Gardens and Their Accessories 



285 



A rustic summer house 



The suggestion for wall planting can well be applied to the steps, but, as 

 in the former case, moderation should be observed, and rever in a way to detract 

 from their usefulness. Such planting is more 

 particularly adapted to the less formal types, and 

 yet a limited treatment of the more severe examples 

 will tend to break hard architectural lines, tie the 

 motive to the garden, and relieve that extreme 

 effect of newness or lack of mellowness which 

 usually pervades the outlay. We all know that 

 the hand of time adds interest and picturesqueness 

 to the creations of man, and for example we have 

 but to turn to the beautiful Italian gardens to see 

 how Nature has added to their charms in the re- 

 claiming of her own. We doubt much if in the 



extreme freshness of their youth they were half as interesting or impressive. It is 

 that little touch of Nature, be it ever so slight, that puts the final brush mark upon 

 the works of man, and the designer who invites, aids or considers this shows 

 himself a master, by the acknowledgment of a higher power than his own. 



Seats were intended to sit upon, strange as it may seem. In our Northern 

 climate, however, stone is but a chilly friend for the wearer of ordinary clothing. 

 The stone bench of Classic origin is all right for climates like that of its native soil, 

 in fact it is apt to get extremely hot, but as we get further from the equator the in- 

 troduction of a wooden cushion between one's anatomy and this unsympathetic 

 detail of Classic design holds more common sense than poetry. This will probably 

 shock the purist, and his ire will be increased when it is suggested that the stone 

 slab be replaced by wood (which is in violation of good usage, inasmuch as one 

 material is made to 

 suggest another). 

 However, the dam- 

 age to our feelings 

 is apt to be less in 

 this last instance 

 than the chilly per- 

 sonal contact al- 

 ready suggested. 



Stretching the 

 point still further, 

 the less important 

 seat may be made 

 entirely of wood. 

 A 2 or 3 inch plank 

 may serve as the 

 seat proper and the 

 end supports b e 



4 " The garden at Mount Vernon. Beyond the beds of quaint design are the hedge-enclosed 



Stock. Modelled garden plots where old-fashioned flowers bloom - 



