Studio: international art (46.1909)

Architectural Gardening.—IV.

to be settled by designs on paper, however care-
fully they may be worked out. The difference
between the look of a design in elevation and in
perspective, great and misleading as it is always, is
not less than between the look of a carefully drawn
perspective and the actual effect of the completed
work in the round. It is a trite and obvious thing
to say that all designs should be made in per-
spective. That, of course, goes without saying.
It is equally necessary to insist on rough outline
models for all the essential decorative details of a
garden design. Much unnecessary expense and
many unpleasant surprises may be avoided by these
simple means, and no better method of arrange-
ing and placing the desired points of interest in a
scheme can be found. To illustrate the advantage
of models it is only necessary to take the very
ordinary idea of a stone pier ter-
minated by either a vase or lead
figure. It is obvious that the right
relation of this ornament to the
base or pedestal cannot be so satis-
factorily determined by a scale
design on paper as by a model
placed on the pier itself, because
it is then seen in the “round.” In
the case of figures surmounting a
pedestal this is most important, for
unless the proportions of these are
very carefully judged, either the
figures or the pedestal, which by
themselves may be quite beautiful,
may be made to look ridiculous.

In the larger masses and general
outline both of form and colour the
perspective drawing is most valu-
able in the first stages of the
design, and even in the final
stages ; but it is always necessary
to supplement and correct and
compare.this with experiments on
the site.

In the initial ideas for any
scheme, perspective drawing is
essential; geometrical drawings in
plan, section, or elevation should
never be relied upon as guides
in questions of scale or proportion,
but only as means to an end in
the execution of the work.

In a former article reference was
made to the infinite variety and
interest in design it is possible to
obtain in bringing a water treat-

ment into a scheme of house and garden. It is
a matter of surprise that so little advantage, com-
paratively speaking, is taken of such a delightful
medium for obtaining attractive and picturesque
results. It is only necessary to think of an
example like Ightham Moat, in Kent, Maxstoke, in
Warwickshire, or Broughton Castle, in Oxfordshire,
to feel how much modern garden design may be
improved by the inclusion of so simple a medium
for effect. Of course in the old days and in the
instances just given, the water way was planned
for quite a different purpose, a purpose which does
not exist to-day. But that is no reason why the
suggestion it conveys for a beautiful feature in
modern gardens should not be adopted. The
objections usually raised in connection with water
around or near a house can be easily disposed

GARDEN HOUSE WITH DOVECOTE

DESIGNED BY C. E. MALLOWS, F. R. I.B.A.
AND DRAWN BY F. L. GRIGGS

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