The Garden Magazine, June, 1924 
283 
wild and picturesque region of the 
New World. The blending of the 
two has been marvelously accom¬ 
plished, and in the accomplishment 
water plays an important part. 
Another interesing scheme for a 
house and garden, with a unique 
water feature, grew from an old 
quarry that had filled with water— 
the house was built close to it, of 
stucco, Italian villa fashion, with 
steps leading to the water. By the 
addition of judicious planting a deso¬ 
late bit of rocky land with an aban¬ 
doned quarry in the centre and a view 
of the sea beyond, became a highly 
original habitation, where house and 
land appeared so closely knit that 
they seemed created for each other. 
I N southern Europe the summers 
are so long and hot, that lawns 
as we or the English understand 
them can only be cultivated with the 
greatest difficulty and the “tapis vert” 
is a small and cherished spot. This 
leads to the necessity of producing 
verdure by means of great varieties 
of evergreens, and as flowers through¬ 
out the summer flourish no better 
than the grass, potted plants are much 
used. Above all, there are endless 
water effects. Fountains of every 
kind, pools and streams, and every¬ 
where the sound of water, trickling, 
gurgling, rippling, falling, splashing. 
In France, where there are so many 
elaborate fountains, the water itself 
is often turned to account as part of 
the design—the various jets rising 
and falling at different angles and at 
different heights, form patterns that 
change as the water shifts, like a 
kaleidoscope. 
Both Spain and Italy, in the height 
of the Renaissance, developed what 
they called “secret fountains” ar¬ 
ranged by means of skilfully con¬ 
cealed pipes, parelleling paths and 
flights of steps, or placed in grottos. 
These could be turned on suddenly by 
some secret cock and, where no water 
had been suspected, there would be 
instantaneously myriads of sparkling 
jets forming patterns and sprinkling 
the unwary visitor who did not know 
the secret of the concealed fountain. 
WALL FOUNTAIN WHICH LIFTS A CONVENTIONAL 
CITY GARDEN OUT OF COMMONPLACENESS 
“ In New York the unsightly backyards are gradually being transformed into gardens, which for 
lack of good soil and pure air must depend largely on potted plants, sculpture, and fountains to 
give the magic of gardens.” A solution of simple distinction by Ruth Dean, Landscape Architect 
T HERE has always been endless opportunity for sculptors 
to design fountains, and this opportunity is open now as 
never before in our own country. Happily it is already being 
seized and many of our best sculptors are designing both wall 
and free-standing fountains that can be cast in bronze or cut 
from marble or stone. 1 hese are in the nature of things costly, 
and perhaps for this reason, added to a craving for color, a 
number of artists are beginning to design and model fountains 
in pottery, glazing them with brilliant colors. This idea comes 
to us first from the Orient, and later through Spain, but in these 
countries it was more apt to appear in the form of tiles, cemented 
together and formed into a fountain (see page 149, Nov. 1922, 
G. M.). The pottery fountains are usually modeled in a few pieces. 
cemented together later, and the patterns are usually in simple re¬ 
lief, or incised; and the glaze is, as a rule, one color, though some¬ 
times a neutral tone is chosen for the outside of the fountain, 
and brilliant blue or green reserved for the lining of the bowl. 
Pools are more effective if the level of the bowl is kept low, and 
the water filled to the brim. If the level of the water is that of 
the surrounding garden the best effect is produced. Where a 
fountain or pool is sunk below the level of the garden it should 
have steps leading down to it or even into it. 
In public parks a fountain is often placed at the end of an 
important vista, or in the center of a large scheme, and this may 
also be true of a formal private garden. But the fountains that 
have the greatest charm are those one comes on unexpectedly, 
