Not so long ago concrete was relegated to small areas or used for only workaday projects, but today it is used much more imaginatively. There are so many textural treatments possible, ranging from very rough pebbly surfaces-with the aggregates exposed and pebbles tamped into the wet surface of fresh concrete-to the very smoothest surfaces, which can be waxed and used as dance floors. With these possibilities and the use of coloring materials to give life and beauty to the concrete, we may well call it the most versatile of materials.

Concrete can be used in the old humdrum ways, or it can be employed in stimulating, creative ways to give piquancy to whatever is made of it and to heighten the effect of the garden picture. It has so much more to offer than just its commonplace and worthy qualities of permanence and durability that it should be considered for every possible project in the garden.

Before we take up ways and means, the formulae for mixing, and so on, let us look into the methods of handling it which may be employed by the home craftsman. Mixing and laying quantities of concrete is heavy work. Let us admit that immediately and proceed to see what can be done to lighten the tasks connected with its use. By planning your job so that it can be done in segments, no one ot them a large, back- breaking project, you can manage things so that it won't be too much for you to handle even though it may take you some time to achieve your goal. For instance, in building a terrace we can cast it in sections, rather than in one piece. It is better to do this for many reasons, one of which is that expansion strips are needed for contraction and expansion with heat and cold.