Jasper County Democrat, Volume 21, Number 28, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 July 1918 — PLANNING YARD NOT EASY TASK [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

PLANNING YARD NOT EASY TASK

Bushes, Vines and Flowers Must ■ All Be in Harmony TREES FOUND TO BE ASSET • Increase the Selling Value of Any Property—Design for Attractive Stucco Residence for Wooded Site. Mr. William A Radford will answer questions and give advice FREE OF COST on all subjects pertaining to the subject of building, tor the readers of this paper. On account of his wide experience as Editor, Author and Manufacturer, he is, without doubt, the highest authority on all these subjects. Address all Inquiries to William A. Radford, No. 1827 Prairie avenue, Chicago, 111., and only enclose three-cent stamp for reply. By WILLIAM A. RADFORD. A good many new houses look bleak and uninviting because of the lack of trees and shrubs around them. Ordinarily It takes a few years for these to grow; so even If a start at planting is made at once, there Is a period of bareness before the new house is properly framed and screened. Often the homebuilder is able to select a lot that is “wooded,” as the real estate men say, and by preserving the trees already on tjie site he gets at once a well-planted effect. Whether the value of the land itself is increased by trees or not is a subject given much thought by the students of real estate. The treejin. the heart of the city is of little value. Unless placed in perfect relation to its surroundings it may even be a detraction. As a rule, however, the real estate dealer appreciates tiie existence of a strong influence which the tree in the abstract exerts on apparent real estate values in residence districts. Trees Help Sales. Subdivision operators assert that lots in a subdivision will sell faster with trees upon them, for the reason that the effect of a well-grown tree or tree group on a lot gives somehow a substantial appearance to the whole of the property. The sense of permanency attaching to the tree seems in the mind of the homeseeker to spread to the house also. Thus the house a little farther down the street, built in

as a subordinate element of the house In harmony with the same general scheme. When it becomes necessary to place a garage on a small plot just at the elbow of the house, the limitations become more exacting. It is so easy to kill the appearance of the house by a cheap home for the motor car. But even here much can be done in simple ways, if it be just the right touch at the right place. A hood over the wide doorway may soften its aggressive severity; dignified pilasters flanking the entrance may bring the little side building into closer harmony with the residence; sloping the lines of the roof may eliminate the suggestion of a packing box that often breathes from a small building with a flat roof; the windows may be casemented or latticed or supplied with window boxes for flowers; ivy or growing vines may cover the sides with a note of gracious charm. Even a happy choice of the right color of paint may mitigate an architectural crime to a mere misdemeanor. In remodeling an old garage or in planning a new one, the most satisfy-

ing results are often reached by making it a combination building to do more than merely to house automobiles. Keeping a country place is a work that is rarely finished. There is always a tendency to expansion and new needs that have no limits but the purse of the owner. A new garage may afford opportunity to make it combine an extra room for the help, a bowling alley, a tool room, storage space for garden and porch furniture, or whatever the yearning fancy of the owner may make him feel is essential for his comfort, or ease, or convenience.

“Anyone can plan and arrange a lawn and yard,” is very often heard when talking of house building. Perhaps anyone can—but it requires thought to plant and build in a way that will give beauty, rest and harmony. Too many people plant trees, bushes and flowers without regard to thf buildings, scattering them promiscuously over the yard as if each one were to be walked around and examined for sale. There is no beauty of design—just a lot of trees and flowers. Good Plan First Essential. The first essential then for an attractive home is a good plan for the entire improvement. Whether the house is large or small, and the grounds a city lot or a country ten acres, have a plan and try to make the whole a harmonious picture. Before drawing a line of the plans or driving a single stake for location, make a pencil sketch of the house and the grounds, locating the house, outbuildings, walks, shrubbery, garden and all appurtenances. The simple rules for planting, stated years ago but never Improved, are: 1. Keep the center of the lawn open.

Second-Floor Plan. Have a grass plat, large or small, and keep it clear and smooth. Arrange trees and shrubs to secure these open spaces. Flowers in the center of the lawn are like patches on the carpet. Put the blooming plants along the border that they may have a background. Plant along the foundations of the house and outbuildings, so that these may be hidden by a mass of green. “ , 2. Plant in masses. J Surround the yard with masses shrubs and trees, giving glimpses the home within. Flowers and shruba appear best with green background.' Most people are too stingy with their planting. Masses of epirea, hydrangea, lilac, barberry, roses, wetge-

wlll do for a salamander.’ ‘Better say a Gerrymander,’ growled the editor, and the outlandish name, thus coined, soon came into general currency.”

Floor Plan of Two-Car Garage.