antages of our climate, and soil, in combination with our daily
life as a people, we shall produce gardens which will equal, without
necessarily resembling, those of other countries.

In every case we must, however, follow the same procedure which every
successful garden is built upon, whether it be in Mesopotamia or in Long
Island City. That is, we must study the place, the people, and the
circumstances.

The most general fault in American gardens is their lack of privacy.

No one claims that the high walls of Italy and France or the
impenetrable hedges of England would invariably suit the climate here.
But there are many ways to obtain seclusion without in any way depriving
us of much-needed air in summer and sun in winter. One way is by placing
the house rationally upon its lot. Our custom has been to invariably
build so that we had a "front yard," "back yard," and two side yards,
all equally important, equally uninteresting, unbeautiful and useless.

Of course, we have the porch which in a way takes the place of the
outdoor living room, always so attractive in foreign gardens. And
recently some laudable efforts are being made to incorporate the porch
into the house, where it belongs, as a real American institution,
instead of leaving it disconsolately clinging to the outside and bearing
no resemblance to the house either in shape or detail.

But after all, a porch is a porch, and a garden is a garden, and one
does not take the place of the other.

Especially is this true of the tiny property.

If you have only ten feet of ground to spare outside your tiny house,
plan it so that every foot contributes to your joy at being in the
country. Arrange it so that on a warm summer evening when the porch
seems a bit close and dark, you wander out into your garden and sit
beneath the stars in quiet as profound as on the Desert of Sahara. And
in the winter, let your garden provide a warm corner out of the wind,
where on a bright Sunday morning you may sit and blink in the sun.

Once you have got the desire for a room outdoors, a real garden, which
is neither flower beds, nor lawns, nor hedges, nor trees, but a place
for your comfort, with all these things contributing to its beauty, you
will know as by divine inspiration where to put each flower and bush and
path. Your planting will be no longer a problem for landscape
architects, but a pleasant occupation for yourself and family.

So then will your successful tiny hou