July, 1917 
MAKING AN OLD-FASHIONED 
41 
GARDEN 
Definite Principles and Planting Plans Which Enable You to 
Reproduce the Spirit and Color of the Gardens of Long Ago 
A N old-fashioned garden—how the pic- 
. ture dashes across the mind! Lilac 
and laburnum, snowballs and svringas 
arching over the gate and crowding the 
white pickets of the fence. A sundial and 
arbor of delicate Colonial pattern; neatly 
raked gravel paths skirting the box-edged 
beds wherein graciously nod the dowers 
our grandmothers loved—hollyhocks, hon¬ 
esty, roses and heart’s-ease. Above them 
lovingly bends an old lady, a white lace cap 
resting on her snowy hair, her full skirts, 
quaintly patterned, echoing the tints of the 
garden—old rose, dull purple, lavender. 
Many such gardens can still be seen, and 
the old ladies are always smilingly glad to 
entertain you. They will point out their 
treasures with particular pride—the old dg 
tree, the mulberries, and the grapes-—and 
in the arbor before you leave, serve you 
tea in the blue Crown set. 
How can such a garden be reproduced ? 
Was not its evanescent charm too subtle to 
be expressed in terms of beds and walks, 
shrubs and flowers? What was its. secret? 
The old gardens were successful because 
they filled an actual need in the lives of 
the people. To appreciate this it is neces¬ 
sary to know how those people lived, and 
Flowers straggle informally over the 
walks, their background of tall shrubs 
lending an air of length and seclusion 
ELIZABETH LEONARD STRANG 
to study their ideals. A modern reproduc¬ 
tion of an old-fashioned garden must fill 
a like requirement in the lives of people 
today or it cannot be a .success, no matter 
how truly it imitates the old. People are 
not now so dependent on their gardens for 
the necessities of life. The raising of fruits 
and vegetables for practical use, while not 
wholly discontinued, in normal times has 
become subordinate to the growing of flow¬ 
ers for cutting and out-of-door decorative 
effect. Standards, too, have changed. We 
are no longer satisfied with the ungentle 
mixtures of color which the old gardens 
displayed; so today the old - fashioned 
garden must satisfy our modern esthetic 
tastes in color and form. 
The Different Types 
There are distinct kinds of old gardens 
in each section of the country. In the ex¬ 
treme South is the Spanish type, a walled 
enclosure of simple though formal design, 
with roses, heliotrope and carnations, or¬ 
anges and lemons, figs and pomegranates. 
In the Carolinas we associate the walled 
enclosures about the stately old mansions 
with live oaks draped in gray moss, azaleas, 
camellias, and crepe myrtles. 
In Virginia, as with all of the Colonies, 
the earliest gardens were for necessities 
alone, but soon the luxurious ideas of the 
Cavaliers began to assert themselves and 
flowers occupied a definite place in the 
decorative scheme. Living as they did on 
large plantations, there were no homely en¬ 
closures or cottage gardens. The settlers 
brought ideas from Holland, acquired dur¬ 
ing their exile in that country; from Italy, 
and from England, where the Elizabethan 
garden was then at the height of its per¬ 
fection and popularity. 
These early gardens were carefully de¬ 
signed. Usually a terrace next the house, 
with a retaining wall and broad steps of 
stone overlooked the parterre with its knots 
or beds of boxwood. These were often 
very elaborate, the pattern deemed of more 
importance than the flowers which filled 
it. Next came the garden proper, a larger 
enclosure with broad straight walks and 
beds of simple design, the whole always 
enclosed by a hedge or high wall. 
The Quaker gardens, like those of the 
Cavaliers, were laid out along ample pro¬ 
portions and long restful lines, but with 
less of elaboration and luxury as befitted 
their simpler tastes. 
The gardens of the Dutch were trim, 
minute enclosures, their design based on 
the square, the circle, or the oval, kept 
with extreme neatness and planted with 
flowers, vegetables, herbs and fruits, cab- 
The parterre has a strongly formal spirit. 
Simplicity of design and perfect neatness 
suggest the old Elizabethan gardens 
