Stranica 46 [46]
OCR
—— ————— ——— ———, —,—,—, — AA, ,— EE EE E E E EE EE EE T TEMETTEM ÉS KÖV ER OPERANT ATION ) BIE LT the great double row of boxwood hedge, with shelled walk between, completes the approach to the steps of the mansion. On each side of this box walk are the rose gardens, dotted and shaded with groups of shrubs and nature-planted trees. Lhere are many varieties of roses—perpetuals, teas, simple old-fashioned bushes, the blossoms of every shade of pink, salmon and crimson and pure white, the rich odors of which, mingling with that of the box, lend an indescribable charm. Contrasting with the age and dignity of the box walk and its rose gardens, is the warmly companionable little garden on the west side of the mansion, offspring of an ancient one. Here a fern-bordered, rose-covered pergola, surrounded by tall privet with under-borders of heliotrope, snapdragon, sweet william, bachelor’s button and phlox, is enclosed by the walls of colonial outbuildings. Within the privacy of this small garden a figured fountain plays, and an ancient sun-dial lends charm. There is one mood, one picture in which the physiognomy of the gardens of Claremont may be ideally contemplated. That is when the twilight falls and you walk under the magnolias on the terrace, through the rose-gardens and down the great avenue of lindens to the space where the crepe myrtles bank their layers of rich, heavy shadow. Behind these rise twin birches in virgin white and frail translucent green and just beyond a giant pecan thrusts up boldly against the wide expanse of river. Between mimosa trees may be had a glimpse of the flowering almond hedge and ivy-covered summer-house. lI[hen, let your eye follow the avenue of cedars, checkered with shadow, into the old garden through the gate of the cedars. Here, white, oval-shaped stones light up the half-hidden parterres that still bear a tangle of fern, honeysuckle, lilies, hollyhocks, peonies and other old-fashioned blooms. On through the faintly fragrant paths in a half-circle, until the lichen-covered summer-house that crowns the great bluff of the river, and stands like a period at the end of the dim lines, 1s reached. Close in here are columnar aisles of mock-orange standing like a [29 |
