86 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



LANDSCArE IDEALS. 



M. E. ROTTOMLEY_, CHARLOTTE. 



Landscape Gardenino', the youngest of our arts, holds for the future 

 the greatest of possibilities. This is true, because the necessities of 

 life, sought first in every new country have been gained and the smaller 

 comforts following directly in line with them have been gained also. 

 The interest which extended only to the bricks and shingles is now car- 

 ried as far as the street. The time has therefore come for the extension 

 of the comforts of the house to the natural surroundings. 



The pilgrim fathers began at once to surround their modest homes 

 with vegetable and flower gardens. The flower gardens were simple 

 and served mainly as reminders of the life left behind in England. In 

 isolated cases such as Washington's home at Mount Vernon, Colonial 

 architecture was given a fitting setting by the surrounding treatment. 

 But it has been left to the present day to reach a stage of development 

 wherein the attention of the people at large is turned in the direction 

 of horticulture and the framework for its development, landscape 

 gardening. 



The real garden in this country is a rare thing because our ideals 

 have not been right. So much care has been taken in the making Of 

 a display that the real purpose has been lost. We should keep the 

 same degree of privacy in our gardens as we desire in our living rooms. 

 For many years our houses were over-furnished, over-decorated, arrange- 

 ed for effect instead of comfort. So in our gardens have been made the 

 same mistakes. We had forgotten that furnishings do not make homes; 

 that plants and fittings do not make gardens. A room should have the 

 true home spirit; a garden should have an atmosi>here, a feeling of 

 friendliness and the expression of the personality of the maker. 



Speaking generally the question of use is first to be considered. What- 

 ever is to be designed must perform its duties practically; but that 

 alone is not enough. It must also perform them gracefully, for the 

 day has passed when useful objects are not also required to be attrac- 

 tive. America is richly endowed. No other country gives such a scope 

 to the landscape gardener, offering him such opportunities for variety 

 by the diversity of her surfaces and climatic conditions. 



Trees, shrubs, and flowers should be planted only after a plan of the 

 property has been made. The aim in making a plan is to design it 

 in such a manner as to block from view all objectional buildings and 

 objects; to give a desirable amount of shade and shelter; and to build 

 such structures as may add to the joy of out-of-door living. There are 

 no such things as rules of design. One cannot learn a few formulae 

 and then turn out satisfactory work by going through a certain number 

 of processes. Neither is landscape designing done by novices who bab- 

 ble of an inspiration, and who speak of their work as an art pronounc- 



