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Pottery, Statuary and Garden Ornaments 



By C. Courtenay Savage 



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"ITH the progress 

 of time orna- 

 mentation as 

 everything else 

 has changed, in many cases 

 the style going back to the 

 example of the ancients. 

 Certain gardens that were 

 thought beautiful one hun- 

 dred years ago are still beauti- 

 ful, but have been softened 

 in color and there is no inhar- 

 mony. Little by little we 

 have come to realize that it 

 is not necessary to ornament 

 every inch of available space 

 in order to obtain beauty. 

 Thirty or forty years ago a lawn was 

 generally cut up by many small flower 

 beds, all shaped differently, and no thought 

 was given to the appropriateness of the 

 blossoms. Very probably there was a "flower 

 patch," just as there is a vegetable patch 

 to-day, and to wander in such a garden to- 

 day would mean to miss the graceful ar- 

 rangement now in vogue, the soft green 

 spread of lawn, the low bed of blos- 

 soms in suitable harmony of color, 

 and the informal use of shrubbery. 

 There is a hill road in an Eastern 

 district where one passes a score of 

 fine homes. They are all large 

 enough to admit a tasteful and lav- 

 ish display of garden, yet twenty- 

 five years ago people used to be 

 surprised when they saw cut flowers 

 from these places. The fault was 

 that the flowers grew in such a 

 wilderness of color that it was not 

 until cut from the natural state that 

 they obtained individuality. One garden 

 particularly famed for its Roses was known 

 to every child in the neighborhood because of 

 the two iron deer that stood on the narrow 

 strips of grass that edged the walk on either 

 side. The deer were the 

 envy of the small boy, 

 much more to be desired 

 than the green bronze 

 wood-nymphs, or the black 

 iron dog that guarded 

 neighboring lawns. 



Dear departed deers ! 

 There is a broad lawn 

 where they used to stand, 

 a sundial or bird-bath in 

 its centre, and the only 

 flowers in view are the 

 Nasturtiums that climb 

 over the low stone wall, or, 

 if it is spring, the Wisteria 

 that covers the veranda. 

 The sundial and the 

 broad lawn are the latest 

 phase of garden orna- 

 mentation and hark back 

 to the days of the glory of 

 Greece; the new angle of 

 the beautiful which is 

 making a memory of the 



iron and bronze animals of twenty years ago. 

 Some of them do exist to-day, quaint monu- 

 ments to a by-gone idea of ornamentation, 

 but even these will soon vanish, for the 

 greatest lesson of decoration is being 

 learned — that it is impossible to make na- 

 ture beautiful with the unnatural. 



Of course nothing is more natural to a 

 landscape than a living deer but there is a 

 vast difference between the swift grace of 

 the living and the rigid poise and unnat- 

 ural color of the imitation. Contrast, 

 however, the beauty of a modern bird-bath, 

 a piece of stone fashioned in graceful lines, 



The bird-bath is not only an ornament, but is decidedly 

 useful in attracting birds which help to solve the insect 

 problem 



Garden seats of stone or of concrete will fit into almost any garden and are 

 durable 



with the black iron lion who never could 

 have existed in the civilization of a sub- 

 urban front lawn. The bird-bath simply 

 belongs there. 



It is with the thought that only with the 



The sundial needs space before all else and may also be appropriately used as the focal point in the 



general scheme of the garden 



201 



natural can nature be beau- 

 tified that the homebuilder 

 of to-day plans the ornaments 

 for the garden. This later 

 may only be a matter of a 

 suburban lot, or it may be 

 an estate of twenty acres; 

 the idea is the same. Open 

 spaces are needed every- 

 where, and with the natural 

 are they ornamented. 



The bird -bath is not 

 merely a fad, but a humani- 

 tarian feature. There is a 

 spirit of bird conservation 

 sweeping over the country, 

 and the bird-bath in the small 

 garden does its share of the work. Imagine a 

 garden back of the house where there are a 

 couple of shade trees. Beyond, near the 

 fence, there is a hedge of bright flowers, or 

 possibly the vegetable patch. The bird 

 flying by is sure to seek such a place to rest, 

 and the severe beauty of a stone bird-bath 

 placed amid such surroundings will not only 

 be pleasant to the eye but to the bird. To 

 the feathered visitors it means a 

 place to drink and bathe, and in a 

 short time they will come regularly 

 to partake of your hospitality. 



A bird-bath is an inexpensive 

 ornament, or rather it may be in- 

 expensive. For the man of millions 

 the bath may be the work of a mas- 

 ter; but for the ordinary folk it is 

 possible to buy a bath to be placed 

 on the ground either in the shelter 

 of the trees or in the open, depend- 

 ing largely on the grounds it is to 

 ornament, for a sum less than five 

 dollars. Standing baths, with plain but 

 strikingly handsome pedestals, can be bought 

 for less than twenty dollars, while one of 

 the most charming baths ever offered for 

 sale is marked at twenty-five dollars. It 

 is a matter of choice 

 whether the bird bath is 

 connected with running 

 water, though many peo- 

 ple like to have a spray 

 under which the birds can 

 play. The connection is 

 made with a small pipe, 

 and the water only runs 

 part of the day, making 

 the cost of installation, 

 and upkeep, very low. 



A sundial is another 

 ornament which belongs to 

 the lawn. For the centre 

 of an oblong lawn it is 

 very gratifying to the eye, 

 and it also "fits in" if 

 placed at the far end of 

 the garden. 



There is something de- 

 cidedly formal about the 

 sundial ; perhaps it is the 

 majesty of time that has 

 endowed it with its dignity, 



