Evening star., 1933-12-30

! garden. If one worries about what
others think in this matter, the result
will be hodge-podge of other peoples
opinions.
The thing to worry about is making
the garden hodge-podge of ones own
likes and dislikes. The result will be
ones own, at least, not strained through
the minds and artistic senses of dozen
| other persons.
There are, of course, codes of conduct
in gardening. Happily almost any one
in possession of normal sensibilities is
capable of judging them, and of alb
structing from them what is really
good
There is a great deal Of hocum in
the best codes, as every one knows
Why should one bother with it, then
| One should not, but should go ahead to
correct the best codes by ones own
best.
In no phase Of gardening Is this more
desirable than in relation to the old
! dispute between formal and informal.
The joke comes when the severely
rectangular pool is adorned with vari-
GUS figures and gadgets which have
place only in the formal garden, ac-
cord1ng to the experts. But, if Mrs.
Jones be quite famous enough, the ex-
perts will rush to explain the correct
ness Of her deviation.
Bosh! What is wrong in any garden
Is wrong In Mrs. Jones garden as well.
The truth seems to be that the re-
doubtable Mrs. Jones knows what she
likes, In gardens, and puts her gnomeS
and black iron cats alongside her pool
to suit herself. She let's the experts
worry in explaining them.
X y
Theoretically the informal garden is
the easiest to create and take care of,
no small matters, it would seem, TO
those persons who have only a small
amount Of time to give to gardening.
Actually the formal garden sometimes
is the easiest to begin, to keep up. be-
cause it better fits into the type of
yard one is working
The strictly formal affair often needs
less care, once it is established, but this
will vary with the types of plant ma
terial used and other factors involved.
The greatest single danger to the free
expression Of garden happiness is to be-
come tied down to single type of gar
den, so that thereafter one builds up
strictly mental horrors in regard to
plants.
X + *
The garden, anybody's garden, ought
to be place for relief from humanity
One ought to be able to go into the
garden, and, for the time being, forget
that Farmer Brown is a teSty old fel-
low, and Mrs. Brown a bit more nosey
than she ought to be.
Humanity has its drawbacks at times
and at such times one ought to be able
to gain release from it, at least to some
extent.
The home garden is the best place
for this. if it is fenced and built up
around its circumference with protect
ing shrubs, the higher and thicker the
better
No matter how high or thick, how
ever. there is no escape if the gardener
takes with him mass of pre-conceived
notions about plants in their relations
to humanity.
Such an ill-assorted assemblage of
likes and dislikes never sprang from the
plants themselves. but from the reac-
tions of multitudes of human minds to
them.
Why worry with these minds and
their queer thoughts? Forget them,
and make the garden what it ought to
be-a happy, almost thoughtless, place
He who does this best is the best gar
dener. whether his flowers and vege-
tables bloom as well as they should or