

slpJ ct Every n Ime Lover Shoulc
Give Al ention.
By ]. R. Shinn. Professor Of Horticulture. Idahs
Experiment Station. Moscow.
Most OF the West is new country,
therefore it is not surprising that COM
parativeIy few dwellings and farmsteads
within her boundaries are surrounded
by attractively arranged paintings OF
trees, flowers and shrubs. Naturally,
the attention of most citizens of this
great commonwealth has been confined
to the one idea of money making; per-
haps the place has been mortVaged and
every effort has been bent to relievs
this condition; or, some may have set
certain standard of money accumula-
tion and have devoted their energies to
working toward this goal. The result
of these conditions has been that Of set
ting as de the real identifying of home
grounds as secondary consideration.
Another very prevalent reason why peo-
pie neglect this all-important matter,
is found in the fact that scarcely one
person in a thousand steps aside and
give, the matter adequate thought.
Although one may appreciate the at
tractive places of others, still the idea
Of making his own place equally attrac-
tive is far from the Imagination. A
third class Of people are those who
really love the touch which nature
gives the home surroundings, but from
lack of forethought and systematic
planning their efforts fall far short Of
success. All Of these classes of home
makers can profitably devote some at
tention to this subject, commonly
known as Landscape gardening" and
its application to homes of our country.
The ultimate aim of all landscape
gardening, whether conducted on
small or on large scale, should be to
present pleasing picture. In other
words, landscape gardening may be de-
fined as the art Of arranging and group.
ing trees, shrubs and flowers in such
manner that q picture of undeniable
beauty prevails from season to season.
1t is not enough that the material
chosen for the paintings should give an
attractive display for a single season,
such as the painter places upon his
canvas, but the selection should 60
farther, presenting material that will
give increasing variety and alluring
beauty for each day, each week and
each month.
From this statement of the subject
it is quite evident that the landscape
gardener who wields the tools which
nature places at his disposal occupies
position on equal footing with the artist
who wields the brush in transferring
these pictures to the canvas, Yet it is
quite possible for most OF us to play the
part of the former, even though it Ee
in very limited manner. As many
painters are imitators to a great degree,
if one should initiate the works Of
others in the arranging Of plants, he
would be committing no objectionable
sin. In fact, this latter method Of
procedure is likely to prove the most
fruitful means for the average person to
employ; at any rate, it will serve ad-
mirably for the purpose of giving an
idea of the kinds OF plants to select and
the grouping methods most pleasing to
the eye.
On the other hand, it is necessary
that the person who is to become the
amateur landscape gardener should un-
derstand some Of the prime essentials
and common sense rules of this art.
Where shall the flowers be placed2
Shall the trees and shrubs come in the
middle of the lawn or shall they find q
more appropriate location in some
other point? Is it good taste to make
walks and roads in curves? These and
many other questions naturally arise
in the minds of those who are carefully
prospecting in this subject. 1t there
fore behooves us to get some working
idea of these various topics. Every
home-lo lover should give ample attention
to this subject.