Art Out-of-Doors 



I do not speak of annual vines in this 

 connection, for the garment Avhich is to 

 unite the walls of the house with the soil 

 should be woven of lasting materials. Other- 

 wise the work will never be thoroughly well 

 accomplished, and, such as it is, will have 

 to be done over again each year. Annual 

 creepers may be planted among those wdiich 

 are permanent, for the sake of still greater 

 variety, but they should not be relied upon 

 as a main resource. 



Nor, when the hardy vines are once 

 planted, should they be left to grow in 

 their own wilful way. A house is not like 

 a cliff or a ruin or a blasted tree, where the 

 wilder the growth of the creeper, the more 

 charming and appropriate is the effect. It 

 is (or should be) a work of art to which all 

 its immediate surroundings are kept subor- 

 dinate ; and its garment of verdure should 

 be adapted to its form, as are the garments 

 of a gracefully draped figure. Its prime 

 end is to give its owners comfortable shel- 

 ter ; so, no matter how great its pictur- 

 esqueness, it should always look orderly and 

 well tended ; its vines should be pruned and 



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