1-46 



GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



Mam Eiilniiut to Mcllody I'anii. Sliozviitg Gate. Lodge and Garage 



When J. Ogden Armour a few years ago decided to 

 build a country home at Lake Forest, IlHnois, he 

 selected for his site a number of farms containing in 

 all twelve hundred acres of what may be practically 

 considered prairie land. The transformation that has 

 been successfully accomplished in the 

 comparatively few years since that 

 time from an unadorned stretch of 

 prairie land into one of the most 

 beautiful landscaping developments in 

 the country, stands as a monument tc 

 the architectural ability and general 

 skill of the professional gardener. 



Mellody Farm, as Mr. Armour's 

 country place is called, is, from a hor- 

 ticultural point of view, one of the 

 most interesting places in the Middle 

 West, comprising as it does so man}' 

 gardens of various types, among which 

 one may enumerate a winter garden, a 

 Dutch (bulb) garden, a perennial 

 garden, a rose garden, a water garden. 

 an orchard garden, a vegetable garden 

 and, not the least important, an exten- 

 sive glass garden, for the greenhouse 

 range on Mellody Farm is probably the 

 most complete of its kind in the West. 



The different gardens are connected 

 l)y winding paths through planted 

 shrubbery and natural woodland, open- 

 ing on unexpected vistas of beautifuh;)-,)/. 

 lawns and terraces with glimpses of 

 small pools, or the artificial lake in the distance. 



The landscape features have been so arranged as to 

 give several unobstructed views of the ornamental 

 grounds from the home. Specimen trees and shrubs 



A casino and a rest temple of stone, stucco and terra 

 cotta are other ornamental characteristics of the estate. 

 In the development of Mellody Farm, Mr. Armour 

 has been thoughtful for the comforts of the men em- 

 ployed on the estate. The gardeners' cottage has 



abound. Fountains, cascades, modern 

 statuary are generoush' distributed about 



and antique 

 the grounds. 



Readini! and h'eciealinn Hall for the Emfhyecs of the Garden !>et^artmenl 



tibor. Gardeners' Cottage m Background, .linoor Riier I'rivct Leading to It 



practically all the conveniences of an up-to-date club 

 building, with a large living room that is provided 

 with an extensive lil)rary. Among the other con- 

 veniences are shower baths and facilities for preparing 

 and serving meals for a large number. The recreation 

 building contains billiard and reading rooms and a 

 moving picture apparatus. 



It is not all work and no play at 

 Mellody Farm. During the past 

 winter two hockey teams composed of 

 the employees among the gardeners 

 competed for a silver cup donated by 

 Airs. Armour, for which games two 

 half holidays were declared each week. 

 Thomas W. Head, who has been in 

 charge of Mellody Farm as its superin- 

 tendent the past five years, is well and 

 widely known in the horticultural field 

 of this country. He is a past president 

 of the National Association of Gar- 

 deners and at the present time its 

 treasurer; and is also president of the 

 Chrysanthemum Societv of America. 



