8 4 
HOUSE AND GARDEN 
August, 
' A 
Edged with gravel paths and wide borders of hardy blooms, the lapis Vert forms the 
chief grace of outdoors “Wychwood" 
for the winter season and assumes the role of sun-parlor. 
All the finishings of “Wychwood” are exceedingly simple and 
sensible. The living-room is paneled from floor to ceiling with 
North Carolina pine sheathing, first stained and then put in place 
so that any subsequent shrinkage of the wood will not leave 
an unsightly mark where no stain has penetrated. This paneling, 
though inexpensive and severely plain, is highly effective and 
pleasing and affords a satisfactory demonstration of one of the 
many available but little used paneling resources of moderate 
cost. The ceiling is beamed and the spaces between the beams 
filled with light-hued plaster. 
The same North Carolina sheathing has been used for panel¬ 
ing elsewhere in the house, but in the hallway and dining-room 
it has been painted white instead of ammonia-stained, a coat of 
orange shellac being first applied to prevent the resin from work¬ 
ing through and discoloring the paint. The floors of the same 
North Carolina stock have been given a pleasant color by apply¬ 
ing a coat of the ammonia stain used on the paneling of the 
living-room. 
In general exterior aspect “Wychwood” is unpretentious but 
comfortable and inviting. Its appearance, from whatever point 
one views, bespeaks the home. Not the least telling of its char¬ 
acteristics that make for ease, hospitality and confidence of mien 
is the fact that it sits down on the ground. The tiled entrance 
porch is almost at the drive level, the long piazza is scarcely raised 
from the lawn and a close inspection all round the house will 
■disclose no raw foundations nor inquisitive cellar windows pop¬ 
ping their heads above ground. 
There is scarcely anything that will make a house appear more 
gauche and awkward than to be perched up on high foundations 
with a course of ugly cellar windows staring like a man-o’-war’s 
portholes. In such sorry predicament it is about as graceful as 
a growing lad who has rapidly become too tall for his breeches. 
At “Wychwood" the cellar windows open into wells or areawavs 
of sufficient size to admit plenty of light and air, and in this 
manner the house is kept close to the ground. The placing of 
cellar windows seems a small matter to require so much atten¬ 
tion, but the space devoted to it is justified by the frequent of¬ 
fenses against both good taste and common sense in this respect. 
The house, standing somewhat back in the trees so that the 
rear portion is almost wholly hid from view, does not give one 
the impression of its real extent. The neutral gray of the walls 
also contributes to the inconspicuous aspect while the broad ex¬ 
panse of roof, sweeping down to the eaves of the piazza, tones in 
with the thick surrounding foliage and bears out the feeling of a 
one-story structure when viewed from the garden front. It is a 
pleasant surprise to find, upon entering, how spacious the interior 
really is, and the way it gradually unfolds gives the agreeably 
mysterious sensation that there is some unexplored part still in 
reserve. The walls are of timber coated with concrete laid on 
wire mesh, and the exterior woodwork is painted green, though 
not too dark, as is often the case. 
The open arrangement of the house inside, combined with its 
sheltered and well shaded position and its exposure, makes it 
peculiarly comfortable and cool in summer. The southwest 
breezes can have a free passage right through the rooms and halls 
and, when the house door and the long window opposite it are 
opened, the circulation is complete. The same conditions of shel¬ 
ter and exposure also render it snug and warm in winter. 
But the chief grace and charm of “Wychwood” lies in its gar¬ 
den. From the terrace one descends a flight of steps of fitted 
boulders to a broad tapis vert, edged with gravel paths, that ex¬ 
tends all the way to the lily pool at the farther end. On either 
side of the tapis vert, and its flanking gravel walks, are wide 
borders filled with masses of hardy blooms. Behind these, again, 
are other gravel paths, while the whole garden is enclosed by 
hedges. 
The entire scheme, as the plan indicates, is marked by extreme 
simplicity, but is immensely effective. There is no attempt at 
any architectural embellishments save the kerb of the lily pool, 
the stone benches on each side of it. the two little wooden arbors 
midway the area, and, above the terrace, the pergola abutting on 
the piazza. 
Masses of poppies, larkspur, phlox and other bright-hued blos¬ 
soms yield varied and striking color notes, while less showy 
plants, most of them hardy and requiring but a minimum 
of attention, in their humble way enrich the chromatic harmony. 
“But why,” the reader asks, “is the apple tree at the upper cor¬ 
ner of the steps out of axis with everything?” That old, gnarled 
apple tree is one of the chief joys of the garden, and bv its very 
position gives piquancy to the whole effect. 
Master and mistress have labored to keep that tree alive and 
in good health, and between it and the bird bath in the middle 
of the tapis vert there is a close connection. The birds like one 
as well as the other, and make constant use of both. Indeed, the 
(Continued on page no) 
Hard by the lily pond at the farther end, a gnarled tree strives to outtwist its fel¬ 
low up near the house 
