CHAPTER V 



PERGOLAS 



PATHWAYS covered with greenery have always been a 

 much-sought-after feature in gardens of all times, not only 

 on account of their decidedly ornamental appearance, but 

 more especially for the shelter and shade which they 

 afford. In Elizabethan gardens, the old-fashioned plashed 

 alley was frequently seen, and both this and the quaint 

 bower walks are still occasionally met with in old gardens. 

 Neither of these methods of obtaining sheltered walks 

 are much practised nowadays, and in modern gardens the 

 pergola takes their place. The latter, which consists of 

 a series of stone, brick, or wooden pillars, supporting a 

 lattice framework, and extending over the pathway as far 

 as desired, is at once a simple and beautiful means of 

 securing support for climbers, and giving interest and 

 variety to the garden. 



Italy is the home of the pergola, and it is in that 

 country that the most beautiful effects are obtained by its 

 use. In the gardens of the great villas, such as are to be 

 seen near Rome and Florence, the pergola is an extremely 

 important and ornate structure. Constructed almost 

 entirely of stone, with massive supporting columns 

 wreathed in gorgeous climbers, and stone benches placed 

 at intervals, the pergola is of sufficient size to act as an 

 open-air reception-room on hot days. Often it terminates 

 in a garden-house of imposing and stately design, and the 

 effect of these corridors of cool stone, relieved by brilliant 



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