The Library of Work and Play: Gardening and Farming.Shaw, Ellen Eddy
General
The Library of Work and Play: Gardening and Farming.
Shaw, Ellen Eddy
Gardening -- Juvenile literature
"You have to remember that not only should grounds look well to the
passerby but they should look equally well from the inside of the
building. As your mother is working in the kitchen during the hot summer
or sewing during a long dull winter afternoon, would it not be a joy to
her to look out at a syringa sweet with blossom or a barberry with
nodding red berries? Landscape gardening is not only for the purpose of
adding beauty to the earth's surface, but also for the putting joy into
the heart of a person as well.
"I forgot to say that in tree and shrub selection it is usually better
to choose those of the locality one lives in. Unusual and foreign plants
do less well, and often harmonize but poorly with their new setting.
"I spoke of the path to the schoolhouse with its slight curve. Landscape
gardening may follow along very formal lines or along informal lines.
The first would have straight paths, straight rows in stiff beds,
everything, as the name tells, perfectly formal. The other method is,
of course, the exact opposite. There are danger points in each.
"The formal arrangement is likely to look too stiff; the informal, too
fussy, too wiggly. As far as paths go, keep this in mind, that a path
should always lead somewhere. That is its business--to direct one to a
definite place. Now, straight, even paths are not unpleasing if the
effect is to be that of a formal garden. The danger in the curved path
is an abrupt curve, a whirligig effect. It is far better for you to
stick to straight paths unless you can make a really beautiful curve. No
one can tell you how to do this.
"Garden paths may be of gravel, of dirt, or of grass. One sees grass
paths in some very lovely gardens. I doubt, however, if they would serve
as well in your small gardens. Your garden areas are so limited that
they should be re-spaded each season, and the grass paths are a great
bother in this work. Of course, a gravel path makes a fine appearance,
but again you may not have gravel at your command. It is possible for
any of you to dig out the path for two feet. Then put in six inches of
stone or clinker. Over this, pack in the dirt, rounding it slightly
toward the centre of the path. There should never be depressions through
the central part of paths, since these form convenient places for water
to stand. The under layer of stone makes a natural drainage system.
"A building often needs the help of vines or flowers or both to tie it
to the grounds in such a way as to form a harmonious whole. Vines lend
themselves well to this work. It is better to plant a perennial vine,
and so let it form a permanent part of your landscape scheme. The
Virginia creeper, wistaria, honeysuckle, a climbing rose, the clematis
and trumpet vine are all most satisfactory.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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