Landscape Gardening on a Small Place 
A GARDEN ON LONG ISLAND SOUND DEVELOPED TO GIVE THE BEST SETTING FOR A VIEW—THE 
POSITION OF THE HOUSE IN RELATION TO THE GARDEN—WHAT TO DO WITH A WINDING PATH— 
HAROLD A. CAPARN, LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT 
Elsa R e h m a n n 
T HIS oblong piece of land—less than an acre in all—lies between the 
street and a picturesque inlet of Long Island Sound. An outcrop 
of rock formed the highest part of the ground, which sloped first gently, 
then with an abrupt dip toward the water. A few time-worn, but vigorous, 
apple trees were dotted along the outlines of the land; old, overgrown and 
intergrown native thorn trees were scattered about in big groups. Such 
were the existing conditions. 
The first consideration was given to the location of the house; later 
attention was paid to the development of the ground around it. It is always 
advisable, wherever possible, to consider house and grounds as closely in¬ 
terrelated parts of one problem. Here the unusually well situated house 
fitted in quite perfectly with the design of the grounds. 
The house is located on a rocky ledge. The stone of the cellar excava¬ 
tion was used for the building of the first story. The ledge as an integral 
part of the house, together with the thorn trees, which are by the merest 
chance so picturesquely grouped around it, suggested the name of “Thorn- 
ledge.” 
The house stands very near the street boundary. It was desirable to 
build on the highest and dryest part of the ground, thus also allowing for 
the most expansive and intensive use of the grounds. On a small property, 
this fact is particularly worthv of note. There would have been no ad¬ 
vantage in setting the house back from the village street, which has no 
traffic, while it was very desirable to get a big expanse of lawn as a fore¬ 
ground for the inlet view. 
This seems the most logical development, the most natural solution; the 
only one, in fact; yet you will find that very few people take such important 
matters into consideration in house building. Even when there is no view, 
there are many advantages in developing the back of the house as the 
garden front, as the English and Germans have shown us for many years. 
Over the entrance gate arch grow Carmine Pillar roses and Clematis 
paniculata flanked by privet hedges giving it a touch characteristic of 
European doorway gardens 
The house was set on a rocky ledge at the highest point of the property. From it extends a curving pergola of 
interesting construction that divides the rose garden from the lawn 
Convention has taught us to build our 
houses parallel to the street, and general 
expediency has found this the best solution 
for the average house. Breaking from the 
rule, this house may seem on the plan, at 
least, to have a most unusual tilt. In 
reality, it fits so naturally into that position 
that it appears perfectly at home. It is 
put on that slant for good reason; there is a 
fine feeling, harmonious with the natural 
setting, that indicated a desire of placing 
the house parallel to the main part of the 
stream. 
This position offered an opportunity for 
a most interesting solution of the entrance 
and walk to the front door. It is odd that 
these problems of entrances and entrance 
walks are not developed in more individ¬ 
ualistic ways, and that they are not better 
adapted to the character of the house to 
which they belong. 
Here the inset of the gate on the diag¬ 
onal, the hedge and high shrubbery hide 
the entrance gate until you are almost 
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