Varied Gardens Fair 79 



In these few words, then, is defined the charm of 

 the formal garden — a well-ordered, a classic re- 

 straint. 



Some of the new formal gardens seem imperfect 

 in design and inadequate in execution; worse still, they 

 are unsuited to their surroundings ; but gracious 

 nature will give even to these many charms of color, 

 fragrance, and shape through lavish plant growth. 

 I have had given to me sets of beautiful photo- 

 graphs of these new Italian gardens, which I long 

 to include with my pictures of older flower beds ; but 

 I cannot do so in full in a book on Old-time Gar- 

 dens, though they are copied from far older gardens 

 than our American ones. I give throughout my 

 book occasional glimpses of detail in modern formal 

 gardens ; and two examples may be fitly illustrated 

 and described in comparative fulness in this book, 

 because they are not only unusual in their beauty 

 and promise, but because they have in plan and exe- 

 cution some bearing on my special presentation of 

 gardens. These two are the gardens of Avonwood 

 Court in Haverford, Pennsylvania, the country-seat 

 of Charles E. Mather, Esq., of Philadelphia; and of 

 Yaddo, in Saratoga, New York, the country-seat of 

 Spencer Trask, Esq., of New York. 



The garden at Avonwood Court was designed and 

 laid out in 1896 by Mr. Percy Ash. The flower 

 planting was done by Mr. John Cope; and the 

 garden is delightsome in proportions, contour, and 

 aspect. Its claim to illustrative description in this 

 book lies in the fact that it is planted chiefly with 

 old-fashioned flowers, and its beds are laid out and 



