A CITY ROOF AS A SUMMER RESORT 
MARIAN HURD McNEELY 
Under the Shade of Vines Which This Pergola Supported 
Even the Semi-tropical Climate of New York was Tempered 
B 5 E DID it all ourselves! Three women, alone and un- 
> aided made it, pergola and all — carried lumber, laid 
h floor, set upright posts, made the boxes and put the 
j) earth into them, planted the seeds and the vines and 
brought the little garden to a lovely 
maturity that makes us wonder why 
every city-bound creature does not 
do likewise. 
The garden’s site is the roof of a five 
story old-fashioned dwelling that has 
become an apartment building; and 
getting the lumber up those five stor- 
ies was an achievement that vitalized 
the Building of the Pyramids into a 
living reality instead of just a pic- 
ture in the red geography. But once 
it was up, the rest was easy. 
First, stringers 2" x 3" were laid 
upon the tin roof 18 inches apart on 
centres, over a floor space 20 feet 
long by 12 feet wide. To these the 
3" flooring was nailed with half-inch 
spaces between strips. Wooden bases 
3" x 10" for the posts were fastened 
to the floor by means of iron knees 
and screws. Upon these the posts, 
eight in number and of 3" x 4" 
material, were in turn fastened with 
similar, though a little smaller, knees. 
And then each post was topped with 
a section of itself 13" long, set across 
it and also fastened with knees. 
The overhead portion was built in 
sections on the floor, of 2" x 2" 
strips 3 feet long nailed across a 
pair of stringers of the 2" x 3" ma- 
terial set 15" apart. These sections 
were then put in 
place and spiked to 
the cross pieces atop 
the posts; and the 
structure, though 
light, was as firm and 
strong as one could 
possibly desire. 
Of the left-over 
pieces of lumber we 
made five flower 
boxes. And then we 
had two sloppy days 
with brown stain and 
paint brushes; and our 
framework took on a 
weathered look. 
Flower boxesandsome 
big lard tubs got the 
same coat of brown. 
From the country we 
had shipped in a dozen 
bags of good garden 
earth with which we 
filled these; and then 
a swinging hammock was carried up, section by section, and 
set up, some steamer chairs were added, also a hanging 
basket. (Woven to be a Chinaman’s hat but swinging a 
pan of Wandering Jew. “Which 1 should call a mesalliance,” 
said the first guest. But they got 
on famously!) 
And so did the garden. In a 
month’s time the vines — Woodbine, 
Wild Grape, and Moonflower — were 
at the top of the posts and began 
to roof us in, and the lard tubs were 
a mass of green with lusty seedling 
Marigolds, Daisies, and Rudbeckia. 
Pansies did not live up to our ex- 
pectations of them and Nasturtiums 
died, killing our faith as well; but 
fortunately we had not relied on 
either alone. Actually the Moon- 
flowers gave us the greatest pleasure, 
1 think, for they grew by leaps and 
bounds and blossomed of course 
nightly, making our garden loveliest 
when we were best able to enjoy 
it. 
For the benefit of those adventur- 
ous souls who may want to follow in 
our footsteps, here is the page from 
our book of records labelled “ Roof 
Garden.” The total cost was two 
cents less than 882; probably it 
would be twice that now — or more. 
Lumber: — 14 pieces 2" x 3", 12' 
long for stringers; 4 pieces 3" x 4”, 
16' long for posts; 1 piece 3" x 4", 
10' long for caps; 1 piece 3" x 8", 
10' long for bases; 4 pieces 2" x 3", 
20' long, 8 pieces 2" x 3", 12' long 
and 4 pieces 2" x 2", 
18' long for over-head. 
Flooring, 900 sq. ft. 
3" wide x 12' long. 
Miscellaneous: 
Hardware, nails, 
spikes, screws, etc.; 
16 pairs 3” knees; 24 
pairs 2§" knees; stain 
and turpentine; ham- 
mock and stand; 2 
canvas steamer chairs; 
2 straight chairs; 6 
butter and lard tubs; 
12 sacks earth; 2 
Woodbine plants 
(brought from woods); 
2 Wild Grape (brought 
from woods) ; seeds of 
Moonflower. Mari- 
gold, Nasturtium, 
Pansies; Daisies 
(brought from coun- 
try); Rudbeckia con- 
tributed by a friend. 
EVEN BEFORE THE VINES WERE VISIBLE 
Our roof garden caught the most elusive 
little breezes and was delightfully cool 
THE HOUSETOPS SEEM SO LOGICAL FOR 
SUMMER LIVING QUARTERS EVERYWHERE 
Here is that privacy which we all set such store by, as 
well as space and airiness up under the sky and stars 
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