South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1917-04-15

You cannot put a garden down
Just anywhere, as though il we're a
Persian rug; a garden should be
an outdoor living room. a part Of
the home. not a mere adjunct or
afterthought." Miss Mary Ruther-
furd jay, the speaker and a garden
ARCHITECT. was showing models OF
some o. the beautiful gardens
which she has created. while dis
cussing the subject
In Japan. they spend as much
money on the garden as on the
house. for the garden is consider
ed definite and important part OF
the home The result is har-
monious whole. In European coun-
tries, too, the garden is sn import
ant feature, but America is away
behind in that respect Here in this
country. as a rule-Which. OF
course has many exceptions
man puts an enormous sum Of
money into "A fine house, furnishes
1t beautifully. buys several motor
cars, and builds a tennis court:
then he tells the nurseryman TO set
out some shrubs. or, perhaps. he
fnclOses a rectangular space with
hedge. plants a great many seeds
and succeeds in getting blossoms in
a riOtous mass OF color and then is
satisfied. thinking that he has
achieved a garden.
The Japanese say that we Amer
leans build our gardens for excite
ment. They do not at all approve
Of the way we fill them with vivid.
crowded masses Of color and splash
ing fountains Their idea Of a gar
den is a quiet, peaceful spot. In
stead Of a noisy fountain, they like
"A quiet pool Their garden is a
place where a philosopher goes to
mediate. undisturbed by outward
affairs
Fortunately for garden lovers.
there IS a movement spreading all
over this country TO establish more
and more beautiful gardens. Even
the city back yards are being stud
led and experimental upon. with a
view TO making them beauty spots
one can put up a trellis around the
sides. plant a tree or two to secure
shade, set a garden seat and per-
haps an arch of some sort at the
end 20 give a vista or perspective
put in a border of Towering shrubs
and plants and make attractive lit
tie gardens.
cit is not always possible to have
a garden, OF course, for, as I said, a
garden cannot be put down at will.
arbitrarily. Perhaps the only thing
that can be done in some places,
artificial garden creation, is a flow
cry walk or a border against the
shrubbery. Whatever one has
should be appropriate. The garden
architect must cooperate with the
architect who builds the house. for
the house and garden must harmon
ize.
I'VE get many of our ideas OF
gardens from the Japanese, but a
real Japanese garden is an exotic
thing and should be set of by itself.
part from the house and other gar
den arrangements. in order TO
show it's full beauty. IL does not
blend with the ordinary variety Of
garden. One may, however. adopt
the Japanese ideas Of simplicity and
nAlIAOnE u EANFAANAAl tANAf fAAANfA-Ns
This. IL done properly. with thought
and consideration, will give one a
place Of beauty"
Many a country place possesses a
small pond or perhaps a stretch of
marshy, swampy land. This MAJ
look almost hopeless; but. put il in
the hands OF a garden architect, and
a wonderful transformation is pos
sible. Miss Jay took such a section
once and made a veritable beauty
spot of a. First. she screened IL of
from the rest OF the place by ever
green trees. Then she cleared out
the pond. put a few little islands
here and there, with a bridge q
connect two or three of them, and
little summer house built in Jap
anese style II was remarkable. she
said. how quickly the unsishtliness