July, 1909 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
283 
“Glenbrook,” A Naturalistic Garden Designed by Its Owner 
By Adam Synder 
Gen EN a man is engaged in business, wears 
good clothes and keeps his hair cut, talks 
politics, and rides behind excellent horse- 
flesh with keen enjoyment, we hardly expect 
him to waste much time with the construc- 
tion of a garden from the pure love of the 
thing. Although he may be the best of 
genial company, he will rarely give a hint of his other self. 
Too many gardens owe their existence to the fashion, rather 
than the extreme pleasure 
their construction and exist- 
ence afford. 
In the owner of ‘“Glen- 
brook,” a garden at New- 
burgh, N. Y., however, one 
comes in contact with just 
such a man. And yet it 
would hardly be fair to pass 
lightly over the feminine in- 
fluence in this beautiful lit- 
tle work. It is fitting that 
the hand of the wife 
should be felt in this direc- 
tion. 
“Glenbrook” is neither 
large nor elaborate. It is 
the adaptation of natural 
conditions by artificial 
means, with very natural- 
istic results. The glen in 
which it is situated, and 
which it fills, is fringed with 
oaks, and is thus screened 
from the rest of the land- 
scape. One is not aware of 
its existence from any out- 
ward suggestions. The glen 
itself was probably formed 
by the brook which passes 
through it, in some remote 
period, when the flow of 
water was considerably 
greater than at the present 
time. 
Given a glen of perhaps 
an acre and a half, of ap- 
proximately a rectangular 
shape, a brook entering at 
one corner, traversing two 
sides and leaving by the op- 
posite diagonal corner, the 
natural process would be to 
devote one’s attention to 
the brook as a feature, for its entire length within the glen. 
The spring freshets, however, had worn a deep gully at the 
bottom of which the normal summer brook flowed, and thus 
it was naturally hidden from sight from the middle or op- 
posite side of the glen. This being so, it was abandoned as 
a feature of the garden, and was screened for a considerable 
length from the other part of the glen. Outside of the 
gully the rest of the glen was fairly level, with a slight pitch 
or inclination in the direction of the brook outlet. The in- 
clination saved the situation. It became possible to construct 
an artificial waterway, fed from the natural one, and dis- 
Plan of “Glenbrook.” 
accompanying this article were taken are indicated by the lettered 
arrows. 
The positions from which the photographs 
The location of trees are indicated in black, 
while shrubbery and low growths are shown in full 
charging into it again, or, in other words, it was made pos- 
sible to direct the course of the true brook, either temporarily 
or permanently, as desired, into a new channel through the 
main body of the glen. 
At a point near where the brook enters the glen a dam 
was built across it, fitted with a gate, so as to permit a free 
or limited flow of water, as the case might require. Above 
this dam a gate diverted the water into the artificial channel, 
as already suggested. ‘This diversion being made, for fifty 
feet or so, a subterranean 
one, the volume of water 
which passed through it 
was limited, and the sur- 
plus flow of the brook went 
over the dam, and thus dis- 
charged through its natural 
channel. It was deemed 
best to limit the body, and 
consequently the velocity, 
of the artificial flow, so that 
the danger of damage from 
washouts might be obvi- 
ated. 
The artificial waterway 
first took the form of a 
shallow, winding brook, ris- 
ing from the ground and 
disappearing into it again 
only to reappear. It flows 
aimlessly between rocks, 
and trickles over them in 
minute falls. Its banks are 
bordered by rocks, grass 
and plants. Tall grasses in- 
fest it, and shrubs and trees 
shade it. Passing under a 
small stone bridge, it 
empties at last into a small 
and fairly shallow pond, 
which is the central fea- 
ture of the waterway. The 
outlet of this pond is by 
way of a tier of small cas- 
cades, which lead succes- 
sively to a deep basin. The 
outlet of this basin passes 
under a_ foot-bridge and 
discharges into the original 
waterway as it leaves the 
glen. Stone steps lead down 
from either side of the cas- 
cade motive to a stone land- 
ing just clear of the flow of 
the water. The central motive, perhaps, of the whole scheme 
is the log-cabin built on the shore of the pond, and backed 
up against the slope of the glen toward the house. It is built 
of cedar logs, and has a covered piazza on two sides. The 
interior plan consists of one room, provided with a fireplace 
and cozy Oriental fittings. When last seen by the author 
its roof was gradually acquiring a covering of Filipino 
thatch over the shingle, much to the benefit of its general 
lines and harmony with the garden. 
From the doorway one descends, by a series of short stone 
flights, to the edge of the pond and the boat-landing, where 
