March, 1917 
17 
Photograph by Wurts Bros. 
The garden walk that lies exposed to the full glare of the sun, without the softening effect of changing lights and shadows, most needs 
the relief of crannied flowers. Sometimes, as here, a pleasant mingling of formality and naturalness can he achieved. It is on the 
estate of L. H. Lapham, Esq., at New Canaan, Connecticut 
THE FLOWER IN THE CRAxNNIED WALK 
A Pathway Development Wherein the Scorned Weed that Grew 
Between the Stones Has Yielded to Flowers of Worth and Beauty 
M ore years ago than the chronicles of 
any but our oldest families can re¬ 
cord, a tiny plant clung to the soil between 
two of the bricks in a garden pathway of 
old Nieuw Amsterdam. 
How it came there no one knew. A stray 
seed, perhaps, had blown in from the road¬ 
side or caught on one of the hausvrouw’s 
great wooden shoes as she clumped home 
from her milking in the pasture meadow. 
At all events the plant flourished, and be¬ 
cause it was so small and grew in so hidden 
a corner of the otherwise immaculate path, 
it escaped for six whole weeks the watch¬ 
ful eye of the good housewife. Low and 
creeping and tenacious of root, heedless of 
rain and wind and drought, it spread its 
modest mat of leaves and dull blue flowerets 
across the bricks, a pleasant contrast to 
their aching red. 
It could not always go undetected, of 
course. In that spotless household all must 
be perfectly ordained, without doors as 
within. On a day there came a pause on 
ROBERT S. LEMMON 
the way to the well curb, a gasp of shocked 
surprise, a hurried pounce, and the small 
offender of neatness was no more. From 
that day to this, the flower in the crannied 
walk has been banned. 
The Use of Pathway Plants 
Why? Well, I suppose the reason lies 
partly in the fact that theoretically walks 
are made merely to walk on, to lead to 
flowers rather than to grow flowers them¬ 
selves. Then, too, the plants which gen¬ 
erally find roothold in the crevices of bricks 
or flagging belong to that despised company 
generically known as weeds, and conse¬ 
quently are the sworn enemies of all good 
gardeners and flower lovers. 
But consider. Is not all flower growing 
based on an appeal to our artistic sense, a 
stimulation of the imagination through our 
appreciation of beauty? And does not del¬ 
icate contrast, a slight tinge of the unusual, 
perhaps, enhance the power of this appeal ? 
The real flower in the walk, the well 
chosen and planted blossom that is no 
“weed,” may add a touch that is no less 
desirable because seldom given. 
Ideally, the pathway garden is a rare 
blending of flower color and form, a veri¬ 
table landscaping achievement built upon 
careful thought and trial. Color harmony, 
contrast, succession of bloom, permanency 
—each deserves its share of attention, that 
a unified whole may result. Added to these 
considerations, or perhaps preceding them, 
is the fact that the walk itself must not 
cease to be a walk. Nothing within its bor¬ 
ders should grow so tall as to be an incon¬ 
venience ; nothing may spread so broad a 
carpet that it must perforce be trodden on. 
A mere meshwork of leaf and flower out¬ 
lining some of the bricks or all of the larger 
stones is enough for the central part, with a 
few thicker masses at the less-used sides. 
The walk that lies in the full glare of the 
sun is the one which most needs this relief 
of crannied plants. Here are no softening 
{Continued on page 72) 
