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De Wolfe, Elsie, 1865-1950 / The house in good taste
(1914)
XIX: Villa Trianon, pp. 284-299
Page 298
THE HOUSE IN GOOD TASTE it was done to please me. Painted a soft green, with ivy growing over it, and a fountain flanked by white marbles outlined against it, this trellis represents (to me, at least) my best work. The tapis vert occupies the greater part of the gar- den, and it is bordered by gravel walks bordered in turn with white flowerbeds. Between the walks and the walls there are the groups of trees, the statues with green spaces about them, the masses of evergreen trees, and finally the great trees that follow the lines of the wall. Indeed, the tapis vert is like the arena of an ample theater, with the ascending flowers and shrubs and trees representing the ascending tiers of seats. One feels that all the trees and flowers look down upon the central stretch of greensward, and perhaps there is a fairy ring here where plays take place by night. Nothing is impossible in this garden. Cer- tainly the fairies play in the enchanted ring of the trees of the salle de verdure. We are convinced of that. So formal is the tapis vert, with its blossoming bor- ders of larkspur and daisies and its tall standard roses, you are surprised to find that that part of the garden outside this prim rectangle has mysteries. There are winding paths that terminate in marble seats. There is the pavilion, a little house built for outdoor music- ales, with electric connections that make breakfast and tea possible here. There is the guest house, and the motor house-quite as interesting as any other part 298
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