204 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
May, IgII 
A Garden Miniature Arbor 
By George A. Avery 
SOMEWHAT frail and perishable trifle 
this, that rears its rustic form in all the 
majesty of leaves; or a thing that gives 
the little builder a fair castle which puts 
out of business for an outing day its 
neighboring big house in the rear. But 
we are sure that cosiness reigns within the 
enclosure; the patchy lights and shades are as real as those 
that suffuse an imperial pergola; and withal, the cool re- 
treat is more than a possession, it is a creation, built by 
Fig. |—The arbor in construction, with upright posts covered with wire 
the hands and wits of the youthful architects, who are en- 
joying within, a 5 o’clock tea. Any child as old as they can 
make one a little better or a little worse with the means 
at hand, which comprise garden dimensions of small extent, 
no mechanical skill, and only a few cents’ worth of outlay. 
When finished, no child labor contributory to its erection 
could have its stick more deeply notched by success than in 
this work of so pleasing a form, embracing so comfortable 
a nest. ‘he whole effect is charming and the chances for 
enjoyment are so fine within its shady precinct that one 
could scarce suggest a better novelty for the children’s play- 
ground acre. 
It might be that, even if this arbor plan and scope had 
been calculated out to a hair by an expert, no better result 
could have been reached, for it is an ideal shelter, and one 
bound to feel its way into a child’s ambition to imitate or 
to excel. 
In the engraving, the first work is shown in Fig. 1, and 
it gives a view of the skeleton or frame of both a flat roofed 
and a pinnacled arbor, the smaller of which is seen to be 
stanch enough to support the use of a ladder in its con- 
struction. ‘The completed work is in Fig. 2 where the up- 
right posts of the tepee frame are hidden by foliage. 
An odd bit of planning (Fig. 1) is exhibited by having 
the uprights in the rear extend beyond the base, while the 
front ones are well within the enclosure. Whether this was 
simply doing the builders mechanical worst, or was intended 
to make a small open court effect up to the edge or front 
of the tea table, is a question. But, like all other items of 
eek. 
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Fig. 2—The completed arbor covered with vines 
this novelty in construction, it is a mere detail, and one 
may go on extending the wire round the rear, sides, and 
part way up the front, and tie and nail and brace without 
any particular concern, for time will cover all inequalities 
with an ample outergrowth of grapevine, morning-glory, 
wistaria, or any one of a multitude of green climbing plants 
with eager tendrils. 
An appreciation of the value of the arborette is made 
easy by the exceptional picture of the doll’s party at a 
table spread with petite ware and good things enjoyed by 
the youthful arborites, an accomplishment which is likely 
to make a practical breach in many of the old-fashioned 
forms of outdoor playhouse amusements, for instance, such 
as the mud-pie bakery. So one may apprehend, who does 
not lack prophetic instinct, that structures such as these will 
yet dot many a yard or garden in the summer season, and 
be a bower where the child arbor-wife can entertain her 
little guests, the studiously inclined youth can work in peace, 
or the boy and his dog can hold their leafy fort. 
