THE 



GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



AND 



HORTICULTURIST. 



DEVOTED TO HORTICULTURE, ARBORICULTURE AND RURAL AFFAIRS. 



Edited by THOMAS MEEHA.N. 



Vol. XXII. 



MARCH, 1880. 



Number 255. 



Flower Garden and Pleasure Ground, 



SEASONABLE HINTS. 



There are indications that the love of art in 

 landscape gardening is meeting with a fresh revi- 

 val. There have been several periods within 

 the time of living men, when there was much 

 enthusiasm for this kind of art, notably in the 

 time of A. J. Downing. The business depres- 

 sions of late years have kept people more to the 

 bread and butter side of life. Art is now reviv- 

 ing, and garden art, with other kinds. It will 

 be a pity if this new born taste be not judiciously 

 guided. In the past we have seen thousands of 

 dollars wasted in the effort to get something nice. 

 In a large number of cases, pretty effects may 

 be obtained by a small expenditure of cash. 

 Usually the one who yearns after a nice garden 

 sees a pretty plan in some book that he likes, 

 and he resolves at once to imitate it. Or he 

 sends to a landscape gardener for a plan where- 

 by to improve his ground, and goes on with 

 what is suggested, — or perhaps he puts the 

 whole into the hands of some "jobber" in the 

 vicinity, who " landscapes " to the tune of seve- 

 ral thousand dollars, leaving a place of no more 

 beauty than it was before. In some other cases 

 the owner "knows what he wants," and "does 

 what he likes with his own," and generally at a 

 much heavier expense than in any of the other 

 cases. 



Kow most places have some peculiar natural 

 beauty which only needs to be brought out or 

 added to, and any plan drawn where the 

 draughtsman has never seen the grounds, should 

 be looked on with suspicion. Even after seeing 

 the place, the artist should not merely be asked 

 for the "best" plan for improvement, — but 

 "what can be done for the least money ?" Ano- 

 ther thing to be kept in mind is that not only 

 the cost of the improvement proposed should be 

 known, but also what the place as improved will 

 probably cost every year to maintain it in neat- 

 ness and beauty. We have known many a beau- 

 tifully improved place to fall into disgrace very 

 soon, because the annual expenses were a sur- 

 prise to the owner. In all improvements, be- 

 ware especially of plans from foreign works. 

 Their wants are not our wants, — and though the 

 principles of beauty may be the same all the 

 world over, our ability to enjoy these "princi- 

 ples" makes all the difference. For instance in 

 the old world people can get about more in the 

 height of summer than we can, — while we go 

 into the shade and enjo}-. "We want more shade 

 to our roads than Europeans do. To explain 

 our meaning, we give on the next page what is 

 regarded as a good model of landscape garden- 

 ing, from the very fine French work of M. Andre 

 recently issued. This may be perfection in a 

 cool climate, but with the thick belts on one 



