58 



House & Garden's 



VISTAS IN THE 

 GARDEN 



THE priman- purpose of a path is to 

 lead one somewhere. Thus was it in 

 the beginning, is now, and, so far as one 

 can foresee, will indefinitely remain. 



Yes, a path must go somewhere, if its 

 existence is to be justified. It should 

 possess a destination not only in the 

 physical sense, but in the mental as well. 

 In other words, the ideal path carries 

 one's eyes as well as feet from here to 

 there. It is a vista, more or less pro- 

 nounced according as it is straight or 

 winding. 



This vista quality is one of the chief 

 assets of an attractive path, for vistas in 

 the garden there must Ije. Without them 

 we feel conlined, shut in by too near 

 boundaries of flower, shrub and tree. 

 Our imaginations, together with our eyes, 

 have too little to feed upon where there 

 is no guiding sense of distance. We 

 need the contrasts and comparisons pro- 

 vided by a receding view. 



A vista need by no means be as amisi- 

 tious as the two examples shown on this 

 l)age. It may be no more than a glimpse 

 between two flowering shrubs to a garden seat 

 a dozen yards away; or a bit of distant moun- 

 tain seen through a gap in the boundan,- hedge. 

 Yet it must always be justifu-d — generally bv 



Creating a successful vista is a matter of real study. 

 Keep ill mind that the object is to draw one's atten- 

 tion directly to some goal more or less distant 



the existence at its far end of some object which 

 serves as a definite goal for the eye. 



Rules for planning vistas can be no more 

 than suggestive, as the conditions and possi- 



The vista's purpose is to lead the 

 eye into the distance. Here on 

 the estate of Harrisson Bennett. 

 Esq., at Weston, Mass., this effect 

 is achieved by the straight line 

 and contrasting color of the 

 central -ivalk 



bilities of different places are rarely 

 identical. Keep in mind the general 

 principle — that a vista is a more or less 

 narrowed glimpse into the distance, gain- 

 ing its effect through the contrast of near 

 and far objects. 



Two mediums may be utilized in fram- 

 ing the sides of the vista, for distinct 

 sides there should be in the majority of 

 cases. The first is architectural in char- 

 acter, exemplified by the pergola, the 

 gateway in wall or fence, the pillars of 

 the covered terrace. The second, and by 

 far the more generally available, is the 

 ]5lanting of trees and shrubs. Here lie 

 the biggest possibilities, the best chance 

 to attain success with the minimum of 

 labor and expense. Growing things are 

 Nature's frame, ready to your hand. 



Work for perspective in the plan of 

 }our garden or grounds. If there is even 

 an indefinable feeling of undue restric- 

 tion, of overcrowding, look about for vis- 

 ta possibilities. It is not all of landscape 

 planting to plant; more frequently than most 

 of us realize the solution of our difficulties 

 on the road to garden perfection lies in elimi- 

 nation rather than addition. 



