158 GARDENS IN THE MAKING 



too open or form too flat a picture. If a long path 

 traverses several enclosures in one line, it is worth 

 while forming a pergola over one section of its 

 length, beginning and ending with a boundary ; for 

 without disturbing the direction of the walk it breaks 

 the distance and diversifies the vista. 



The variety of situations in which a pergola 

 may fittingly be placed, is rivalled only by the 

 number of types and methods by which it may be 

 constructed. Leaning against a lofty wall or cross- 

 ing the open court, enclosing a formal garden or 

 built on a terraced hillside, descending by steps the 

 gentle gradient of a sloping garden or surrounding, 

 in a circular or many-sided figure, the walls of some 

 cool retreat, in all these and many more positions it 

 will be found appropriate and useful. And as to its 

 materials and form, we can almost select at pleasure. 

 The nearer the house, the more solid and archi- 

 tectural should be the construction, although the 

 heavier types need by no means be confined to this 

 position. The horizontal supports for the foliage 

 will, of course, be of wood ; and where heavy beams 

 are used, the standards should be built of solid piers 

 of a generous size. Old stone columns, if procur- 



