The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1919-03-20
MEN, WOMEN
AND THINGS


or that but for several years 1 spent
all of my surplus in pergolas.
For the size of my place and the
| amount of my bank balance l have
more feet of pergolas than any man
in the state. l think 1 might just as
easily include the south or claim the
whole United States. for when l get
hobby 1 ride it. and when 1 set IN
! to build pergolas built them.
In the old days in sunny Italy their
| decorative effect appealed to me, ana
then, somehow. they give place the
atmosphere of home. 1 am not now
| speaking of the costly cold marble COL
! umns which adorn the country Villas
of the multimillionaires. but the ones
| in the natural woods or matched up
| inexpensively with the field stones.
The more studied my location the
| more 1 was convinced that at my very
| door was the material 1 most needed
| to carry out the scheme 1 had evolved.
Now, / have never been lazy, and so
| 1 started out with a wheelbarrow on
| the lots nearby and gathered up the
native rocks. My friends would see
me at it and insinuate that my en-
| thusiasm would die out in short
| while.
I began the job leisurely, thinking
would be content If 1 got together
pile sufficient to use on the side
street as a supporting wall for my open
porch looking cityward. did 1t with
| such ease that L then began to accu-
mulate enough for about 200 feet of
wall to be used as frame for the
\ house to set in. I saw 1t completed
and then came the finishing touches
with pergolas to match. 1t was Dig
undertaking, but came out Of it with
muscles like whipcords and the ap-
petite and digestion of a day laborer.
To carry out the plans I had to have
| my gardens and some of the walks set
| in cement and trimmed with the same
kind of stones. The result being that
today my vegetable gardens are d.
vided into conceived cemented walks
and it is a real pleasure to lay out
the spring and fall paintings. I might
have bought the rock at so much per
| load, but now as I look at them 1 take
a personal pride in the fact that l
hauled them and sweated over each
load and had the chance to live out
under the blue of Gods beautiful
world.
! The building of the pergolas called
for special study on all kinds Of vines,
and so winter nights I poured over the
lovely books which are to be had on the
subject, and what's more I kept a
watchout on every clinging plant that
L could find. I got immensely stirred
up about dropping as well as clinginG
| vines, for with SO much wall l wanted
to find something to relieve their rig
idity. A score of perennial sweetpea
plants that I got from local florist
gave lovely effect the first season,
as they came out in clusters and fell
over the sides Of the wall
- =
The erection of pergolas was more
than a fad with me, for 1 used my
enthusiasm to train down into per-
feet form. For years l was a specialist
in indoor gymnasium work, but having
graduated out Of this form of athletics,
concluded to spend as much time as
possible out in the open air.
Yes, have fallen for golf. | have
nothing against the game and am glad
that SO many find sport in it, but had
gotten so bitten by tennis and base
ball that somehow the links never call
diamond. 1 used to play in the tennis
Journeys and even after I began to
practice law here it was my custom to
go back In pinches to play with the
home team at Eufaula.
Sure there was the joy of automo-
billing, but it was rather a high priced
gone back on me, 1 couldn't hit the
birds In the old way, and I gave up my
days in the fields. I was too far from,
any real first-class fishing grounds
to get much fun out of angling. This
it why 1 had to look about for a new
interest.
| bought me lot out on hillside
and built a modest home. The situation
was ideal but the house looked rather
plain sitting high up above the road
way. 1 got to taking walks in the
Country club district and everywhere
went kicked my feet against a.
lovely building rocks as ever fell in the
lap Of a community with so many pic
turesque sites to build upon.
The more l looked at my anguia,
house, perched on high, the more it got
on my nerves. I began to buy books
on landscape gardening and to make
| plgilmages all over the district to
watch how others had planted theil
grounds. 1t is remarkable how MUCK
fellow can pick up on any subject il
he gets interested in it and makes VI
his mind he is going to master it.
just became bug On the art Of tieing
a house to the grounds
During the war 1 had to neglect m,
vines, but now 1 am beginning to :r,
and whip them in shape again. It's
some tangle when you have let then
run wild and leave them to fight one
l L