The Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1912-1917, 1916-08-15
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feature, and also screen off the pool,
increasing it's intimacy. without. how
ever, hiding it from the front door,
where it was glimpsed down a path
Of trees and flowers. OF course we
had no flowers now in mid-July to put
into those beds, save what few we
could dig up from elsewhere, setting
poor little annual phloXes two feet
apart; but we could, and did, use them
for seedbeds for next years perennials.
and TO the eye of faith they were
beautiful
Now we were confronted by the
problem of the other side of the pool.
which included the problem of how to
get to the other side. Stella suggested
tentatively tiny Japanese moon
bridge above the pool but l would
have none Of it.
''The only way to build a japanese
garden in New England is to utilize
New England features" | insisted.
We won't copy anybody"
"All right" she answered, "then we
want stepping stones above the pool,
and some more down below the dam.
where we can see the waterfall"
More suitable-and much easier" |
agreed.
Once more we robbed the stone wall,
building our two thanking paths Of
stepping stones to the other side Of the
brook.
On the other side we decided to elm
mate all flower beds in the open, mere
ly planting iris and forget-me-not on
the rim Of the pool. We would clear
out q wide semicircle of lawn, with
the bench at the center of the circum-
ference, and plant our remaining flow
ers against the shrubbery on the sides,
which was chiefly the wild red osier
dogwood (cornus stolonifera>. l got
brush scythe, Ratchet, spade. a
grub hoe and a rake, and we went to
work
Work is certainly the word. 1t was
not difficult to clear the brush and the
tall, rank weeds and grasses away
from our semicircle, which was hard
ly more than thirty feet in diameter,
but to spade up the black soil there
after, to eliminate the long, tenacious
roots of the witch grass and the weeds,
to clear out the stubborn stumpS of in
Vulnerable little trees and wild shrubs
which had Overrun the place, to spread
evenly the big pile of soil we had ex-
cavated from the pool, to reduce it all
to a clean, level condition for sowing
grass, was more than | had bargained
for. Stella gave up helping, for it was
beyond her strength; buy | kept on,
through the long. hot Jr1y afternoons,
and at last had it ready. The time
of year was anything but propitious
for sowing grass seed, but we planted
it, none the less, trusting that n such
low, moist spot II might make
catch. Then we turned to the bench.
Gracious. you have to be every
thing to be gardener. don't you?"
Stella laughed, as we tried to draw a
sketch first which should satisfy US.
THE bench ought to balance the old
Governor Winthrop highboy top of the
front door. But I'm sure l don't know
how we're going to make it."
Patience" said l, turning the leaves
of a catalogue of expensive marble
garden furniture "Just simple de-
sign of the classic period will do. Co
lonial furniture was based on the
Greek orders"
We found at last the picture of a
marble bench which could be dupli-
Gated in general outline with wooden
planking, so | telephoned to the lum-
Der dealer in the next town for two "a
inch-wide chestnut planks, and was
fairly staggered by the bill when it
came. 1t appears that 24inch-wide
plank nowadays has to come from
North Carolina, or some other distant
point, and is rarer than charity, at
least that is what they told me.
Il think it would be cheaper in
MARBLE" said Stella. "And it looks
to me as if you could make the bench
out of one plank"
"We want another bench on the sun
dial lawn" said l, wisely.
you do now" said she.
"But if l hadn't got two planks,"
said l, land had spoiled the first one.
then we'd have had to wait two or
three days again.
ooh, that was the reason!" she
smiled.
| sawed one Of the planks into one
SiX-foot and two two-foot lengths. and
rounded the edges of the long piece for
the top. Then, on the two short
lengths We carefully drew from the
picture the outline of the supports on
the marble original, and went to work
with rip saw, Ratchet and drawknife
to carve them out. The seasoned
chestnut worked hard, and we were
half day about our task The next
day we PVT the three pieces together
with braces and long screws, planed
and sandpapered the wood till we had
1t smooth, and then painted it with
white enamel paint. While the first
coat was drying, we made a deep
foundation of coal ashes and fat stones
for the bench to rest on, and the next
afternoon, when the second coat, which
Stella had applied before breakfast.
was nearly dry, hove the heavy thing
on wheelbarrow, and carted 1t
around the road TO the point where il
was to so. We put little fresh CO.
ment on the foundation stones To hold
the TWO legs. and with Mikes aid the
bench was lifted over the stone wall