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In landscape gardening there must always be in the gardener’s mind a vision of what he desires the whole to be when he completes his work.

Let’s look at shrubs. In a clump I would select some which bloomed early, some which bloomed late, some for the beauty of their fall foliage, some for the color of their bark and others for the fruit. Some spireas and the forsythia bloom early. The red bark of the dogwood makes a bit of color all winter, and the red berries of the barberry cling to the shrub well into the winter.

Certain shrubs are fine to use for hedge purposes. A hedge is prettier usually than a fence. The Californian privet is excellent for this purpose. Osage orange, Japan barberry, buckthorn, Japan quince, and Van Houtte’s spirea are other shrubs which make great hedges.

In shrub selection it is usually better to choose those of the locality you live in. Unusual and foreign plants may do less well.

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 function to direct you 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 create a really beautiful curve. No one can tell you how to do this.

Garden paths may be of dirt, gravel or 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 gardener 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 pergola can be a useful addition to any garden. It can link various section of the garden. And of course it’s a great place to grow climbing plants. Building a pergola is not difficult and need not be expensive. Discover more:
How to build a pergola
Pergola design
Build a pergola

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