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Before winter puts out a white hand to stay us (which we trust won’t be
soon, altho there are hints of early frost), it would be pleasant to
make a tour of Lincoln gardens. However, we wouldn’t want to flatten our
sight-seeing noses against front windows, and the gardens which can be
seen entire from the street are few. In a simpler day, we Americans put
our iron deer and dogs, petunias and hollyhocks in a big front yard and
then naively sat on our big front porches to see passersby and have
passersby see our elegant homes and lawns. Now that we have grown more
subtle and English and hide gardens in the back and put inscrutable
faces on our houses, seeing gardens on a tour isn’t so easy. But the
gardens are there and one can get pleasing glimpses.
Imagine a Lincoln in which all the houses perched desolately on barren
lots. Not a tree, not a curving path, not a flower. Then you will indeed
appreciate those patient and imaginative garden lovers who with a few
rocks, seeds, hoes and hoses turn desert lots into oases. There are
pretty little gardens around modest houses, large beautiful gardens
around mansions, altogether making Lincoln a charming lady of gardens.
Peer with us thru Dr. Harry Everett’s gates at 2433 Woodscrest for a
glimpse of his delightful ivory complexioned house with its maroon
awnings and blue windows, and his formal garden. Dr. Everett is an iris
specialist and is or has been president of the national iris society.
So charming is this quiet scene, with the September sun falling in bars
across the lawn, the soldierly evergreens silently on guard, that even
the sudden appearance of five beautiful senoritas on the five balconies
would be an intrusion not to be desired.