The seed to sow is the very best kind in the market. This will cost you a little more than the inferior kind that is offered each season, but it is worth a good deal more, and it is what you must have if you would make your lawn a thing of beauty. Procure it from some reliable dealer who makes a specialty of "lawn-grass mixtures."
If you tell the dealer the size of your lawn and ask how much seed you will need, he will give you what he considers a fair estimate. I would advise you to double the amount, for this reason: a thickly seeded lawn will have the appearance, by the middle of the first season, of a lawn a year or two old. And because of the thickness of the grass it will be better able to stand the effect of drought and heat. You will find that the extra money invested in seed was a wise investment, and you will never have cause to regret making it.
Sowing seems, to the amateur gardener, a matter of so little importance that it requires no special attention. All there is to do is to scatter the seed over the ground. But nine out of ten amateurs who do the work with this idea in mind will speedily discover their mistake. When the grass comes up thickly here and there, with vacant places between, they will come to the conclusion that sowing grass seed evenly isn't the easiest thing in the world, for the seed is so light that the slightest puff of air will blow it away, and some will settle where you want it to, and some will lodge where other seed has already lodged, and the result will be very unsatisfactory. In order to prevent such a condition of things as far as possible, I would advise sowing from north to south, and then from east to west. Do this on a still, damp day, if possible, and hold your hand close to the ground as you scatter the seed. Don't attempt to broadcast it, as you may have seen some gardener do, but be content to scatter it over a small portion of soil each time you sow a handful of it. By doing this you will prevent most of it from being blown away.
III
THE BORDER
The owner of a small lot is often puzzled to know what to do with it. Of course there must be flowers, but where shall they be put? As a general thing, they are set out here and there, indiscriminately, and the result of such haphazard planting is far from pleasing. There ought always to be at least a suggestion of system in all garden arrangements. To scatter shrubs all over the lawn breaks up the sense of breadth and dignity which should characterize it, however small it may be. This being the case, the best place for shrubs and perennials is at the sides of the lot, leaving the rear for the vegetable garden.
A border extending along the sides of the lot will serve as a frame for the home picture, and will be found the most satisfactory arrangement possible for small places. It ought to be at least four feet wide—six or eight will be found much better if ground can be spared for it—and a pleasing effect can be secured by letting it increase in width as it approaches the rear of the lot. It will be far more attractive if its inner edge curves a little here and there than if it is confined to straight lines.
I would advise a "mixed border." By that is meant one in which shrubs and perennials are grown together and where annuals and spring-flowering bulbs can be used effectively to "fill in."