THE ESTATE 261^ 



tectural features, things beautiful in winter, so that in summer the 

 interest centers on the flowers enframed and formalized by the more 

 permanent material, and in the winter there is a formal design in 

 evergreens and vases and snow. Where the house is used in summer 

 only, or where the garden is not visible from the house and therefore 

 need not be seen when not at its best, the design can of course be made 

 solely for summer effect. 



Exceptionally, a formally designed garden may bear no relation to 

 the house, but in that case neither should be seen from the other and 

 the garden should form a satisfactory unit of and by itself. 



Where the house is not rigidly symmetrical in shape and where per- 

 haps the shape of the area of land that may be devoted to a garden 

 does not lend itself to formal development, or" where, as a matter of 

 choice of style of design, no formal units are considered desirable in the 

 scheme except the buildings, the garden may be quite informal in shape, 

 but still definitely related to the house and to certain important views 

 from the house. The garden may consist of an irregular open area 

 of turf enframed by shrubs and trees, decorated by flower borders, 

 and related to the house perhaps by the fact that the f agade of the house 

 forms in effect one wall of the garden inclosure, and probably also by 

 being so arranged that the most important view into the garden, that 

 which traverses its longest dimension and terminates upon its most 

 interesting feature, is commanded perhaps from the living room of the 

 house. It would be purely a matter of definition where such an area 

 ceased to be a garden and could more properly be called a flower-deco- 

 rated forest glade or a flower-decorated bay in the lawn. (See the in- 

 formal areas in Drawings XXXII, XXXI, and XXX, in that order.) 



Pleasure buildings on a private estate may serve almost as many Pleasure 

 different purposes as the owner finds different pleasures in his outdoor -S««»»'^g^ 

 possessions. They give shelter and shade. They form interesting 

 points to look at, and to walk towards, in the various compositions into 

 which the whole estate falls. They give comfortable resting places 

 from which to enjoy a view over the surrounding country, or the color 

 of an adjacent garden, or perhaps the sight of a game of tennis. They 

 provide facilities in connection with such outdoor activities as boating 

 and swimming. Often they form a part of the architectural scheme 



