74 
House & Garden 
A GARDEN OF MULBERRIES AND ROMANCE 
JJ’hose Shade is Crowded With The Half-for gotten Glamour of Nell Gw'yn 
And Whose Design is Filled With Ideas For Other City Gardens 
MINGA POPE DURYEA 
T HIS London garden was part of her 
mulberry yard when Nell Gwyn, 
two-and-a-half centuries ago, was 
finding high favor in John Dryden's 
comedies. Without a doubt the pretty little 
actress received her distinguished play¬ 
wright there, and it is even possible that 
among its over-sweet fruit she lingered with 
Charles, her royal suitor. Now, of course, 
her garden is gone, but some of its progeny 
in the shape of two great mulberry trees, 
still stand in this present day section. 
And almost as notable as their romantic 
shade is the fact that there should be a 
kind of tree, able through twenty-five decades 
of London soot, to reproduce and thrive so 
vigorously. Yet in addition to this well 
established record of its hardiness the mul¬ 
berry is a tree of delightful shape and foli¬ 
age. These must be encouraging items for 
those owners of town gardens who have 
watched every sort of tree but the scrawny 
ailanthus droop and grow dismal in the 
heavy atmosphere of the city. 
A garden of unusual charm lies below 
the spreading branches of these trees. It 
is a place filled with a sense of snugness, 
seclusion, comfort, and leisureliness, brought 
on by its deep-set design, its well knit en¬ 
closures, its shade, and opportunities for 
The stone wall at the 
end of the garden is set 
with a Della Robbia plac- 
que, which makes of the 
old masonry a beautiful 
mass of outdoor decoration 
The beds are raised 2’ 
above the path and cen¬ 
tral plot and held by dry 
retaining walls of brick: 
a method of construction 
which insures good drainage 
repose. It also has abundant beauty, 
though you find yourself taking this for 
granted, very much as you sometimes take 
the accompaniment of a song for granted. 
First of all you notice the garden's calm 
and comfort, then you find that these things 
have been produced in a way strangely 
agreeable to the eye. You notice the warm 
loveliness of the terra cotta water jars in 
each corner of the central space; the pleas¬ 
ant tone and pattern of the red tile pave¬ 
ment; the blue shade of the mulberry 
branches on the white painted furniture 
that fills so neatly the semi-circular bay of 
the garden; the clipped acacias in the 
angles of the walls; the compact yet un¬ 
crowded Arrangement of plants in the beds, 
and most of all the sunken paths which 
give the garden its most indelible stamp 
of distinction. Finally you realize that 
none of these details of mere beauty has 
been achieved at the expense of the garden's 
peaceful delight. Nothing has been de¬ 
vised solely for admiration, but everything 
has been planned for enjoyment. 
The most important feature of the 
