ITALIAN VILLAS 
green. He should remember that the terraces and 
formal gardens adjoined the house, that the ilex or 
laurel walks beyond were clipped into shape to effect a 
transition between the straight lines of masonry and the 
untrimmed growth of the woodland to which they led, 
and that each step away from architecture was a nearer 
approach to nature. 
The cult of the Italian garden has spread from Eng- 
land to America, and there is a general feeling that, by 
placing a marble bench here and a sun-dial there, Italian 
“effects” may be achieved. The results produced, 
even where much money and thought have been ex- 
pended, are not altogether satisfactory ; and some critics 
have thence inferred that the Italian garden is, so to 
speak, untranslatable , that it cannot be adequately ren- 
dered in another landscape and another age. 
Certain effects, those which depend on architectural 
grandeur as well as those due to colouring and age, are 
no doubt unattainable ; but there is, none the less, much 
to be learned from the old Italian gardens, and the first 
lesson is that, if they are to be a real inspiration, they 
must be copied, not in the letter but in the spirit. That 
is, a marble sarcophagus and a dozen twisted columns 
will not make an Italian garden ; but a piece of ground 
laid out and planted on the principles of the old garden- 
craft will be, not indeed an Italian garden in the literal 
sense, but, what is far better, a garden as well adapted 
to its surroundings as were the models which inspired it. 
I 2 
h 
