The composition of the picture which is the aim in all of this work
about the house, should not be spoiled by careless selection of plants
for the various seasons of the year. It is very unwise to place in the
front of the house tender shrubs and flowers which wither and die in
the winter months or which have to be wrapped in swaddling-clothes. Is
there anything more forlorn than to see a lot of burlap-wrapped or
hay-packed mummy trees or shrubs, standing out on the cold wintry lawn
in front of the house? A few evergreen trees and a few broad-leaf trees
which show delicate limbs when bare, and a few shrubs that hold the
snows that settle upon them are the things to plant in the front of the
house. Leave the tender plants to the garden in the rear.
[Illustration: TYPE OF SMALL GARDEN TYPE OF SMALL GARDEN]
And this garden at the back of the house should be treated in a most
private way. It should be surrounded with a wall or high hedge. There
should be walks, border plantings, a little touch of water, and a
seat in the smallest garden. It should be located so that it can be
viewed from the house and enjoyed. Here all of the fine, delicate, and
colorful flowers and plants can be placed. In the winter months the
protected plants with their ugly clothes will not seem so out of place
in this secreted patch of ground.