The Winslow mail., 1926-05-14
PLANT SHRUBS AND
FLOWERS
By JAMES H. BURDETT
Director of National Garden Bureau
and Garden Editor of the
Chicago Daily Times
(From Chicago Commerce.

(From Chicago Commerce)
After cleaning up the back yard
the next step to be considered is
the planting Of shrubs and fiow-
ers to beautify the vacant land
which if left alone will produce
nothing but weeds. With a little
thought and planning and with no
great expenditure of money the
home owner can make of his back
yard an outdoor living room. The
planting of shrubs and flowers will
make it such and instead of an un-
slightly, unused plot of ground, pri-
vacy, flowers and an attractive back
yard will delight the home owner.
The home owner seeking outdoor
comfort, GOODNESS and privacy,
turns naturally to the back yard;
and it is here the outdoor living
room has been developed. The pri-
vate garden is room, primarily,
for the owners enjoyment, and in
that essential requirement is to be
found the reason why the modern
style treats lightly questions which
have sometimes been thought of
great Importance; such as the rela-
tive merits and fitness of formal
and naturalistic planting. An out
door room, like an indoor room,
calls for design. 1t requires definite
boundaries, it must be in balance,
for which purposes it's axis needed
to be indicated, so that it's occu-
pants may not be made uneasy as
in house interior with unmatched
windows and uneven walls. For
purposes of privacy and appear
ance the garden room needs to be
screened from outside view and
from many views out; since there
are few back yards where the sur
rounding spectacles are all attrac-
tive. This screen may be provided
by trees and shrubs, or by a wall
or fence.
The nature of the screen may de-
pend upon the size of the grounds.
A planting of trees and shrubs is
the most beautiful, but it take up
considerable space, and lovers of
flowers may prefer a high fence,
wall or lattice, possibly covered
with vines. Where shrubbery
border is permissible, it may be
made very beautiful Flowering
shrubs are preferred in this loca-
ton, and. by skilled planning con-
tinuous display of blossoms may be
provided. Trees may be worked
into the border, to provide accents,
to blot out Objectionable views. A
birds corner of thorny and berried
trees and shrubs may be worked
out to attract to the garden both
permanent residents and transient
guests in the periods of migration.
Given the essentials of design and
boundaries, the decorations of the
outdoor room become a matter Of
the owners taste. The garden lay
out may be formal, with beds of
geometrical precision and elaborate
ornaments, or informal, with nat
uralistic planting, and flower bor-
ders backed by shrubs.
It has been discovered that with
a formal layout, perhaps with
walks, of stepping stones, sun-dial,
gazing globe, bird-bath, arbors and
such ornaments, the garden with
| interior planting can be made more
imposing. Interest being centered
on the design, the scarcity of flow
ers is not so apparent, and this is
a good point to remember if one
lives where growing conditions are
not so good. Naturalistic planting
subordinates the design of the
planting and where growing condl-
tions are good, will surely be found
more interesting, because ever
changing, as the seasons pageant
of flowers develops in the borders.
For here, after all, is the chief
interest of the garden. Having
sought the outdoor living room for
GOODNESS and comfort, we suddenly
awake to the discovery of a new
world, with source of joy perhaps
not fully realized before. The beau
ty of our modern flowers is COM
/ pelling; it will not be denied And
those who come to know it cease
to think of the garden as anything
except the place to display most
effectively the charm of flowers. ]
think the informal border with
shrubbery background does it best :
others may choose a different meth
od but the chief requirements of
the garden is, that whatever design
it shall present in each season, an
effective display of the dominant
flowers.
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