AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



September, 1907 



surely required rare skill to put so much 

 of interest into so small a space and ar- 

 range each separate part as a distinct con- 

 tribution to the effect of the whole. 



It is not until you have walked down 

 the narrow path to the bounding sea-wall, 

 and peeped over its upcurved top, that you 

 discover that it is practically all made 

 ground, held within a stoutly built retain- 

 ing wall, of which the one you are leaning 

 upon is the crown. And why not? Surely 

 all this lovely flower growth must have 

 earth in which its roots may feed, and the 

 sharp decline of the natural coast line of- 

 fers little enough in the way of a garden 

 site. So this jut of rock — for it is little 

 else — was walled around on its exposed 

 sides; the space thus formed was filled in 

 with earth; and then, on the level ground 

 thus gained, the garden was laid out. 



It was walled with cemented borders; 

 paths were laid down according to a set 

 diagram; terraces were contrived of stone 

 and cement; two great columns, with a 

 pergola trellis were stood up in the cen- 

 ter of one wall; the furthest wall was 

 treated with upward curves, with cemented 

 vases directly on the sea; a stone arch 

 served as the exit or the ingress, according 

 to your own direction, at the end of an- 

 other path; and then the center was filled 

 with flower beds — all cement bordered — 

 and the whole was ready for the planting. 



I suppose it would not be quite right to 

 say that every blooming plant was taught 

 to bloom here, but I can not be far wrong 

 in such an assertion. The garden fairly 

 blazes with green and color, great masses 

 of bloom overhanging the paths and run- 



,nd Paths by the S. 



September, 1907 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



ning riot at every point. I was not for- 

 tunate enough to see the garden from the 

 water, but surely it must make a note of 

 wonderful color seen from without, a 

 brilliant beacon of light on this grass- 

 grown, tree-bordered coast. 



Fortunately I need not enlarge on the 

 beauties of the garden, since the accom- 

 panying photographs make that clearer 

 than any words of mine could. At the 

 most I can but speak briefly of it, and 

 roughly describe its situation. It is an 

 open garden without a tree, that is to say, 

 no tree grows in the garden itself. But its 

 borders are not treeless. Just without it, 

 near the house, are some fine old trees, and 

 a giant oak overhangs the boat landing. 

 This foliage gives the garden an abundant 

 frame of green, and leaves the whole of 

 the garden space free for the planting of 

 flowers and the cultivation of brilliant 

 natural colors. The great jars which stand 

 atop the uppermost terrace, just below the 

 house, undoubtedly add largely to the 

 south Italian character of the garden and 

 from whence it derives its descriptive name. 

 Pots and jars and vases of various sorts 

 are stood upon the paths and along the 

 walls, so that no single spot is without its 

 own plant, no opportunity wasted that 

 plants may grow and flowers bloom. 



Of all the qualities that go to make a 

 garden, that of novelty is distinctly the 

 least important. A garden is not made 

 because it is something "new," but because 

 it is something beautiful. Mrs. Norman's 

 garden is unquestionably novel, but its 

 novelty lies wholly in its situation and in 

 its architectural framework. As a garden 



An OuUook Over the Waler 



The Path Below the Upper Terrace 



