Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1911-08-31
THE
HOME GROUNDS
Something Americans Should
Give More Attention To-
USE TREES, SHRUBS and VINES

Map Out Area Where Decoration Will
Do the Most Good and Then "Get to
Work"-Try to Hide All Objection.
able Buildings.
The appropriate use Of trees. shrubs.
vines and ~herbaceous plants in the
adornment of city. village. suburban or
country home grounds gives a charm
and beauty which are interesting and
pleasing to the passerby as well as to
the occupant of the home. says L. @.
Corbett. horticulturist. Plants are a
means Of expressing restfulness and
beauty. Their gradually changing as
pect with the succession of the sea-
sons %heightens their pleasing effect
and relieves monotony.
The changes which occur in the life
of vegetation during the year have
caused man to speak of the stages of
human existence as the 'spring,"
sumner" and autumn" of life. The
leaf. the branch and the flower. as we'll
as the general form of the plant. man.
ifest a grace and beauty which art en-
deavors to copy. While art cannot
take the place Of nature it neverthe-
less plays an important part in teach.
ing us to see and appreciate the beau
ties of nature. After the eye has been
trained to see and the mind to inter-
pref the beauties which the eye be-
holds then association with nature pro-
duces its greatest effect.
In the artificial adornment of
grounds by means of plants nature is
our best instructor. From her we learn
the uses OF grass. flowers. vines.
shrubs and trees and how to combine
them to the best advantage. By grow
ing together for ages the various class
es and species of plants have develop
ed forms. habits and requirements
which enable them not only to live and
thrive in harmony. but actually to as
sist one another.
Man should first provide for his ne
cessitieS. then for comforts and finally
for pleasures. In a new country such
as ours the expenditure of time and
means for the adornment of grounds
has naturally received too little atten-
ton. The people have been necessarl-
~ concerned with acquiring lands and
buildings. But q stage Of development
has now been reached when Ameri-
cans should give more attention to the
establishment of their home grounds.
The first essential in the adornment
Of a home area is the formation of a
suitable plan. In making this plan the
principal things to be considered are
the size Of the area. the amount which
the owner 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.
Small places. consisting of an acre
or less, situated among others Of like
dimensions can only be appropriately
improved in a formal style. On the
other hand. large suburban places or
country seats should. in order to main
tain unity and harmony with their
surroundings. be treated in the natural
style.
1t is impossible t o develop a forest.
a park or even a grove on an area less
than an acre in extent, and it is equal
ly impossible to maintain fountains.
terraces, sheared trees, hedges and car
pet bedding over an area Of several
acres. Hence the two general styles
Of landscape gardening have been de.
veloped. One Of these may be adopted
or both may be combined 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 ex-
listing structures, indicate the direction
in which most pleasing outlooks are to
be bad and also the contour OF the
ground to be beautifed. The aim
should be to hide by means OF trees
and shrubbery all Objectionable build
.ings or portions of the place and also
to shut from view all unsightly OBJ
jects maintained by neighbors. to To-
cate the trees and shrubs so as to
allow an uninterrupted line of vision
where the outlook is pleasing and to
so locate the paintings on large es-
tates as to afford the greatest protec-
ton from winds and undesirable sur
roundings.
tETHE lITTl MnpKEpc w