December, 1905 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



373 



slumbering as she sits. Their arms form graceful curves 

 against the surrounding foliage. 



There is so much to see at " Yaddo," its spaces are so 

 broad, its vistas are so extended, its views so superb, its gen- 

 eral sense of ampleness and extent so wonderfully fine, that 

 one is perhaps apt to feel that in seeing so much one has seen 

 it all. As a matter of fact, one might spend several days in 

 wandering through the grounds, delighting oneself with the 

 wonderful natural beauty of the place and the quite as 

 beautiful and almost as wonderful way in which art has been 

 made to aid nature in these splendid grounds. And the more 

 one wonders the more one sees. New beauty spots are con- 

 tinually being discovered, new evidences of thoughtful care 

 and fine utilization of possibilities made clear with each 



be committed. The water garden at " Yaddo " is a case in 

 point. One may wander quite extensively through these 

 spacious grounds before one comes upon this spot, which is 

 hidden behind some hillocks planted with trees. It is a small 

 space compared to the vast areas of " Yaddo," but still so 

 large as to seem quite spacious, judged by the Japanese 

 models. 



Masses of rocaille are covered with plants that thrive in 

 moist places, and the pools that are allowed to form at dif- 

 ferent levels are kept supplied by a slender stream hidden by 

 ranks of iris in the varied Japanese shapes and colors. Seated 

 beside one of these pools one is in another world, shut away 

 not only from the gay, driving world of Saratoga, but from 

 the grave, noble landscapes of the valley. A Japanese stone 



The Upper Pool and the Water Garden. As the Seasons Succeed One Another Certain Flowers Bloom, thus 



Changing the Color Scheme from Month to Month 



fresh turn in a walk or each new venture into some wooded 

 groves. 



The grounds are not only charming in themselves, but 

 abound in charming surprises, each of which has its own 

 note of interest and each of which, even in its separate de- 

 velopment, bears a more or less relationship to the general 

 scheme. This, indeed, is one of beauty only, for it is to make 

 a beautiful garden, a beautiful, great garden, that " Yaddo " 

 has been developed to its present splendid stage. 



It is not an uncommon error for the owners of great gar- 

 dens to make their estates a collection of different sorts of 

 gardens, a museum of gardens, as it were, each of which, 

 while fine in its way and well worthy of admiration, suffers 

 somewhat from its proximity to another garden of a wholly 

 different kind. One of the most striking features of the gar- 

 den plan of " Yaddo " is the avoidance of just this error, 

 which is often excusable with the very ease with which it can 



lantern rises here and there, or a rustic bridge crosses a 

 stream; a marble maid sits pensive, like Rautendelein, regard- 

 ing the lily-pads. The air is supplied with the necessary 

 moisture by jets that fling a fine spray over rocks and ferns. 

 Care is taken that, as the season passes, certain flowers come 

 into blossom and so change the color scheme from month to 

 month, new bulbs being planted, new plants set out to take the 

 place of annuals, while the permanent flowers are so disposed 

 as to form a regular succession of delightful disclosures. 



Thus, absolutely out of sight of the house but within a 

 few minutes' walk, there are two gardens for the fortunate 

 inhabitants of " Yaddo " and their many guests in which they 

 can feel themselves quite alone and as if removed by miles 

 from inquisitive eyes. And this has been done slowly, under 

 the eyes of the masters, without calling in armies of 

 laborers in an attempt to finish everything overnight. It is 

 wonderful what a man in active city business can accomplish 



