THE PATIO AND ITS PLANTING 
WM. A. COOK 
Governing Considerations in the Selection of Plants for this Appropriate Feature of the Southland 
S OMETHING of its history and something of the atmos¬ 
phere invested in that enclosed garden or “out-of- 
doors living room” called the patio is worth while 
before attempting any consideration of its gardening 
prospects, for it becomes increasingly apparent that the dis¬ 
tinctive style of building ofl our Latin-American neighbors is 
the solution of the vexing problem of what to follow in house 
design for the extreme south. 
Though commonly regarded as essentially Spanish, the patio 
harks far back to quite remote times and may be traced to 
Persia and Syria where circumscribed gardens were charac¬ 
terized first by shade as a necessary relief from the scorching 
heat of the sun, and secondly by water as the life-giving “ele¬ 
ment” so essential to the welfare of any plants there enclosed. 
Thus through the Arabs this type of gardening penetrated to 
north Africa and in the eighth century to southern Spain, 
where conditions were not greatly dissimilar. As a natural result 
of the almost continual war-like state of the invaded portions 
of the peninsula, the strong, enclosed patio became the central 
theme around which was built not only the home structure but 
in which centred the home life of the Moor and his family. 
It is this conception, maintained and strengthened throughout 
the feudal wars in Spain, and also during the troublesome days in 
the Spanish colonial period by the Spaniards themselves, 
which has left its indelible stamp on the architecture of 
Latin-America, and which we 
are in turn learning to appro¬ 
priate in more or less justifia¬ 
ble form for our own use in 
Florida and elsewhere. 
While the patio entirely 
enclosed in the walls of the 
house still finds expression in 
many fine homes, yet more 
frequently is the design com¬ 
ing to include a patio en¬ 
closed on only three sides, 
the fourth beingopen to larger 
garden development beyond, 
and this permits more gen¬ 
erous and varied treatment 
from the gardener’s stand¬ 
point. 
Plants for the Entirely 
Enclosed Patio 
O NLY in houses of very 
generous proportions is 
the entirely enclosed patio 
admissible and even then it 
fits best with the two-story 
building. Unless of amply 
broad proportions the appear¬ 
ance is more that of an air- 
shaft than an interior garden. 
Because of the close intimacy 
of this partly indoor, partly 
outdoor living room, every 
detail needs be carefully stud¬ 
ied and plants selected with 
a definite appreciationof their 
effectiveness. 
On outside walls, especially 
where considerable blank 
space occurs, close-clinging vines are indispensable, but on interior 
patio walls an entirely different effect is desired—not to enrich 
the color texture of the wall itself, but to invest the enclosure 
with the atmosphere of a leafy bower. Therefore, instead of 
Ficus pumila, Bignonia unguis-cati, B. argyreo-violescens, and 
subjects of like character, the strength of big, gnarled, woody 
growth scrambling up the walls and making a running frieze of 
color along the upper interior balcony, making shady recesses 
and an overhead almost arbor-like effect of leafage is sought. 
But the foliage should be comparatively small—none of the 
overwhelming effect of rough, coarse-textured foliage of Beau- 
montia, for instance. There should be color, however—strong 
color—to give the atmosphere of the tropics and liven the dead 
stone wall effect. Perhaps the rarer Bougainvilleas of more 
refined color tones best serve this purpose. To the winter 
resident they have the added advantage of being winter bloom¬ 
ers. Deguelia, Asparagus falcatus, Thunbergia grandiflora, 
Tecoma capensis may be used, though by no means entirely 
satisfactory—and for colder sections, Nintooa japonica, or. 
Trachelospermum. Small, clinging vines are not to be arbi¬ 
trarily condemned, to be sure, for it is quite as important to 
preserve and strengthen the dominant character-lines of a 
building as it is to soften and tone down the edges and angles. 
When it comes to planting trees there is a great danger 
of overdoing the thing. Kinds that have rather small, deli¬ 
cate, evergreen foliage and an 
open habit, with branches 
reaching out horizontally to 
lend a “stratified” feeling,are 
most suitable; and preferably 
those of rather small stature 
but fairly quick growth. It is 
difficult, of course, to meet 
all these requirements at one 
time, but Pithecolobium 
dulce, Albizzia Lebbek, Eu¬ 
genia floribunda, and Saraca 
indica present effective com¬ 
binations of some of the qual¬ 
ifications. A tree that has 
grown disproportionately 
large should be removed and 
not be permitted to occlude 
the architectural features of 
the building. 
Shrubs to be used may have 
a heavier foliage effect and 
should be either normally low- 
growing or such as can be 
easily kept down without im¬ 
pairing their beauty, for a 
‘'jungly ” appearance destroys 
that feeling of horizontal 
stratification which should in 
a large measure be preserved. 
Winter bloomers are especi¬ 
ally valuable, and delicate 
perfumes add immeasurable 
charm. The color scheme will, 
of course, have to be worked 
I out for each patio on its own 
merits and in accordance with 
the taste of the owner. The 
list of possibilities is a long 
THE FORMAL PATIO 
Reminiscent of its many Mediterranean prototypes is this court¬ 
yard in the home of Mr. James Deering at Miami, Florida 
1 45 
