.Ill DI AM- 1 



(.\KDI NS 





stepped, breaking the stretches of' sward) leads down 

 v-en alleys and to the orchard, sprinkled and starred 

 irV.iJils, tulips and anemones. Never did we 

 see plants of Anemone fulgcns more \ig.irous .in.l 

 t.ill stemmed, more proudly and prosperously 

 opening their yreat flowers to the radiant sun, 

 than rose out of" the luscious orchard gl 

 on the gay morning of early May when we 

 \ed this scene of happy growth, these clusters 

 and colonies of" bulbs rioting in the strength which the 

 lent soil gave them with the added help ot" clever 

 setting and good nur urc. Mounting back on to the 

 pl.it, we can now contemplate the scene which is 

 below us to the west ; a narrower garden lying in 

 front of the hall and other rooms of the house and 

 extending beyond it to the western limit of the 

 varied, if small, domain. We are standing against 

 the balustrade and over a depressed arcn, under 

 which lurks one-half of a circular pool, the other half 

 ; out in the sun, its surface rippled by the jet of 

 water which spouts from the mouth of the Mtyr that 

 forms the keystone of the arch. Opposite to this the 

 pool has a break in its circumferential edge, admitting 

 the water to one of those flagged and formal rills 

 occasionally met with in modern garden design, 

 and which Mr. I.utyens uses with freshness and 

 originality, and with varied adaptation to particular 

 site and circumstance. At Sonning, this charming 

 architectural ditch runs down the centre of a long 

 grass plat, and widens into a square basin in the 

 centre of its course and into a circular one at the 

 end. It is tenanted by the flowering rush and 

 many another vigorous water-plant, whose beauty is 

 revealed, but its rampancy checked, by the relentless 



limits of its setting. The western or circular end 

 of this little water garden is perhaps its most 

 striking member. \\c give two pictures of the 

 curved sweep of easy steps that i loses it and leads to 

 the rose-clad hexagon and the end seat. These 

 pictures are of different dates ; the first, taken in the 

 early days of the garden and of its planting, gives a 

 complete idea of the plan of this feature The second, 

 taken when rose and iris and lily had been given their 

 chance and had sei/ed it, exhibits a wealth of foliage 

 aiul of flower. We are .it OIKC strut, k by the thoughtful 

 and clever planting of the garden. The due choice 

 and knowledgeable setting of the dcni/cns which so 

 joyously occupy the choice home provided for them 

 remind us that another name should be coupled 

 with that of Mr. I.utyens, and that this Sonning 

 garden is one of the cases, several already, and, we 

 trust, to be multiplied in the near future, where 

 complete success has been gained by the sympathetic 

 partnership of Miss (Jertrude Jekyll with Mr. 

 I.utyens, the latter as designer and the former as 

 planter; the one has created the idea with his master 

 mind and conjurer's hand, has moved the masses of 

 inanimate matter into their places and given them 

 form ; the other, with her wide knowledge of the 

 plant world of its |:kes and dislikes, of its gratitude 

 and go H! nature indeed, but also of its obstinacies 

 and vagaries- and with her perceptive taste in selec- 

 tion and arrangement, has started into organic- 

 luxuriance, has warmed into living beauty, this archi- 

 tectural (ialatea. The Deanery Garden is a simple 

 abode, a little place. But it is entirely and exactly 

 what it sets out to be. It is the complete realisation 

 of its concept. It is, therefore, a great work. 





