76 HOW TO PLAN THE HOME GROUNDS 



succeed in developing terraces that will bear compari- 

 son with the Italian gardens, that are full of the special 

 character of the vegetation of their country, which it 

 scarcely need be said is not greensward. No picture 

 of terraced hillside and nestling homestead, where we 

 climb from one level to another to find some massive 

 background of woods, could possibly be perfect without 

 rich and broad stretches of turf. 



The principle of a terrace in this country and climate, 



PERGOLA ON HIGHEST POINT OF TERRACE ON PAGE 71 



whatever it may be in others, being strict unity and 

 sympathy with the house and its architecture, it is evi- 

 dent that formality must characterize the design. Flat 

 surfaces and regularly sloping banks, limited to a close 

 association with the house, should in most cases control, 

 instead of indefinitely extended terraces, that may be 

 admissible in a milder climate where life belongs more 

 completely to out-of-doors. It would not be wise to fix 

 any limit to the width of terraces, or the number of 

 them to be employed, and generally, for the sake of sim- 



