A FOUNTAIN THAT SERVES AS A BACKGROUND FOR A LILY POND
Ramping steps, if successfully developed, brings about an additional ease in mounting. This can be accomplished by placing the tread so that it shall imperceptibly slope downward. This is not an easy matter to accomplish successfully. It requires much care, so that the steps shall not slope too noticeably and yet enough to add to the comfort of the garden lover who walks from path to path using the steps to aid him in reaching the upper level of the ground. This idea of ramping is not original, for it has been carried out in the old Italian gardens for centuries, but it is only within recent years that it has been successfully developed by landscape gardeners in our country.
Two important things connected with these stairways are ease and comfort. There is no doubt but within the last few years, marvels have been accomplished by introducing them into steep hillsides. In this way they connect the lower level and the terrace, making it practical to develop unused land for flower purposes.
The placing of steps cannot be determined by cast-iron rules, rather should good taste predominate. Nothing can give such an awkward look to your garden or terrace as a series of narrow, cramped stairs. If, however, you should in the same place introduce a flight ample in proportion, then even if it is a small space there will be imparted to it an agreeable air of breadth.
Be sure that each step should extend farther to the side than the one above it. They should be rectangular so that the outline of the stair mass is pyramidal or circular in formation. If stone is used, a very good result is brought about through the use of carefully selected field stone or cobble. There are sheltering crevices in which to plant tiny roots which when grown add much to the general appearance of the whole. If the garden is a formal one, a design in which architectural features play an important part, one should take great care in the arrangement of this flight. There is nothing that gives such a delightful atmosphere as a well-planned stairway. It conveys a much better picture than does a vista of successive flights of steps that ascend to higher grounds.
The principal use for a feature such as this, is found to be in informal or unpretentious lay-outs, yet, fashioned in marble it is shown in the most elaborate Italian gardens found in this country. It takes on such a variety of forms and is available for so many purposes that it is fascinating to study where it will give best effects. Sometimes it helps out in the making of a garden pool. Here it is specially alluring, forming as it does, a step from one little world into another.
If you wish originality in your work, do not attempt to copy from the plans of others. Surely there is no lack of material from which to draw and there is no reason why steps cannot be placed in any sort of a garden nook. The material depends on the style of garden, but wooden steps are not generally advisable on account of their rotting, which makes them need constant repair. It is far better to use stone, slabs of granite, concrete or marble, for each one of these has the lasting qualities that make them durable.
Measure the space carefully before the work is commenced. You should make allowances for crevices between each step so that suitable planting may be carried out. It is a very good idea to have the wide spreading plants placed near the bottom, graduating to those of more moderate growth at the top. Careful consideration should also be given to the right planting on either side. Low plants should border the step with a background of taller ones. They may, if you like, be used to express the idea of balusters on either side and are much more picturesque than real ones.