THE GARDEN BOOK OF CALIFORNIA 



building, buying fifty-foot lots and covering them with our 

 badly contrived architecture ; and this in the face of the fact 

 that many of us have been ordered to California to live 

 out-of-doors. 



Oh, we are a decidedly inconsistent people! I could 

 count on my fingers the well-planned arbors, summer- 

 houses, covered seats, or even open and partially sheltered 

 garden seats I have seen in my travels through the gardens 

 of California. I do not even try to find a reason for this 

 condition of affairs. There really couldn't be any worth 

 considering. 



A carriage or entrance porch should never be considered 

 in connection with a house veranda. Every family needs, 

 and every family could enjoy, much of their daily life in the 

 open air if the matter of privacy were more generally con- 

 sidered in building the veranda. There should always be a 

 pleasant outlook, though this may be of only a tiny garden 

 — yours, or your neighbor's. Here one may relax, and not 

 stand in fear of the intrusion of the stranger-guest. 



Indeed it is essential that this family gathering-place 

 should not be in any sense a reception-room, but rather that 

 only those who are intimates shall find their way here for 

 relaxation and rest. Up-stairs verandas or porches are 

 especially desirable, and are invariably picturesque additions 

 to a building. Climbing plants add to the charm of a ver- 

 anda, but they should not be permitted to overwhelm it, 

 nor to take away the important features of plenty of sunlight 

 and free play of air. 



[1061 



