If you want to have attractive and enjoyable grounds around your home, a good lawn to compliment any large fountains is a necessity. When you plant a tree you do so realizing that you are planting for the future - even for generations. Few homeowners realize however, that lawns must be planted in the same spirit. The lawns of many famous estates were planted over a hundred years ago using luxuriously verdant turf, which is always an inspiration.

Today's lawn builder is very fortunate because it is much easier to win the battle against weeds and poor soils. This is due to the introduction of new chemicals. With the many new modern spreaders, mowers and other tools, you can develop a park-like lawn around your home.

But obtaining a fine lawn is sometimes a much more complicated matter than scattering seed or plucking weeds. You will want to have your soil analyzed, and then, perhaps, change its make-up. Perhaps you will need to drain or grade.

Before you select your seed formula, you should think about how you intend to use the lawn. For example, will it be a general-purpose area or will it be a showplace in your garden where you will strive for a putting green lawn?

Except for problem lots in suburban areas, where the living space outside is small and may have to be paved, the lawn will be the broad canvas on which you paint your picture with flowers, shrubs, trees and walks. Keep it larger than any other area, certainly two or three times the width of your borders and beds.

The Use of Flowers. You will certainly want to grow your own flowers for cutting and flowers that will contribute to the grace and charm of your grounds. The aim of a successful gardener is to have a succession of flowers from early spring to late fall. You can plan from the beginning to have perennials which bloom at different seasons.

One example is the iris, which has the peak of its bloom just as the peony season begins. Know accurately when the perennials bloom and then plan to fill in the gaps left by their passing with prolific and quick growing annuals.

You can plan to have a potting bed, perhaps in your vegetable garden or in a sheltered spot behind your tool house or garage, where you can grow extra annuals as well as those perennials which do not mind being transplanted. Then when the tulip season passes, for example, you can fill in with another tall bulb, such as a summer flowering one like the canna lily.

Your plan should be made on paper, with the shape of the bed or border sketched in. and the position of the plants indicated. Perhaps the most common and feasible design for the average 60 x 100- foot lot, or even the half-acre lot. is the border running the length and rear wall of the back yard. This can be a mixed border of summer flowering bulbs, perennials and annuals, backed by shrubs.

Other designs can be planned for the center of the lawn, for the foundation planting, for the pathways to the house and for the sides of the house. Semiformal or formal gardens can have borders or beds laid out alongside of and divided by walks.

In planning your border, provide for tall screening plants that will form a background for the shorter plants. The screening plants may need staking but they should be sturdy. If you have a wide border, over 3 feet, you will need a narrow path in front of the screening plants for cultivating and tending them.

The center border plants should be of medium height and can be chosen for their vivid color. If you are planning a wide border, relatively tall plants, such as the iris, would be best placed in this section. In the foreground of the border, you should place the plants you want to use as an edging. They should be neat and plainly visible flowers, such as the following:

• clipped or green perennials
• long-growing petunia
• ageratum
• pansies
• dwarf marigolds
• sweet alyssum

When planting beds and borders, it is wise to have them visible from your windows, terraces and outdoor gathering places.