The pleached alley on Mrs. Henry Lee's estate at BrooKline, Mass., is the oldest and most beautiful one in America. It is of hornbeam, about twenty years old 



about by two men. Those two feet square 

 cost $10. 



Water is certainly a necessity in your 

 garden. Whether it is to be carried there 

 in pailfuls from the hydrant or brought 

 through pipes to a fountain, is a question to 

 be decided with your hand on your pocket- 

 book. It is possible to make a fountain 

 serve a purpose other than merely a decor- 

 ative one. By leading the waste pipe into 

 a tile drain, the overflow may be used to 

 irrigate some part of the garden which needs 

 an abundance of water. The tile should be 

 laid with dry joints, so that the water will 

 work its way through into the ground all 

 along the part that needs it. 



Iron is the cheapest material of which to 

 make a fountain, and it is possibly the least 

 artistic. There is an endless variety of jets, 

 sprays and fountain figures, the latter usually 

 made of spelter, like old-fashioned gas 

 fixtures, costing from $10 to $15,000. A 

 good form can be had for $50. The cast- 

 iron basins are carried in stock up to twelve 

 feet in diameter; they cost from $9 to $200 

 for round ones, $30 to $500 for octagonal 

 designs. 



A simple cement basin can be built for 

 $100 or less, including the plumbing for 

 supply and drainage. These basins may 

 be bought from the manufacturers of cement 

 garden accessories, or, if a man is not afraid 

 of the difficulties of building a circular form 

 in wood, a basin may be cast on the spot. 

 The simplest form for home manufacture 

 would be a flat-top, square curb, say ten or 

 twelve inches across, laid to the desired 



radius. This could be cast first, on a con- 

 crete or stone foundation extending below 

 the frost line, and the bottom of the basin 

 laid afterwards. A flat bottom will serve 

 the purpose as well as a bowl-shaped one and 

 is far easier to make. If the inside vertical 

 face can be flared outward after it has set, 

 by adding, with a trowel, cement tapering 

 from an inch or two at the bottom to nothing 

 at the top, the danger of cracking in freezing 

 weather will be lessened. The supply pipe 

 may be an inch or three-quarters of an inch 

 in diameter, the waste a size larger. Make 

 the opening for the waste pipe near the top 

 of the basin rim, so as to control the height 

 of water, and protect it with a wire netting. 

 Unless one wants to grow aquatic plants, six 

 inches is sufficient depth for the water. 

 About six inches of mud and a foot of water 

 are needed for water lilies and lotus. 



Still another use for water in the garden 

 furniture is to have a wall-fountain for 

 drinking water. Spouts in the form of 

 lions' heads, gargoyles, and cherubs are 

 made in cement and terra cotta. With the 

 basin and the plumbing, a feature of this 

 kind could be installed for about $50 or $60. 

 I know one lady who provided a low basin 

 in the garden wall, so that her dog could 

 get a drink whenever he wanted it. When 

 he didn't, the birds used it for a cool plunge. 



Garden walls are often a necessity and 

 always a decorative addition. One sees 

 them mostly of brick with a capping of North 

 River stone, bluestone or slate. A balustrade 

 along the top, made of wood, terra cotta, 

 cement or even marble, usually will add 

 280 



greatly to their attractiveness. A brick wall 

 sixteen or seventeen inches thick costs from 

 seventy-five cents to a dollar per square foot 

 of vertical surface. A balustrade in cement 

 costs from $8 to $10 per running foot, in 

 small quantities. I came across a very 

 acceptable substitute for brick-work the 

 other day at a very much lower cost. A 

 man had set up locust posts to the desired 

 height and to these nailed rough hemlock 

 boards horizontally on both sides. These 

 boards were twelve inches wide and each 

 overlapped the one below it by an inch or 

 so, like siding or clapboards on a house. 

 Across the top was nailed a 3-inch plank. 

 The wall was painted and was partly covered 

 by vines. 



When we come to summer houses, arbors 

 and pergolas we are getting well beyond the 

 necessities and into the realm of luxury. 

 What a delightful luxury it is, however, to 

 have a summer house, such as is pictured 

 on the next page which is large enough to 

 hold the dining-table and near enough to the 

 house to permit of easy service from the 

 kitchen. These houses are rather expensive 

 to buy, ready made. If one can get hold 

 of some good red cedar or white birch, how- 

 ever, any good carpenter can put a house 

 together for you in three or four days. The 

 best part of building a rustic summer house 

 is that you can design it as you go. All 

 you have to decide is the general size 

 and whether it shall be round, square or 

 octagonal. 



It is well to provide, by the way, for a 

 floor six inches above the ground; and 



