Evening star., 1931-12-30

CHANGING to see a photograph OF
California garden, hemmed IN by
high wall, behind which loomed noun
ta1us at a great distance, we were STRUCK
more than ever by the necessity Tor
background for every garden.
The lure of this particular picture
came from the white stucco wall, not
from the mountains, nor yet from the
beautiful garden itself.
It was the wall which made the pic
ture, which completed the garden, which
even made the mountains seem granuer.
And all this came about because the
wall, although mostly hidden by bloom
ing things and queer narrow ever
green's, nevertheless concealed what lay
directly behind it.
The wall gave an element Of mystery,
Of suspense, which Is the essential ele-
ment, either in a garden or in a book,
and maybe in a human being. Are
there not some people who are as easily
read as sentence, at a glance, and
from whom one neither expects any
thing nor can hope for anything?
Perhaps eight-tenths of American
gardens are that way. Lacking bound
aries of any sort, either fence or hedge
or wall, they reveal all they possess to
the first inquiring glance, and also offer
no obstruction to glances cast at neigh
boring yards.
Such gardens have no background.
Now background Is as important to
garden as it is to human being.
Think Of all these people running
around, utterly lacking in background
of any sort! If they had roots they
would stay put" more, to their own
betterment, and that Of their city and
land.
They need walls; their gardens need
walls. But walls are very expensive, as
any one knows who has ever investi-
gated the subject. Stone walls, brick
walls, stucco walls-they cost money,
more money than most people seem to
have for such purposes, evidently But
how much they add to garden! Their
cost is greater because they must be
high. A low wall has its place, in Ger
tain situations, but the real garden wall
preferably is comparatively high af-
fair, high enough to cut off all beyond
it, in order that all in front of it may
stand out and become little world
of its own.
1t is because the average garden is
not little world of its own, but plain
ly joins onto the garden to the right
and to the garden to the left and to an
other garden in tire rear, or maybe
several gardens in that direction, that
1t lacks a considerable part of that
charm which Old World gardens have
and which such gardens as the Cali
fornia treasure spot In the photograph
plainly possess.
Our word garden means Enclosed
spot" but most gardens, alas, are not
inclosed. A fence Is better than moth
ing, hedge is better wall is best Of
all. Let us consider them briefly in
reverse order, for the Qualification of
our garden views. January and Febru-
ary are f.ome-staying months, when
there is plenty of f1reside time for the
homeloVer to think of many things,
notably gardens and gardeners and
flowers and Spring.
"Fireside gardening" some call it.
The boundary for the garden ought to
have more immediate consideration
than it normally is given, one may
think at such times. The open, park
like" treatment of community has
certain good points, but they are neglig
ible, after all, compared with the re-
suit which may be secured by the proper
use of walls, hedges and fences
The greatest Of these gains is back
ground, and certain sense of privacy.
These two are immediate. But there
are many others Almost as if it were
mirror, wall reflects everything in
the garden, causing each flower to take
on added beauty each shrub to stand
out, to become something more than
one.
Certain plants grow best In the pro-
lection afforded by walls, or even