February, 1906 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



27 



A Backyard Play-Garden With 

 a Japanesque Idea. 

 By Walter R. Beavis. 



Photographs by the Author and W. P. Coogan. 



[Editor's Note. Here is a garden designed to amuse 

 the children, which should not be judged by conventional 

 standards. It has the essential idea of the Japanese gar- 

 den — a landscape in miniature. In this respect it is a 

 truer translation of the Japanese idea than a mere jumb- 

 ling of their materials (e. g., stone lanterns, and dwarf trees 

 in pots), without relation to anything else. Anyone who 

 criticizes this from an adult standpoint will miss enjoying 

 its imaginative quality and its effectiveness for its own pur- 

 pose, viz., that of amusing the children.] 



THE backyard garden of which I write is 

 on a lot 40 x 80 feet. As the time that 

 I can devote to its care is limited, I have 

 planted freely of permanent shrubs, as these 

 require but little care when once set out, and 

 increase in beauty with each succeeding sea- 

 son. 



For instance, I have near the spirasa (No. 35 

 on the plan) a very large plant of Begonia 

 gigantea rosea, and near the hydrangea 

 (No. 37) is a specimen of the curious Sauro- 

 matum venosum, with its peculiarly-shaped 

 leaves. In the corner formed by the arbor 

 (No. 24) is a fuchsia four feet high, trained 

 on a trellis, and which is in constant bloom 

 throughout the summer. 



My iris bed shows a wonderful combina- 

 tion of form and coloring, and is a particu- 

 lar favorite of mine, as I can get such great 

 results with the simplest culture. 



In bed No. 34 are some representatives of 

 the principal varieties of English and German 

 iris, with their richly marked and mottled 

 flowers, and the Japanese /. laevigata, having 



gorgeous blossoms measuring eight to ten 

 inches across. The several types, and even 

 different colors of the one type of iris, come 

 into bloom at different and overlapping 

 periods, and thereby give a succession of 

 bloom. 



The clumps of iris are planted with spaces 

 four or five feet between them and in these 

 spaces are various plants which come into 

 bloom after the iris season is over. These 

 include such flowers as balsams, asters, Shir- 

 ley poppies, Sweet Williams, Japanese bell 



of Clematis paniculata, hyacinth bean, morn- 

 ing glory, and grapes. The playhouse I built 

 myself. The uprights are 2 x 4^-inch pine, 

 set on posts sunk in the ground. The rafters 

 and half rafters are cut out of inch stuff a foot 

 wide, to allow for the curves of the roof. The 

 roof is shingled, the shingles being nailed on 

 three-inch strips fastened to rafters. The 

 sides are latticed with f-inch stuff, one and 

 a half inches wide, and the strips are placed 

 about four inches apart, giving good open 

 work for the vines to cling to. The platform 



Planting plan for the 40x80 city garden 



Virginia creeper vines 



16- 



Mill 



29. 



Gladiolus 



44- 



Sweet pea shrub 



Persian lilac 



T7 



Bridge 



3°- 



Japan quince 



45- 



Salmon peony 



Dahlias 



18. 



Umbrella plant {Cyperus 



3 1 - 



Wei gel a 



46. 



Arbor over seat. Vines of 



Syringa 





alternifolius) 



32- 



White lilac 





Clematis paniculata 



Lilac common 



19. 



Portulacca 



33- 



Ferns 



47- 



Lilac 



]apan quince 



20. 



Cat-tails 



34- 



Iris 



48. 



Golden elder 



Artichokes 



31. 



Elephant's ear (Caladium 



35- 



Spima Van Houttei 



49. 



Mock orange 



Zanzibar castor bean 



22. 



Iris, wild and cultivated 



36. 



Bush honeysuckle 



50. 



Violets, etc. 



Children's play house 



23. 



Forget-me-nots 



37- 



Hydrangea 



Si- 



Elder 



Platycodon. white 



24. 



Seat, and arbor of honeysuckle 



38. 



Roses 



5 2 - 



Asters 



bine 



25- 



Geraniums and tuberous begonias; 



39- 



Madeira vine 



53- 



Rack of nasturtiums 



Spiraa Van Houttei 





border of silver leaf geranium 



40. 



lapan honeysuckle 



54- 



Rhubarb 



Waterlily pond 



26 



Lily-of-the-valley 



41. 



Sweet Mary and Columbine 



55- 



Tomatoes 



Hill 



27. 



Fringe tree 



42. 



Spider wort 



56. 



Compost heap 



Castle 



28. 



Tuberoses 



43- 



Red peony 



0. 



Trees 



flower (Platycodon), hardy phlox, blue lily of 

 the Nile, (Agapanthus) , mignonette and ver- 

 bena. 



On the opposite side of the walk, and be- 

 tween the bay windows are climbing roses, 

 Baltimore Belle and Prairie Queen, and in 

 the bed, besides the clumps of shrubs indi- 

 cated on the plan are early and late flowering 

 cosmos, tobaccos (Nicotiana alata and 

 N. decurrens), salvia, fuchsia, alocasia, sal- 

 piglossis, sauromatum,spiderwort,and funkia. 

 In this bed, and also across the walk are 

 planted tulips, hyacinths, and some crocuses. 



Around the children's playhouse are vines 



is 6 x 6 feet and six feet high, and made of 

 2-inch pine, and is intended for a toboggan 

 slide in winter, the incline coming down into 

 the lawn and the slide continuing to the house. 



The seats under the arbors are made of 

 two-inch sidewalk plank of narrow widths; 

 the seat at No. 46 is five feet long and about 

 twenty inches wide, the one at No. 24 is four 

 feet long and fifteen inches wide. Both are 

 painted light stone color, so as to maintain a 

 pleasing contrast to the dark shadows of the 

 arbor recesses. 



One of the most interesting features of the 

 garden is formed by the water-lily pond. 





A Japanesque la ndscape idea in a city backyard. Umbrella plant and cat-tails form 

 bold masses of scenery. A delight to the children 



The hill of slag is covered with Othonna and a forest of " old man " shelters the 

 castle. The lake is planted with water-lilies and irises, etc. 



