Rural Home Life.—To have a successful experience in country life, one must become identified with one’s surroundings and become a part of the community. Those who seek to establish a country residence simply as a place from which to commute to city attractions will not only miss the greatest asset in country living but will probably find this existence unsatisfactory. To become interested in the growing plants and animals at home, to do with one’s own hands the things that make the home more attractive and to develop a contact with the community that helps to increase its normal activities mean the attainment of pleasure and satisfaction so far beyond that obtainable in congested urban quarters that there is no comparison. In many cases this direct affinity with one’s surroundings will come gradually and not always easily. It can be cultivated and should be a part of the plan of every family expecting to reside in the country.
Trees as Assets.—One of the greatest assets that can be secured in the country is well-developed shade. If the house under consideration is already built and has around it trees that serve as a softening and beautifying factor, as well as for shade purposes, the value is decidedly enhanced. If the home is to be newly built and a site is available where trees are already well grown, the house can often be placed in the midst of such trees, thereby gaining a number of years in the benefits that trees give and for which there is no substitute.
Few persons can resist the charm of trees. That they also have a definite economic value is shown by the added desirability we all attach to an attractively landscaped home where trees of various kinds and sizes furnish the motif. In acquiring a place in the country the newcomer will at once wish to plant trees, shrubs and ornamentals to beautify his holdings. If this is carefully planned at the beginning, succeeding years and a little care will add to the attractiveness and intrinsic value of the home. The saying, “a house is not a home until it is planted,” has a great deal of truth behind it. Most nurserymen will be glad to render assistance in properly planning and setting the ornamental landscaping of the home, helping the owner avoid mistakes and costly movings and replacements later.
Commercial Horticulture.—In addition to the plantings around his home, the owner of a few acres can at slight expense start small trees for later ornamental use or for sale at a roadside stand, for example. Such small trees and ornamental plants can often be purchased at wholesale prices from nursery companies which have “laying out” stock, as it is called, for sale. The standard large-growing evergreens and deciduous shade trees can be thus transplanted to one’s own acres, as can the popular dwarf types of evergreens and flowering shrubs. These may be planted in one area where they can be cared for as a growing crop, or they may be planted in groups for beautifying the premises while they are growing. Again, single plants may be set by themselves and given special attention, later becoming “specimens” which are much in demand by admirers of the species.
An appreciation of tree habits can be thus developed by all the members of the family, and considerable income may be obtained in later years, as the trees become “of age,” through their sale. We are entering upon an era of making homes attractive as places in which to live and not as houses to go away from. All forms of plant life that contribute to this end will be admired and sought after in the years to come.
Do’s
Give special consideration to location, type of construction and interior arrangement.
If building a home, select a type that fits surroundings.
Strive for simplicity of lines and full utilization of every cubic foot of space.