﻿September, 
  1907 
  

  

  AMERICAN 
  HOMES 
  AND 
  GARDENS 
  

  

  3 
  2 
  5 
  

  

  Notable 
  American 
  Gardens 
  

  

  By 
  Barr 
  Ferree 
  

  

  Mrs. 
  Guy 
  Norman's 
  Sicilian 
  Garden 
  at 
  Beverly 
  Cove, 
  Massachusetts 
  

  

  SEA-GARDEN 
  is 
  to 
  me 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  most 
  

   striking 
  and 
  interesting 
  of 
  gardens. 
  Per- 
  

   haps 
  it 
  is 
  because 
  the 
  coast 
  I 
  was 
  earliest 
  

   familiar 
  with 
  was 
  a 
  sandy 
  waste, 
  in 
  which 
  

   only 
  the 
  poorest 
  sort 
  of 
  shrubs 
  grew, 
  and 
  

   the 
  scarce, 
  stumpy 
  trees 
  were 
  hardly 
  worthy 
  

   to 
  be 
  dignified 
  with 
  such 
  a 
  name; 
  perhaps 
  

   it 
  is 
  because 
  I 
  have 
  only 
  seen 
  such 
  gardens 
  of 
  late, 
  and 
  hence 
  

   they 
  come 
  to 
  me 
  with 
  every 
  quality 
  of 
  novelty. 
  But 
  what- 
  

   ever 
  the 
  reason, 
  a 
  sea-garden 
  has 
  irresistible 
  charm 
  to 
  me, 
  

   the 
  charm 
  of 
  novelty, 
  the 
  charm 
  of 
  beauty, 
  the 
  charm 
  of 
  

   vast 
  outlooks, 
  the 
  charm 
  that 
  comes 
  from 
  gently 
  moving 
  

   water 
  in 
  closest 
  proximity 
  to 
  flower-decked 
  land. 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  a 
  far 
  cry 
  from 
  Sicily 
  to 
  the 
  North 
  Shore 
  of 
  Massa- 
  

   chusetts 
  Bay. 
  It 
  is 
  true 
  that 
  almost 
  everything 
  native 
  to 
  

   Europe 
  and 
  Asia 
  has, 
  at 
  one 
  time 
  or 
  another, 
  and 
  in 
  more 
  

   or 
  less 
  evident 
  shape, 
  been 
  transplanted 
  to 
  America. 
  Our 
  

  

  architects, 
  certainly, 
  have 
  not 
  been 
  behind 
  hand, 
  or 
  unduly 
  

   modest, 
  in 
  appropriating 
  to 
  themselves 
  any 
  good 
  thing 
  they 
  

   could 
  find 
  already 
  done 
  by 
  others. 
  But 
  surely 
  a 
  Sicilian 
  

   garden 
  on 
  the 
  North 
  Shore 
  promised 
  too 
  great 
  a 
  contrast 
  

   to 
  have 
  true 
  reality. 
  Needless 
  to 
  say 
  I 
  approached 
  Mrs. 
  

   Norman's 
  garden 
  with 
  the 
  liveliest 
  curiosity. 
  

  

  From 
  the 
  land 
  it 
  is 
  a 
  garden 
  of 
  the 
  utmost 
  privacy; 
  one 
  

   scarce 
  sees 
  a 
  jar-top 
  above 
  the 
  inclosure 
  that 
  screens 
  the 
  

   property 
  from 
  the 
  bounding 
  roadway. 
  You 
  come 
  into 
  it 
  

   from 
  the 
  house, 
  and 
  the 
  whole 
  of 
  its 
  beautiful 
  loveliness 
  is 
  

   spread 
  out 
  before 
  you, 
  seen 
  in 
  a 
  glance, 
  and 
  then 
  one 
  begins 
  

   to 
  take 
  in 
  the 
  wonderful 
  detail 
  of 
  its 
  design 
  and 
  planting. 
  

  

  The 
  garden 
  is 
  not 
  large, 
  and 
  fortunately 
  a 
  garden 
  need 
  

   not 
  be 
  large 
  to 
  be 
  beautiful. 
  But 
  it 
  is 
  a 
  garden 
  that, 
  I 
  am 
  

   very 
  sure, 
  has 
  heavily 
  taxed 
  the 
  ingenuity 
  of 
  the 
  designer, 
  

   Mr. 
  Brown, 
  of 
  the 
  well 
  known 
  firm 
  of 
  Boston 
  architects, 
  

   Little 
  & 
  Brown. 
  Not 
  that 
  any 
  bit 
  of 
  it 
  is 
  forced, 
  but 
  it 
  

  

  Terrace 
  Below 
  Terrace 
  Descend 
  to 
  the 
  Outer 
  Supporting 
  Wall 
  

  

  