BASIC LANDSCAPE DESIGNBASIC LANDSCAPE DESIGN The character of the neighborhood and its probable future. What are the qualifications on which to judge a sub- urban home site? First, space. You want space to move about in, room for a few growing things, and a place in which to play. If you do not get these you are better off in a city apartment. But large lots are costly, especially in a high-class, built- up development. If your purse is limited in size, it might be better to go farther a field and for the same money get more land. In these days of rapid transit and motorcars you do not have to be within walking distance of station or stores. No home should be built on less than a
half acre, and an acre or two acres would
be better. One so pities the poor folks
who, thinking they are coming into country advantages, have bought houses on lots
is by 100 feet. They get no space, and
actually less privacy than they would have
in a city flat! Buying an acre or two does
not mean that you have to undertake the
intensive cultivation and maintenance
of so large an area. Develop what you need
and can afford to take care of, and leave
the rest in woodland or meadow. This point
must be stressed. Again and again we have
been called in to advise people who have
bought suburban plots containing some natural
woodland or shrub growth, only to find
that this has all been destroyed during
the building operation and that we must
now arrange to put something back in its
place. This is costly work. Save the native growth,
even if it does look wild and scrubby.
Develop paths through it or otherwise make
it interesting; then reinforce it with new material.
But do not clear it all off and plant grass
over an area much too large to provide an adequate
setting for the house. Large lawns are
a chore to keep in order. garden
planning continued... |
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