Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-07-03
HOW TO GET MOST
| OUT OF YOUR YARD
Landscape Architect Shows
Possibilities of Grounds
About Even Small Home.
BY ROSE GREELEY,

Landscape Architect and Member of Land
, scape Advisory Committee of The StaI
Demonstration.
To thousands of small house owners
In Washington the home means not
only the house but its grounds as well.
TO those with children in the family
the limited quarters Of an apartment
prove impossible, and the first demand
for the new home is that it provide
an outdoor playground. But, curlously
enough, their realization Of the value
OF the land rarely goes deep enough
TO prompt an intensive development
like that of the house. The owner
knows the cost Of every cubic foot of
the house, and insists that 1t be COM
pactly planned so that all the space
will be fully utilized. In the same
way, he should plan his grounds so
that every square foot will be valu-
able. This has been the purpose of
The Stars model home demonstration.
Three General Parts.
The use Of the grounds divides It
self into three general parasitic APP
proach, the service area and the gar
den.
The approach is that part of the
ground which the public sees. the
front yard" which lies between the
house and the sidewalk. If the house
is in the city, it is usually built on
the building line, as close to the side
walk as the law permits, and the area
between the house and the sidewalk
belongs to the owner on sufferance
only. He can develop it as he likes
within certain restrictions, but he can
not cut it off from the public with a
high hedge or wall. Even when such
l,or ~. tp6 hy-l ri
can public opinion is apt to condemn
II, so that a low barrier or none at
all is the rule. The public area there
fore forms not only the approach but
the setting in which the house is seen
from the street. From this point Of
view the house is most often observed,
and it should be studied as the cen
trail feature around which the whole
area is composed. y foundation
planting of low shrubs will soften the
base OF the house, trees will frame 1t,
land for the foreground of the picture
an open stretch of lawn will extend
to the sidewalk or will be bordered by
a low hedge or fence, as circumstances
and design may dictate. To the cas-
ual pasSer-by or the approaching
guest, the house will form the center
of interest in pleasant composition.
Entrance Route Important.
The route by which the guest ar
rfveS, whether driveway or walk, is
also an important consideration. 1t
Is vital part Of the design and must
be planned for convenience and for
beauty. In this connection, attention
may be called to the depressing mo-
notony of the enteranCe paths to many
Of the row houses in washington
hard concrete walks substituted for
the irregularities of the old-fashioned
brick path, and rows of badly designed
concrete steps. without even the soft
ening effect of nearby shrubhery. end
lessly repeated. IN the hands of
q skillful designer the problem might
be solved without sacrifice Of utility
and with some degree of beauty.
Much as there is to condemn in the
treatment Of Washington front yards.
there is still more to admire. We may
not care for the eyer-preSent founda-
ton planting Of "specimen'. ever
greens, often inappropriate to the type
of house with which they are used,
but the attempt is a step in the right
direction. And the little privet hedges
which border so many front lawns
give a distinctive character to our
streets. which is almost as typical OF
Washington as the white picket fence
Is Of New England. So the first i'm
preston of our grounds is usually a
favorable one. Unfortunately it Is