Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-07
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES Z. TRACEWELL.

Living In the garden IL different from
working in the garden. planting the
garden, watering the garden, moving
the lawn, cultivating the garden.
Living in the garden presupposes q
happy. carefree existence after all ths
necessary tasks have been performed
1t means the time following all Of
them, when the gardener may sit among
his plants, watching them grow. enjoy.
ing the many garden pictures.
These things he cannot do unless h
has garden privacy, and 1t is right here
that the average garden falls dowr
fiatter than the average pancake (ant
that is very fiat).
There is very little real living in mos
gardens these days, because most gar.
deners do not insist on privacy in theil
'garths," or inclosed places.
1t means little to them that the very
word garden" stands for fenced area
Mostly they follow either the style ol
the community into which they move
or conditions make the real garden ar
impossible proposition.
The result Is that In possibly 95 pei
cent of the cases the garden is merely
an attempt at something rather thar
an achievement
1t Is far better than no garden at all
but 1t is far, far from giving that para
mount privacy which the gardens of the
rich afford them, and which, because
they do provide such peace and quiet
must necessarily be the model for such
places.
Even absurd little gardens are better
than no gardens at all. We visited such
place recently, few zinnias growing
In hard-baked soil at the rear Of 9
TRY plot Of grass, grandiloquentlJ
named garden"
Well, was 1t not garden. after ALI
If not exactly, then an approach Il
one. and such proximity Is better thar
nothing at all.
One might be willing to believe tina
the toy gardens found on some Of tht
top-floor apartments are better gar.
dens, as far as real privacy goes, thar
many back yard where one Is never
free from the stares the neighbors.
The average city and suburban gar.
den falls into one of two classification,
either 1t is a small back yard, mostly
bounded by low wire fence, or 1t is 9
wider back area with side approaches
IuhklIlB WlbIiOuL 1CklCC vi JULIET ODStEuC-
ton into the adjoining properties.
Residents speak Of the latter a.
"parklike" and fondly fool themselves
into believing that they have achieved
a garden, when all they have done i.
run long, straggly borders down eacf
side of the yard.
If they would fence their propertie,
in by at least a 5-foot fence and grow
rosevines on the fence and mass shrub:
in the corners and along the back and
sides, in a few years time they would
come to realize that the "parklike'
delusion was costly one.
It deprives hundreds of suburban
residents of perfect privacy, which ont
must have to truly enjoy living in 9
garden. There are few human being.
actually immune to the stares of other.
or the possibilities of stares.
Even those who like to "show Off
prefer other places to do 1t than the
garden. For that reason one find.
little actual living in most Of the
suburban gardens around Washington
and the one big reason for it is pre-
cisely the same as for the lack of rea
living in the smaller city gardens.
The city garden, no matter how mar
row or how short, should be fenced
with structure, the more solid the
better, of at least feet in height.
This would afford an opportunity foi
a massed planting Of rose and othei
vines, with shrubs, and possibly one
tree at an appropriate place, which
would permit the placing of outdoor
living furniture so that only q small