HOUSE AND GARDEN 
August, 
1910 
103 
There is a very practical suggestion in this 
zig-zag vista treatment for every place that 
can boast a grove of evergreens 
A fountain looms up at the end of the first 
vista after one turns into the grove 
is transformed and 
the crime of man be¬ 
comes a masterpiece. 
The foregoing is 
merely to set forth a 
principle; now for 
the example : It was 
several years ago 
that the writer vis¬ 
ited the Stevens garden at Bernardsville, N. J., and his only 
records are photographic and a very pleasant memory. The plan 
here shown is probably not accurate in every detail, but it is 
truthful in the main and shows clearly the scheme and general 
intention. As a matter of fact there never was a plan made. 
The landscape.architect, Mr. Daniel Langton, took off his coat, 
rolled up his sleeves and waded into the problem with a gang 
of Italians. Of course there was some sort of scheme in mind, 
but the details were problems to deal with as they were met. 
In the beginning it was but a comparatively compact cedar 
grove on a gentle slope, in view of the house and separated 
from it by a commodious lawn. Were you to ask for it, you 
would be shown an opening in the trees, which, owing to their 
color, is barely noticable. Closer investigation would reveal a 
marble sun-dial at the end of a short avenue. Following this to 
its end you become 
aware of a pathway 
through the cedars 
to the right, at the 
end of which is a 
simple fountain. An¬ 
other step and a 
long vista opens up 
to the left. This is 
the scheme—a series of vistas slightly varied, with some slight 
artifice at their terminals. There is no general effect, but rather 
a score or so of pleasant surprises. Everywhere has nature been 
consulted. Such trees as by their character or size demanded 
attention were respected, even if they encroached upon the 
straight lines of the path. Undesirable specimens were cut out. 
and their place as well as other natural voids were planted with 
flowers of a simple and half wild character—Golden Glow, Iris, 
Phlox, Tiger Lilies, Rhododendrons, Honeysuckle, single Roses, 
Ferns and the like. This apparent effort at straightening does 
not effect this end ; on the contrary it tends to emphasize the 
irregularity. A look at the plan suggests formality at once, but 
the thing itself conveys a far different impression. 
Here and there one finds accidental effects such as scattered 
(Continued on page 121) 
Close by a short flight of stone steps stands 
an Italian oil jar 
There is an interesting variety in the character of the terra-cotta and marble fragments that have been chosen to mark focal points at the 
end of the vistas 
