GARDEN ACCESSORIES. 23 



plished great things. This summer-house is unique because it 

 is thatched with pine needles. This thatch is a simple one to 

 make and was suggested to me by the falling of the dead needles 

 from the pine trees under which the summer-house is built. The 

 roof was first covered with heavy tarred roofing paper and upon 

 this was spread a thick coating of coal-tar. AYhile the tar was 

 still warm, brown pine needles were spread on by the bushel basket 

 full and the whole was raked smooth until the needles lay quite 

 flat. The house is absolutely rain-proof, and the yearly supply 

 of dead needles from the trees overhead makes up for the loss of 

 those that decay in the process of weathering. Of course it is an 

 ideal structure for vines and climbers, and these help its appearance 

 by giving it an air of repose and dignity. When we consider the 

 many uses that a summer-house may afford we wonder that there 

 are not more of them. 



Other accessories that give a shady retreat in a garden are per- 

 golas, arbors, trellises, and bowers. These might all be classed 

 as cousins in the garden family, or even closer relations, so much 

 do they resemble one another, both in form and purpose, namely: 

 the covering of pathways with vines and greenery, letting in just 

 enough light and air to produce comfort, and to make vistas through 

 the glimmering light and shade. Flowering vines never appear 

 to better advantage than when trained on the posts and cross-beams 

 of a pergola, making an airy tunnel of greenery and bright color. 

 But the raising of vines and climbers is not alone excuse enough 

 for building a pergola. Such a structure should lead to something, 

 to a garden seat or a summer-house, or it should connect one part 

 of a garden with another. The pergola may be an elaborate affair 

 of stone columns supporting heavy oak beams, interlaced over- 

 head like those seen in Italy, or it may be made entirely of wood 

 with simple upright posts and cross-beams with the bark left on. 

 Many of the attractive arbors of lattice work seen in some of our 

 old Colonial gardens are modified pergolas, and they are often 

 used for the purpose of raising grapes. # 



Another feature that is not introduced enough in our gardens 

 and one that always produces a magical effect when properly used, 

 is water as a fountain, or in a simple pool where one may raise 

 water plants. The very sound and appearance of water in a gar- 



