delightful nook in which to rest awhile and survey the garden in all its 

 glory of May roses. 



The walls of the garden, on the cooler sides, are nearly lost behind 

 masses of creepers and free-growing roses ; those facing to the south are 

 screened with espaliers of lemon, which in winter are protected by a 

 temporary roof of tiles, for it is only on the coast that the lemon can be 

 left unsheltered, and even there a rigorous winter tries it severely. 



The roses are an unusually good selection, and include not only the 

 better French and Italian sorts, but also\nany of English extraction such 

 as Viscountess Folkestone, Killarney, Charles Lawson, Mrs. John Laing, 

 Duchess of Albany, John Bright and Beauty of Waltham, to which the 

 gardener gives his own pronunciation, as is the way of gardeners all the 

 world over. Standard roses are not much grown in Italy, but in this 

 garden they play an important part, and must be considered on the whole 

 a great success. Pyrus Japonica too is grown as a standard, and has a 

 mass of exquisite bloom. It would doubtless succeed equally well in the 

 south of England, and would be an acceptable addition to our gardens, 

 for though the blossom is soon over, the dark rich foliage would always 

 be pleasant to the eye. 



The flowering season even in the best managed of these Italian 

 gardens is all too short, and in a late spring (such as that when these 

 drawings were made) everything seems to burst into flower at once. 

 For a month the little garden is a mass of blossom, in which roses form a 

 prominent feature, together with tree-peonies, the delicate " Riviera 

 May," pale yellow Spanish iris, the old sweet-scented white pinks, 

 freesias, columbines purple and white, and other flowering plants too 

 numerous to mention. 



How delightfully the casino^ with its long, low, sweet lines, stands 

 in relation to the garden with its beautiful central loggia, the connecting 

 link between house and garden. Could anything be better than the 

 disposition of its parts ? The flat roof, broken by the simple bell-cote ; 

 the deep overhanging cornice, shading the upper range of windows ; 

 the double staircase with its balustrade, leading up to the loggia ; the 

 deep shadow of the arcade,' giving value to the slim columns. And then 

 how exquisite is that combination of warm pink, creamy white marble, 



115 



