LIVING OUTDOORS 31 



"fun" than brick and stone because they grow, change, bend 

 before the wind, and show wonderful form, colour, and fragrance. 

 And we need comfort even more than the Europeans, because our 

 climate is harder and we work harder. 



The two greatest comforts every American garden can have 

 are a summer house and an arbour. I would have an arbour for 

 grapes, because the grape is the easiest fruit to grow. No other 

 vine, tree, or bush will bear every year and last a hundred years. 

 It is probably the oldest plant cultivated by man, and therefore an 

 important element in producing "charm." So, even in the 

 largest flower gardens, I would have some sort of grape, wild or cul- 

 tivated, for the fragrance of its bloom and the old memories that 

 are stirred by this lovely leaf-form. But the practical reason why 

 an arbour or pergola will be an essential feature of the American 

 garden is that it provides coolness and shade, which are so essential 

 in our hot climate. The aesthetic reason for it is that it breaks 

 up a garden into many little pictures and provides the best possible 

 frames for them. I wish every garden-planner could see 

 Mr. Breese's old-fashioned flower garden at Southampton, 

 L. I. A pergola runs around three sides of the garden, so 

 that there is always a cool and shady walk from which one may 

 view the flowers. There is a new kind of vine every few posts 

 and a new picture every step or two. 



The only drawback to the arbour or pergola is that it does not 

 protect one from the rain. It is very pleasant to be outdoors 

 during a gentle shower and enjoy the burst of bird song after the 

 rain stops provided one has a tight roof overhead. In Eng- 

 land there are likely to be several gentle showers every day and 

 consequently the tight-roofed summer house is a well-developed 

 institution. But I believe we can improve on England by mak- 



