Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-03-07
An Architects View.

An Architects View.
4 paper was recently read by Mr.. Mer-
vyn Mccartney before the Royal Institute
of British Architects entitled Garden
Architectural and its reading is a wei
come change from the dreary repettions
on this subject. 1t is new to find an
architect. and among the best. frankly
admitting the ugly and inartistic results
of much of the work done in the name of
architectural gardening.
There are some of the largest and
most elaborate creations that fail to eX-
cite pleasure in my mind, such Trent
ham. Longford Castle AShby, Drumian-
rig, and even Versailles and Phamphile
DOria. 1T is difficult to say StraightWay
why il is So and I feel it rather pre-
sumptuous on my part to state such
proposition but | am sure that Sir
Charles Barry must have been, disap-
pointed at the result of his labors at
Trentham. In the case of Versailles
there is sense of enormous effort with
little result. Vast terraces, lagoons of
water and huge fountains produce no
satisfactory effect only sense of fulfil
ity-a useless expenditure of labor and
money without adequate return-and
therein lies the Keynote TO the whole
matter.
| Here is the truth-enormOus waste to
procure effects sometimes so bad that
hdeous is not too strong term to de-
scribe them. And if they strike an
architect as bad. what of the planter
whose labors are paralyZed by this waste
by useless impedimenta. by beds that
are Impossible to plant with any hope of
good effect or even of good growth of
the things planted?
England VS.. Italy.
$50 it is with Wilton and Melbourne,
Jt,i
ian examples. They generally owe a
great deal to position. Yet in the Brit
ish examples you have A distinct senti-
ment; it is of a garden that you love-a
charm that can only be gained by the en-
| ployment of rare knowledge and design.
| There is subtle charm about the terrace
| At HaddOn Hall and the bowling green AT
| Bramshill that is entirely absent in Trent
| ham or Versailles. There is great
| striving after effect. | would rather be
the designer of Montacute than Yer
salles-I will go farther, and say of the
Haddon Hall terrace rather than Yer
| sailleS. Indeed. there are few of the vast
garden conceptions that please me. Chats
worth bores me. so does the Crystal Pal
ace; yet they are laid out on grand
lines; they are meant for spectacular per-
| formances. and unless all the fountains
| are playing the effect is dismal as ar
empty theater We do not feel this at the
Villa a Este or Borghese gardens. l can
! not recall a single picture in which either
the Crystal Palace or Versailles is
| brought in.
'rhe Albani was laid out by Marchionne
| largely to show off the rich collection OF
| antiques collected by Cardinal Albani
| The plan is a good example of carpet gar
| dening. | cannot say that it appeals to
| me. have but the faintest liking for the
! geometrical garden.
Does it appeal to any one with slightest
glimmer of feeling for the beautiful? But
| is it not the stereotyped Italian or geo.
| metrical design that leads to the geomet-
| rical planting that Mr.. Mccartney de-
plores? People are afraid to be free or
natural before these Celebrations spread
out before their windows.
Terrible Evidence.
| 1t will be noted that Mr.. Mccartney has
| looked into the thing itself and gives in
stances in Justification of his views, which
is hardly ever done by writer's from the
architectural point of view. who In their
| phrase-monging articles consider the mat :
ter as a theory only. There is terrible
evidence in Europe to show what the
| results are-in Vienna and also in Paris.
| No one who sees the Grande I'rianon can
fail to appreciate the hideous effect of
such work Such writers can never have
seen real garden with it's diversity of
life and beauty of effect. sBayreuth
where many go to hear music, has gar
den full of statues lying on their backs
and a dismal ruin of useless walls There
are not a few also in England and as
Mr. Mccartney justly notes, the old ones
which were made before the stereotyped
plans came in, are the best. On the Otner
hand. We have in Germany, in France
~, ri. P,ta n ,a,