Houses set askew - or obliquely to the garden boundaries - on small plots rarely look well, and the arrangement creates no little difficulty when the task of designing the garden has to be undertaken.

Any conditions which necessitate the use of triangular areas as elements in the garden design are strongly opposed, because such shapes invariably suggest formality, and have other disadvantages.

When the plot is bounded by converging lines it is usually best to set the house with its sides parallel with that boundary which most nearly makes a right angle with the road line; but in some cases it may be best to set the house front parallel with the roadway, ignoring the side boundaries.

In plots of more irregular shape the question must be settled according to circumstances. From the foregoing it will be seen how intimately the position of the house in relation to the shape and size of the plot is bound up with the garden plan.

It is not unusual for house builders to defer consideration of the garden until the architect and builder have completed their work. The garden designer is then called in, and has to make the best of those spaces which are left to him. A garden fountain is a popular choice for filling spaces in certain situations.

A wiser course is to bring architect and garden designer together in the first instance, so that they may exchange notes and each work out his plan in accordance with such decisions as they may mutually agree upon. Such a course is eminently to the advantage of the owner of the site, who thereby secures a consistent design for house and garden.

A thorough understanding between the two craftsmen lightens the task of both, and precludes an incongruous result.

A further point is the question of outlay to be made on the garden. This is usually assumed to be so small an item in the total outlay that it is left out of consideration altogether.

The result is that the house builder discovers that the expense of building, with the inevitable "extras," has mounted up to such a sum that he must perforce economize on the garden.

Then it is that, with mistaken views as to the economy of the transaction, he calls in the help of a local nurseryman to "lay out" his garden, and in the long run pays a larger bill than he would have incurred had he secured the services of a competent designer, at the same time securing an indifferent result.

The nurseryman who works out his own plan, charges what he likes, whereas, if a properly prepared plan is available, the house owner may obtain competitive prices from two or more nurserymen, and make a contract for the work on the best terms.

The cost of a good design is a trifling sum on the total outlay, and it invariably justifies itself. A fair allotment of money to the garden at the beginning is 10% of the total.