THE LURE OF THE GARDEN 



gates are the best in these, and are especially lovely 

 under light arches twined with rose or honeysuckle, or 

 opening into arbors. A pretty gateway of this sort in 

 an old Long Island town has a double-trellised arch 

 overgrown with clematis, with a low, white-and-green 

 gate and two seats just inside. Three stone steps lead 

 up beyond these seats to a box-bordered path. 



A garden gate is different from a house door, and 

 though opposing itself to undesired intrusion, it should 

 nevertheless allow something of what it guards to be 

 seen; a flash of color, a curving pathway, a vista of 

 well-planted trees or sweep of lawn ; a hint to the im- 

 agination of each passer-by, in fact, a gift of beauty. 

 For since nature is largely responsible for a garden, a 

 little of the generosity of her rains and sunlight and 

 secret forces should emanate from every true garden. 

 And where more aptly than through the gate, built as 

 it is to let the favored into all the cherished mysteries, 

 should this gift come ? Build your walls to keep the 

 world away, to insure you peace and seclusion. But 

 let your gates mitigate this necessary severity. Make 

 them beautiful as well as appropriate; and whether 

 they are princely or humble, be content to allow some 

 of your garden's loveliness to escape through them to 

 augment the general delight in what is lovely; if it be 

 no more than two pots of geranium or begonia set upon 

 the posts, as is the fashion in some French villages, or 

 a flowering shrub in the archway. 



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