The Use of Stone in Gardens c o a gloomy_ winter
morning the sight of a pavement: N-7 laid in yellow Somerset stone sends a thrill through one like a shaft of sunlight. Stonework in the garden can . Very easily be overdone, and nothing is in worse taste than the small town garden turned into a stone-mason's yard,; but used with judgment it can be a solid joy. • , The thought of garden stone work summons up pietiirei of stately country houses surrounded by wide, paved terraces, and flights_ of steps with oarved balustrades_and statues: Possibly this is why we so often lose our sense of proportion when we call in the mason to help our garden design. Those beautiful spacious pavements and decorations are really quite subsidiary to the massed architecture of the -houses for -which they were designed, and the lawns and -gardens to which they lead. SO; when the owner of a moderate-sized house and garden, whether in town or country, is using stone for decoration and pavement, it is essential to keep it in subjection to its surroundings. The first question to consider is the tone of colour you require. Apart from the fortunate few who can deal with a local quarry, there are on the market the cool .gray tones which belong to York stone, and the warm golden and orange tints of Somerset stone. In a dry, sunny position the gray stone looks its best, and can be used to contrast with gay or with soft-toned flowers, yoU please. But laid in a damp or sunless position it t. soon acquires a greenish tint and loses its attraction, besides which it is, even when new, a rather cold, depressing crikair. BM in such- a site the yellow Somerset stone helds its own, and even throws up light ; and, if planted silver foliage and pink, white, and yellow flowers, a good deal of memory's sunlight can be trapped and held.
,The commonest use of paving is for paths, and for this purpose we are not limited to stone. There are no more .attractive paths than the mellowed old brick ones, with wee tufts of green and golden mosses in the inter- stices, which are so common in old cottage gardens and which harmonize so well with all the sweet medley of old- fashioned flower borders.
If your path is paved, the edging of the borders must agree •:. stone with stone, brick with brick, and I will even :admit tile with tile, although my own prejudice would rule out tiles altogether.. In the case of a narrow border . running by. pavement, a pretty effect is made by laying the stones next the border with a slight upward tilt on to the raised earth, and leaving a quite informal line, according to the shape of each stone. Then plant the border only with low-growing creeping and tufty plants, and let them fit themselves in and out along the edge Of the pavement.
Garden paths are made to be walked on, and to have, wheel-barrows rolled along them, so the present craze for sticking rock plants all over them seems to me very futile. At least let about two feet width down the centre be paved with large, closely fitted stones which will bear constant weight and usage ; then, if it must be so, the sides can be filled with smaller, and more openly spaced pieces to hold rock plants. But one drawback which is often overlooked is that, when beds and borders are being dug, earth will always fall out on the paths, and if these are full. of creeping plants they cannot—as they should— be swept up cleanly and the earth returned to the border.
Wean agree that a garden should be a place for growing flowers: in, but there are many cases when a particular piece -.,of it . is unsuited to blossoming plants ; too dry or too shady, or it may be the owner wishes for 'an- open, space:AGA-old chairs and tables. GraVel is -monotonous and requires attention to keep it at its best, so here a fairly large expanse of Tavement is very suitable.
Somepeople like dressed flags laid quite cloiely together making an even stone surface, like the pavements of streets. This is extremely serviceable, and has the great advantage that the legs of one's chair never find a weak spot and let one down. It would be quite desirable in a country garden, with informal surroundings. But those 'of us who are condemned to walk on such even pavements every day, in towns, will prefer the variety of irregular - material in our gardens. Here the open spacing of the stones with small Plants between looks Charming, and if a few good kinds are planted they will Soon seed freely. Small bulbs too should never be Omitted; Crocuses. of many colours and kinds, such as ImPexati, susianus and tOmmissinianus, the dainty' little. hyacinths Museari azureum and H.amethystinus, and the graceful' Persian tuliPS.
A pretty plan is to set a circular bed in the centre of a. paved' garden, edge it with upright stones four to six inches high, and plant it with a mass of 'blue flowers to' give the illusion of water. 8e'illas, forget-me-not, the' annual Phacelia eampanularia, Nigella, or Campanula caespitosa, any of these would do. Out of this lake of blue may rise' a short pillar carrying a stone bird-bath,' and the sense of coolnesS will be enhinced when your guests splash their water over the blue flowers. Various stiff plant effects look well in a stone garden. A dwarf hedge of 'clipped lavender or rosemary, a tub at each corner with an agapanthus lily or a small evergreen, which may be cut in topiary fashion, tapering Irish yews or a yucca, but beware of large statues—they require' distance and backgrounds, and are disastrous if ill-placed. Clumps of gray-leaved flag irises accord well with pave- ment, and love dry, hot situations with a lime soil, but do not be content with the old blue which grows every- where. The dwarf bearded irises, which flower in April, can be had in shades of blue, purple, yellow and cream, and a selection from the tall May-flowering and June- flowering sections will greatly increase the range of colour and will give bloom for three months, and lovely glaucous leaves all the year.
E. SETON.
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