THE PERGOLA AND ARCH
"I have made me a garden and orchard, and have planted trees and all
kinds of fruit." Thus spake the wise Solomon who in all his glory found
time to enjoy his flowers. Nowadays, blossoming plants are intermixed
with marble fragments, and the garden contains many interesting features
that were then unknown. Sir William Temple, on his return from a visit
to Holland, where he went for garden study, tells us that he found that
four things were absolutely necessary in order to complete a perfect
garden. "Flowers, Fruit, Shade, and Water."
Originality is to-day the key-note in every garden design. Gardens have
been developed with the passing of time so that instead of one type we
find an infinite variety of styles, each one of them so distinctive that
one need have little fear of repetition in results. Here we find the
formal, the Italian garden while over yonder is the wild, and the
rambling one. They are carefully designed to bring out some individual
scheme. Unlike the little posy plots of long ago with their unobtrusive
green arbors, now we come upon a large space which has been laid out for
picture effects. This is the work of the landscape architect, who takes
as much pride in his garden structures, as does the architect in the
design of his house. He vies with his rivals in producing odd effects
with marble fragments and artistic combinations in his color scheme.
Each one of the many types, that are shown at the present day, shows
distinctive features. These appear and disappear in endless variety, and
among them are the pergola and the arch, the latter a grandchild of the
green arbor that was in evidence in our grand-dames' time.
Unlike those seen in the old-fashioned gardens, it is not always built
of wood. Sometimes it is so placed as to define the terraces, leading
with its shadowy treatment to delightful glimpses of vistas beyond, well
laid out for this very purpose. Again we find it shadowing the garden at
one side, where it makes a covered walk, under which one can pass, and
view the garden pleasantly.
Simple and unostentatious were the early gardens, for not until 1750,
was there found any trace of garden architecture in the North. It was
about that year that one Theodore Hardingbrook, came to this country
bringing with him a fund of information to strengthen and enlarge this
line of work. He gathered around him a faithful, interested little band
of students, and taught them new ideas, and awakened an ambition for new
designs in Colonial flower plots. Then was evolved the little summer
house with its cap of green, which stood generally at the foot of the
garden path ending the central walk and it was then that the green arbor
came into existence, spanning the centre of the little plot. Covered
with vines it made a pleasant break in the otherwise straight lines of
the old-fashioned garden, and it also gave a touch of old-world gardens
to the new-world plan.
This was not the commencement of pergola construction, which had its
origin in the vineyards of sunny Italy. They were not like those of
to-day, wonderfully beautiful in design but rude and rustic, roughly put
together as a support for the vines. Through the intersecting crevices
fell glorious clusters of pale green and royal purple grapes, to ripen
in the glimmering shade. These rough arbors, shadowed by hardy vines,
graced the Italian hillsides, when Columbus as a wool comber's son
frolicked the summer days away long years before he discovered the new
country that lay across the sea.
The birth of this feature was not romantic but plebeian, for it was
built for practical use only. The hardy Italian grape growers had come
to a realizing sense that their fruit throve better if held aloft, and
so they conceived the idea of a supporting arbor. As the bright sun
filtered through the vines, the picturesqueness caught the attention of
gardeners on large estates and from this was evolved the long pillared
pathways over which cultivated vines were twined, casting their long
shadows far over the path beyond in Roman gardens.
When larger and better gardens were demanded to meet the architecture of
the large, square, Colonial homes, green arbors were popular. They were
crudely put together, often the work of the village carpenter, simple
and unconventional in their treatment yet prettily draped with vines.
During the summer months they were especially picturesque and inviting,
with their little wooden seats placed on either side. To the garden came
the gallant, dressed in knee breeches and wearing powdered wig, there
to meet his lady love, bending low he plucked from the branches of the
trailing vine a flower to deck his fair beloved's hair.
[Illustration: BUILD YOUR PERGOLA WITH COBBLESTONE SUPPORTS AND RUSTIC
TOP]
These green arbors gave a distinct individuality to the old-time garden.
Over them were carefully twined the Dutchman's pipe. It showed nestled
away beneath its leaves, tiny, almost invisible little green pipes that
were coveted by the little ones for "Let's pretend smoke." Invariably,
the yellow and white Baltimore Belle rose sometimes known as the Seven
Sisters, lent their charm, boldly peering out from under the vine to
watch the lovers seated on the simple seats. They gave them a welcoming
nod as they swayed to and fro in the passing breeze, mingling their
blossoms, with a dainty Scotch rose and the pink moss, that seemingly
grew on the same stem. It is the former rose that was the greatest
favorite, for it lasted longer, giving dashes of yellow like sunshine to
light the dark, autumnal days.
Now and again, we come unexpectedly upon a garden such as this. It lies
in the heart of a Colonial city, hidden away from passers-by behind a
high paling fence.
The twentieth century pergola in the modern garden lends itself to a
great variety of treatment. It is an important feature and should be
properly treated in order to bring out the right effect. Often the
amateur, when dabbling with garden culture, neglects this feature on his
grounds and gives it a wrong setting.
It must be remembered that the mere setting out of a garden does not
always bring about the best results. It should be done with some
definite aim in view, such as color or suitability to situation. In this
way only can one obtain perfection. There should be taken into
consideration the formation of the different beds, especially those that
are in close proximity. It cannot be a successful experiment unless
carefully planned.
If you have never tried to form combinations that will intensify the
loveliness of the grounds by a happy gathering of right colors, you have
missed a delightful experience. This idea does not come quickly to the
amateur floriculturist, but once he fully grasps it, he turns as if by
instinct to the structural part of the garden plan. It is then that he
realizes that while he has not seemed to have progressed during his
first year's work, yet he has laid a solid foundation that will stand
him in good stead. In the midst of his garden he rears a house of
flowers, placing it in a situation where he can watch the growth and
maturing of the plants. Each corner of the garden is given separate
treatment. In some gardens, where the space is small, it would be
impossible to carry out the pergola scheme. Then it can be simplified
and condensed into the child of the pergola, the arch, excellent for
decorative effects. This means for flower showing can be made of wire,
simply fastened to posts, bent into shape, or of wood and painted white;
either of these methods is satisfactory and can, if properly used, be
most successful.
The arch, to fit in with the garden plan, should span the entrance. Over
it should be trained either a blossoming vine or many, to work out a
succession of bloom. Sometimes it will be the wisteria with its drooping
clusters of lavender, or the rambler rose found in such a variety of
colors to-day. These two with the clematis, are especially adapted for
this purpose, if one is willing to use proper fertilizer and depth of
planting.
In order to insure better and more prolific growth, the vines should be
cut back to about six or eight inches in height when first set out. It
must be remembered in dealing with them that they are like little
children, each one requiring individual care. We must also be sure that
the soil is frequently stirred to avoid caking.
Properly placed, the curved trellis is a joy. It gives a decorative
setting to the garden proper. As the eye travels down the path, it
greets a charming bit of color in the bed of solid green that tops the
roof.
The arch would not be a proper note of setting for every garden. There
are only certain kinds with which it blends. The narrow path demands it,
for it needs a break to show it at its best. A judicious fashioning of a
series of arches, extending here and there along the entire depth of the
walk is sometimes attractive. They serve to break the monotony and add a
flower note that is delightful. In the planning of these, great care
should be taken that they are set at proper intervals. They should be on
the same level and correspond in width, otherwise the result would be a
wavy line that is most distressing.
[Illustration: THE MOSS GROWS BETWEEN THE STONE WALK]
The color scheme depends on garden planting. If lavender is chosen it
should be reproduced all through the line. Do not be so foolish as to
choose one vine only but plant them in order to make a succession of
bloom. One does not wish to view a spot of color now and a mass of green
later on.
There are so many different kinds of vines that can be planted for this
use, each one of which is admirable, that it is hard to choose.
Commencing with the earliest why not take the American or the
loose-cluster wisteria. It has many advantages over other vines, in that
it is a strong grower and bears an abundant cluster of flowers
resembling the sweet pea in formation.
One can reasonably assert, that the wisteria is the leading flower for
the pergola or arbor. It dons a rich and graceful foliage and unlike
other vines, has two distinct seasons of bloom. It is especially good if
one wishes to carry out a one-tone color scheme, making lavender the
key-note, and using this particular vine for the early bloom in May, at
which time the luxuriant clusters of drooping flowers show their
wonderful shading as they peer through the arches dropping down below
the leafy growth and making a note of exquisite beauty. In August, when
they show their second season of bloom, the flowers are less abundant.
They should be followed by the Clematis Jackman. This vine, if it
reaches maturity, is most effective, but it has the distinct
disadvantage that though it starts right, and sends out shoots, they are
apt to blight early and disappoint the gardener by dying before putting
forth its wonderfully beautiful flowers. June, the month of roses, is a
suitable time for one to watch for the blossoming of this vine.
Many people avoid the Coboea Scandens on account of the large,
conspicuous flowers it produces. They make a decided mistake when they
shun this particular vine, for it has good qualifications for pergola
covering. No vine grows more rapidly, as it reaches often from
twenty-five to thirty feet in a single season. It bursts into blossom in
July, in rich, purple, trumpet-shaped flowers.
For the successful growth of vines many things have to be considered but
principally the soil. The amateur makes a mistake in starving the
ground, and thus losing half the quality it would otherwise have had. In
order to obtain the best results, put plenty of barn-yard manure, or
bone meal, at the foot of the trellis, and this should be plentifully
renewed at the commencement of each year.
Rambler roses are one of the most effective treatments for arbor or
pergola growth, and the most popular of these are the white, yellow,
crimson and pink. Each year new varieties are put upon the market and if
one wishes to follow the new ideas they will be forced to constantly
change the plants.
In some cases, the pergola is used to form a trellised pavilion or
summer house to shelter a marble statue and again with carved setting to
outline a bed, as the central feature around which the flowers are
arranged. Thus the simple vineyard trellis has been transformed into a
gem of graceful construction, and we find it to-day, with its slender
marble columns, supporting a delicately carved marble roof of slabs,
over and through which the green of the vine, and the glint of the
flower hover, dipping down between the intervening sections, in festoons
of green and color.
It can well be called a distinctive summer structure, for with the sun
streaming through its mass of vines, it shadows the walks from May until
late October. In the long winter months boxed in it stands like a
sentinel guarding the long, bare paths, and showing a leafless network
of interlacing vines.
The pergola of to-day is not like that of yesterday. When first
introduced into our gardens it was taken up on many small estates, and
so badly designed that it combined badly with the garden. It was then it
fell into disfavor and was pronounced a failure for use in our garden
plan.
But landscape gardeners, with an eye to the unique, felt that it was a
necessary rounding-out of the garden design, and rescued from ignominy,
it took its place in right surroundings, in the heart of the garden with
a border of elaborate flower designs. Garden seats were placed inside
and when it fronted on an Italian garden, a fountain was often
introduced, the musical tinkle of the spouting water giving a special
charm.
Among the many designs the simplest is a simple rustic frame structure,
appropriate for small or wild gardens. It is formed of cedar posts
driven four feet into the ground, and reaching to the height of eight
feet. This is covered with a beam or a slab roof structure over which is
trained the morning glory, the California creeper, or the grape. This
latter is much used, the picturesqueness of the ripening fruit adding to
its attractiveness. These pergolas are generally eight feet wide and
have for a flooring irregular flags through which peer grass or moss.
This type of garden furniture is perfectly well adapted to Italian,
English, or Colonial types of architecture, and is constructed often of
marble. It is not merely an ornament but a useful adjunct to a garden,
and can be made of concrete, or cobblestone, if one does not wish to go
to the expense of using marble.
There is a modern form of this feature that is a development from
century-old customs, the porch-pergola which is fast supplanting the old
covered porches of yesterday. This is designed with an open,
vine-covered roof. It gives an added charm to the exterior of the house
and furnishes a shady nook for sunny days, without the drawback of the
old porch whose roof darkened the house in winter by withholding the
sun.
No one, no matter how small their grounds, need deny themselves a
pergola. It is such an important feature and so decorative that it is
almost a necessity. For the little backyard it may be simply a rustic
porch planted in the middle of the garden. Properly laid out, it can be
used as an out-of-doors living room. Across the end a hammock can be
swung, while table and chairs can be fitted in at one side.
THE TEA HOUSE IN THE GARDEN
[Illustration: A TEA-HOUSE]