January, 1918 
23 
Gillies 
The garden was never really planned—it just happened. A natural hollow south of the house called 
for some kind of special treatment, and the solution of the problem is seen today within the limits of 
this little circle with its trim box edgings, simple pool and four rose arches 
A FORMAL GARDEN of UNIQUE LINES 
The Development of a Natural Hollow on the Estate of Mr. and Airs. George IT. Hill 
at Stamford, Connecticut—An Unusual Blending of Formality and Friendliness 
Y OU come upon it unexpectedly, at the 
head of the drive that sweeps up the hill 
from the valley road. On that boldly curving 
approach you have gained an impression of a 
great, rolling lawn, of trees and a big white 
house crowning the crest ahead, of wide out¬ 
looks and unhampered spaciousness every¬ 
where. And then at the end, when the car with 
a final purr tops the shoulder of the hill and 
glides toward the entrance, it appears sud¬ 
denly close beside you, the most intimate, 
charming and wholly perfect little formal 
garden imaginable. 
The garden was never really planned—it 
just happened. When the remodeling of the 
old house was finished, when the garage and 
greenhouses and landscaping were under way, 
there still remained undeveloped that natural 
hollow to the south of the house where the 
little garden is today. It could be filled, of 
course, carrying the level out to the drive and 
the garage beyond; but that would have neces¬ 
sitated the creation of a new focal point for 
the view from the house entrance. The con¬ 
ception of a sunken garden was a logical 
enough alternative—the peculiar merit of the 
idea lies largely in the way in which it was 
carried out. Though formal, the garden has 
marked intimacy; though sunken, it blends 
R O B E R T STELL 
in harmoniously with the surroundings. 
As it stands after several years of develop¬ 
ment the garden is some 60' in diameter. 
About the pool, with its simple ornament of 
irregular concrete in the center, the box edged 
beds and gravel paths are geometrically ar¬ 
ranged, with the four white latticed arches 
serving at once as accent points and places of 
physical and visual entrance and exit. Iris, 
peonies, narcissi and other perennials fill the 
beds with a succession of bloom and foliage, 
but perhaps the greatest floral beauty of all is 
in the pink Dorothy Perkins roses which climb 
the arches and form festoons between them. 
The latter effect is quite simply achieved by 
training the longest shoots from either side of 
each arch, draping them, as it were, to low 
stakes along the circumference of the outer 
circle of beds. 
As the photograph shows, the garden is more 
than just a true circle punctuated by the arches. 
Four additional crescent shaped beds, similar 
in character to the others, round out the scheme 
and serve to prevent any impression of too 
great regularity. 
As seen from the house, the immediate back¬ 
ground of the garden is formed by a line of 
massive willows on the right as you look at the 
picture, a massing of rhododendrons as you 
approach the point from which the photograph 
was taken, and adjoining these a rough stone 
abutment which acts as a retaining wall for 
the drive and includes a recessed niche and 
stone seat opposite the nearest arch. To avoid 
any suggestion of bareness this wall is crowned 
by a wide border of perennials between it and 
the driveway proper. Since the stone abut¬ 
ment faces north and consequently receives 
little sun, no attempt has been made to con¬ 
vert it into a wall garden. A few shade lov¬ 
ing rock plants may be used in the crevices, 
but it is open to question whether they would 
add greatly to the present effectiveness of the 
dry laid stones, which have their own rugged 
beauty. 
The formal garden'which is not the result 
of some carefully conceived and formulated 
plan is seldom successfully carried out. Yet 
here in this little Connecticut hollow is found 
the exception which proves the rule. In a 
setting essentially that of a large estate it pre¬ 
sents a note of contrast which is strikingly 
appropriate. One glimpse of its intimate path¬ 
ways, of the enticing pool with its reflections of 
the surrounding trees and flowers, and the 
whole place slips easily into scale. There has 
been added the final touch which completes 
the landscaping picture. 
