International studio (44.1911)

The Lombardy Poplar as a Decoration



HOUSE AT ROSEMONT, PA.
grown; indeed, it might be termed the stimulat-
ing accent of the impatient client. It is valuable
to frame or obscure a distant prospect, of that
which offends in the offing, and it is grateful for
little attentions; indeed, its life (limited by some
authorities to thirty-five years) can be lengthened
by a little care. By cutting back it grows more
dense, more shapely and healthy.
Mr. Wilson Eyre’s skill in handling his material,
the balance, measure and restraint of his work, is
all too well recognized to require comment. It is
some little time since this particular type of house
designing, grouping of gables, handling of native
stone and free application of plaster to frame or
solid walling was first adopted by him, and it is
agreeable to speak of the present condition of the
work which shows the wisdom of the original in-
tent. The houses wear well. The scheme and com-
position as a whole invites. The aging justifies
the specification as originally written, as originally
designed. The cry “ tying the house to the ground”
was quite new some ten years ago in this country
and with too many it is but a talking point to-
day, difficult to understand, still more difficult to
carry out. Poplar trees are generally placed flank-
ing the sides of roads and at the rear of the lot, in
definite intervals, well set and carefully centered.
Like the privet hedge they must be trimmed and
cared for constantly. And it pays.
The Garth, at Strafford, Pennsylvania, illus-
trates very acceptably the use of the poplar as a
background. This garden was planted some years
ago and has had time to mature. Indeed, it grows
more beautiful every day. It is a gem. The poplar

encircles the gar-
den, stable yard
and a portion of
the paddock. It
forces gently the
big white columns
of the pergola and
gives line to the
native woods be-
hind, but it does
this in an agree-
able and attract-
ive manner, with-
out the undue
force which the
blackening greens
of the cypress or
cedar is apt to do
VIEW FROM GARDEN . ,
m so domestic a
scene.
The letter “A” on plan marks the small hooded
covering to the well. “B” denotes a similar
accent on the left side of the lawn, sheltering a
garden seat. “C” notes the swinging gate into
the service yard. “D” indicates the roofed en-
trances to each end of the pergola—a resting place
of considerable charm, cool and inviting. Today
it is presided over by a delightful little plaster copy
of one of the medallions from the loggia to the
hospital at Florence for the waifs and strays of a
careless world—a bambino by Andrea Della
Robia. Here with outstretched arms the little
rogue seems to be attracted by the brightness of
the flowers, the lacelike tendrils and foliage of the
vines and the long, deep shadows of the lordly
poplars standing beyond in noble array. And
perhaps it is also listening to their quaint melody,
the soothing rustle of the leaves—one of Dame
Nature’s rare lullabies—as the great trees do
obeisance to every passing breeze.
Two views of a garden at Rosemont, Pennsyl-
vania, show the poplar in association with gables
and dormers of varying sizes and outline—a par-
ticularly acceptable position for an erect and yet
lightly limbed tree. The ridge of the house is long,
requiring to be broken up in some such manner.
Take again the view of Fair Acres, of the same
State. The naive pencil drawings of Mr. Benjamin
E. Muller show the value of the poplar as a tenant
of the garden and of the stable yard. It is here
seen with a seriously designed, copper-domed arbor
of the rose garden, with a corner of one of the
farm buildings. It is a democrat, indeed, big and
yet graceful in spite of its inches.

LXIV