202 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



January, 1916 



How fittingly this urn terminates the vista of this walk, 

 uniting the lines of the composition 



but to be a real ornament a sundial needs 

 space, and should not be placed in close 

 proximity to luxurious displays of vege- 

 tation. A most artistically placed sundial 

 belongs to a bungalow garden that is on a 

 plot of ground fifty by one hundred and 

 fifty feet. The house itself is built within 

 twenty feet of the street, and back of the 

 kitchen is a garden of at least seventy feet. 

 A broad path divides the plot and half way 

 down the garden several feet of ground 

 on either side of the path is occupied by a 

 well kept and well planned vegetable 

 garden which includes some fruit bushes. 

 Past these the path leads to within a dozen 

 feet of the high green fence over which 

 vines are running, and there the path 

 spreads to a circle. At either side of the 

 circle is a low stone bench, and in the cen- 

 tre of the gravel on its slender pedestal 

 stands a sundial. Just at the point the 

 path widens two Cedar trees had been 

 planted, and there are two others close to 

 the fence where the illusion of the contin- 

 uation of the path is taken up. The whole 

 effect was obtained at the cost of less than 

 sixty dollars, and there a positive inspira- 

 tion in the dignity of the dial. 



The first time that the present owner of 

 that garden saw the place that was ul- 

 timately to become his home the ground 

 now occupied by his dial was a mass of Rose 

 bushes in whose centre stood the figure of a 

 woman, a nameless myth carrying a basket 

 of flowers resembling nothing that ever 

 grew. When the statue was new it had 

 probably been the object of much admir- 

 ation, for at that time statues were in com- 

 mon use as garden ornaments. 



The use of a statue as an ornament is still 

 good taste and a means of making a garden 

 more beautiful, but not a small garden. 

 To turn the corner of a winding path leading 

 over an estate of many acres and see an 

 image of Pan peering through the trees, is 

 a charming illusion, but it needs the winding 

 path and the grove of trees to give the de- 

 sired effect. The man with a half acre 



cannot give the necessary canvas for such 

 a painting, and it is for him to stick to 

 more simple and severe method of orna- 

 mentation. The head of Pan mounted 

 on a slender pedestal might be used in- 

 stead of a sundial in such a garden as 

 described, but the sundial is better, leav- 

 ing the figure ornamentation for the larger 

 space. 



Of all the various methods of ornament- 

 ing the small garden, or large either, there 

 is none more simple, charming or artistic- 

 ally correct than the use of stone urns and 

 pots for flowers or small trees. Four or 

 six large stone jars mounted on blocks of 

 stone, and placed along the path that leads 

 to the house, gives the place an atmosphere 

 that could never be obtained by an arti- 

 ficial rabbit, or an iron dog from which some 

 of the white paint is wearing. Such orna- 

 ments as these are inexpensive and lasting, 

 as are the Bay or Cedar trees needed to fill 

 them. If there is an open porch with stone 

 balustrade they can be placed at intervals 

 and filled with various flowers. In the 

 early spring Hyacinths and Pansies bloom 

 there, in the summer and fall the variegated 

 colors of the Coleus can lend a warmth to 

 the stone. 



A first cousin to the urn is the stone flower 

 box. These are for smaller flowers and 

 should be sparingly used, for unless they are 

 in the right place they are rather awkward. 

 Outside the window, on a broad veranda 

 rail, they "belong," but not in the centre 

 of a lawn or at the edge of a path. 



The flower boxes and the urns are in re- 

 ality only the grandchildren of the old green 

 tub that used to hold the family Rubber 

 plant and the Boston Fern brought home 

 from their vacation in the hills. The old 

 green tub was not a jarring note to the eyes, 

 for being green it was harmonious with 



nature, but nothing of wood can equal the 

 stone work of to-day. 



There was another "habit" of former 

 days, one that has not altogether passed 

 away, and that was the garden bench. The 

 wooden garden bench was never comfort- 

 able, frequently tipped over, and seldom 

 harmonized with the picture. It is like the 

 wicker furniture that belongs on the porch, 

 yet is constantly being "painted over and 

 left on the grass." Yet built in wooden seats 

 of solid frame and heavy lines will just fit 

 some corner or nook. There is something 

 akin to nature in the symmetry of stone, 



Combination fountains and basins are most effective in 

 connection with large water pools 



Statuettes in stone or in lead may be introduced into 

 even very small gardens to terminate vistas or emphasize 

 walks. They offer an endless variety of design 



but who would recognize the tree in the 

 twisted effect of a wicker chair, or after 

 the turner's lathe has made a garden bench? 

 On a veranda there is no furniture more 

 inviting than wicker, with its chintz cush- 

 ions; but when it wanders down the 

 front steps its beauty is always a matter 

 of question. 



In the selection of all garden furniture 

 and ornaments it is necessary to use con- 

 siderable thought. Reinforced cast stone 

 is the best type of material for there is less 

 danger of the piece cracking and its general 

 wear is better. The molds in which cast 

 stone articles are manufactured should be 

 waterproof and, instead of sand, crushed 

 domolite is mixed with the cement which 

 allows for better workmanship. It does 

 not pay to buy second rate garden orna- 

 ments for they have to withstand all the 

 weather conditions peculiar to the climate 

 you live in. The prices of the reliable 

 dealers are not beyond the means of the 

 average pocketbook. 



The garden ornament may or may not 

 be a decoration. It is a matter of individ- 

 ual taste, and fortunately as example does 

 much to develop liking, the day of the deer 

 and the dog have gone, while in their place 

 reigns the simple inexpensive simplicity that 

 is truly natural, and a rest and delight to 

 the eye. 



