The Garden Magazine, August, 1921 
379 
ishes, despite a blistering sun, in the shape of somebody’s hand- 
tended “roof garden.” 
Forces are being marshalled to aid this reclamation; organ- 
ized forces such as “The City Gardens Club” five or six hun- 
dred strong, “The National Plant, Flower and Fruit Guild” 
with its four hundred or more centres of distribution, and simi- 
; lar associations. A hopeful sign, this banding together for 
the furtherance of the city garden, and one full of promise. 
Perhaps one of the best things about loving a garden is the 
link it forges between followers of the craft. Kindly com- 
. radery, a willingness to show and share made my visits to vari- 
ous city gardens an unmitigated pleasure. 
What strikes me most on thinking them over is the total 
divergence of treatment and result. With a starting point 
practically identical no two gardens have been developed in at 
I all the same manner; an interesting revelation of the possibili- 
ties of individual impress on material fundamentally the same, 
i The accompanying plans, roughly sketched from memory, illus- 
; trate what is meant, and possibly hold practical suggestion for 
] other aspiring city garden builders. 
Of course, the blankest of stone fronts may have all sorts of 
i surprises tucked away out of sight, but more frequently they re- 
. fleet the hidden glory in subtle ways that the perceptive seeker 
after gardens soon learns to recognize. 
Questing down the by-street, 1 came upon one house, re- 
i freshingly green and gray between conventional brown and 
dingy-red neighbors. Its window boxes — like smiling eyes set 
in a stem face — were filled with Daisies and English Ivy, both 
; valiantly withstanding the long drouth and assuredly meaning 
; “ garden within ”; a promise amply fulfilled, as 1 soon discovered, 
i Window boxes quite often, 1 find, serve as gay little banners to 
1 flag the attention and beckon the passer. 
A pleasant sense of spaciousness pervaded this garden (Plan 1) ; 
that, and the unparched greenness of it struck me first as 
1 stood on the low doorstep looking out. Indeed the several 
other gardens seen were all in surprisingly good condition and 
t more vivid in color than many portions of my own Long Island 
I after three weeks of rainlessness. 
The barriers between two back yards had been abolished and 
an enclosing wall of brick, stucco-finished, had been built around 
i the outer margin of both, furnishing an excellent background 
[ for the planting of the new area. Several rather large trees 
i and its north location threw this garden into the shaded or semi- 
I shaded class which necessitated special consideration in the 
; matter of planting. A pool of fair dimensions and attractive 
shape; a Sixteenth Century Tuscan Madonna inset in the far 
I wall with more than a hint of heavenly blue tile; some corner 
i pergolas, conveniently outfitted with table and chairs for supper 
in the long twilight, were outstanding features of this garden 
that might reconcile the lover of outdoors to a summer in town 
On right and left, close against the dwellings, the garden mounds 
up into two little rock-work structures filled with Ferns, I re- 
member, and Coreopsis. If one follows the stepping-stones 
through the grass past the borders, all sort of things are come 
upon; plants tried and not found wanting. (Among ever- 
greens, so the owner writes, “the ones that do best are Andro- 
meda and Blue Spruce.”) This garden is, in fact, safely past 
“the teething stage” and has already a sturdy, well-established 
aspect. 
For one still in its infancy, the garden of Plan II is a re- 
markably interesting bit of planting. Planned by Mr. Hewitt, 
an architect, and executed by Bobbink and Atkins, it has taken 
hold and is determinedly thriving. 
A massed planting of evergreens, both conifers and broad- 
leaved, has been thrown across the far end, so that one may sip 
one’s tea in the patio and rest eyes, wearied with the ceaseless 
movement of a never resting city, on quiet greens and the 
successively unfolding bloom of Laurel, Rhododendron, and 
Azaleas of several sorts. 
On the east boundary a low, open-mesh wire fence has been 
substituted for the customary high board affair, establishing a 
friendly give-and-take in the way of vista with the neighboring 
yard, which is also attractively gardened. 
The total effect is of a square rather than the narrow rect- 
angle characterizing the average city yard; an effect gained by 
skilful landscaping which has foreshortened and given an illusion 
of breadth — a trick worth noting. 
Another happy handling, simple and with a distinct touch 
of individuality is that indicated in Plan 1 1 1 which presents the 
cheeriest of backgrounds, and yet one quite unaggressive in 
character and not at all apt to grow tiresome. Soft canary 
yellow broken at intervals by gray-green lattices; a mere mat- 
ter of paint — and applied imagination! Corner cup-boards, so 
to speak, introduced at the back of the garden, obviate mon- 
otony of shape and make convenient little toolhouses. 
A second bit of ingenuity, very effective for several reasons, 
is a low wall of flat paving stones piled in overlapping fashion 
to a height of two or three feet. It is first of all in itself a rather 
interesting structure; then it furnishes a welcome division of 
area; and— perhaps best service of all— stimulates curiosity as to 
what may lie beyond it. This year diminutive rows of Beans, 
Lettuce, Radishes, and Parsley are tucked away behind; next 
season there may be, so the owner tells me, Mint, Thyme, Mar- 
joram, and kindred herbs refreshingly pungent and reminiscent 
of peacefuler days. And is not that what gardens are chiefly 
for after all to lead us in one way or another to peacefuller days? 
About the pool (centre of garden) are Iris cristata 
and Tulips both Cottage and Darwin, of which 
there are in the planting scheme all told more than 
a thousand, in flowering time an effective display. 
Ferns, Sedums. and Coreopsis among the rock work 
at right and left. A background of evergreens 
along the side and rear wall fringed with shrubs, 
Iris, Tulips, etc. Mrs. Stewart writes that most of 
the material tried was discouragingly slow in tak- 
ing hold but that "every year the garden grows 
better and more thrifty. Plants that have seemed 
hopeless have persisted in trying and sometimes 
'won out.”' — Garden of Mrs. John Wood Stewart, 
Founder and President of the National Plant, 
Flower and Fruit Guild, West 13th St., New York 
PLAN II 
Cedars, Arborvitae, 
Rhododend rons. 
Pink Magnolia, 
Laurel, Flowering 
Almond, and As- 
paragus (plumosus) 
forma massed plant- 
ing of permanent 
character and varied charm. Peonies, 
Dahlias, Lupins, and Marigolds add 
seasonable color; and a fence so 
splashed with Vinca, Ivy, and the rose 
of Dorothy Perkins Ramblers has no 
possible excuse for bleakness. Four 
sturdy specimens of Taxus accent the 
corners of the inner square which is 
planted to grass. The adjoining patio 
with its view of the whole is a restful 
spot in which to linger — a pleasant 
place to sew and sup, to read, or 
merely dream. — Garden of Mrs. Cornelius Poillon, Member 
of the City Gardens Club, East 70th St., New York City 
J' l ' ~~ -S-» ^ * 'I ' 
PLAN III 
Though newly 
started this 
season, the 
garden when 
visited looked 
considerably 
more mature 
than its scant 
four months 
of age. The 
central grass 
plot was surprisingly luxuriant after a somewhat 
prolonged dry spell; there were sturdy little Privets 
standing sentinel along the terrace edge; Honey- 
suckle and Morning-glory vines well ascramble up 
the enclosing fence of soft canary yellow — a most 
effective background by the way. In the borders 
were Gladiolus, Marigolds, and similar standbys: 
and a peep over the low stone dividing wall revealed 
diminutive rows of Beans, Lettuce. Parsley, etc. 
which were already serving my hostess’ table 
- — Garden of Mrs. Henry B Culver. Member of the 
City Gardens Club, East 45th St., New York City 
