hrubs are only a very short time out of the soil
before they are planted in your grounds either by you or the man sent
from the nursery. Nearly always they put their roots down and continue
growing with little or no interruption.

The matters of gardens, flower beds, and borders again depend on the
contour of the land and how it can best be related to the house.
Further, unless you are well versed in gardening, it is best to get
advice as to the flowers and plants that thrive best in a given spot.
It is discouraging to lay out a rose garden or a modest border of
hardy climbers and find you have picked just the wrong place for them
to thrive. It is the same with certain perennials.

Rock gardens are most picturesque and lend themselves to a large
variety of hardy and interesting plants. The most successful are those
where nature supplies the framework. One of the loveliest we ever saw
had originally been a pigsty. Halfway up a hillside two large boulders
jutted out and below them a rocky formation descended in shelf-like
steps to a level surface. Ingenious planting and patient care
transformed this into a mass of color and bloom that has been admired
for miles. Its owner has gradually expanded it and has even added
rocks dug from a neighboring field. The farmer who supplied them shook
his head resignedly. "Well, I've lived in these parts a long time and
seen plenty of queer things. I can understand paying a man to dig out
rocks but this is the first time I was ever asked to dump them on good
land."

The formal garden is usually part of the development of the very
ambitious country estate. Such grounds are the result of plans
prepared by a practicing landscape architect, engaged on a fee basis
as with other architects. According to the arrangements he will
prepare the plans or he will also supervise their execution. While
there are some remarkable formal gardens in America, beautifully
designed and kept in perfect condition by skillful gardeners engaged
by the year, most homes do not have such sophisticated settings.

Popular indeed is an area of well-kept lawn surrounded by naturalistic
plantings of trees, shrubs, and hedges that give privacy and frame the
whole. Add to this borders of flowering plants, annuals and
perennials, and from spring to late fall such a spot becomes an
outdoor living room. Here the family spends most of its time. Real
enthusiasts eat many of their meals here.

As for the vegetable garden,