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THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



greater simplicity, individiuility and economic productive- 

 ness in the development of country estates. A country 

 home should be a "home" in the true sense. It should 

 express, in its comfort, in its wide vistas, and in its 

 absence of artificiality, the broad and tolerant spirit of 

 American life. In this connection it is interesting to 

 note an outline of this spirit and purpose briefly and 

 tersely explained in a recent number of a leading ex- 

 ponent of the modern "back-to-the-land" movement : 

 To make America one great garden, as Europe is. 

 To create an American style of gardening, instead of 

 copying Europe literally. 



To have American plants dominant in every landscape, 

 instead of foreign ones. 



To use permanent materials everywhere, instead of 

 temporary ones. 



To propagate all kinds of plants here, instead of wast- 

 ing millions on evergreens, etc., propagated in the in- 

 compatible climate of Europe. 



To develop a passion for privacy and art and kill our 

 passion for show. 



To redeem the northern winter from bleakness and 

 ugliness and create a new type of winter comfort and 

 beauty. 



During my professional experience in America, as 

 head-gardener and landscape architect, for the past six- 

 teen years, a remarkable growth of sane sentiment toward 

 country living has found expression in many different 

 phases of the "back-to-the-land" movement. The tradi- 

 tional English country estate has been a family heritage 

 for generations, while in the United States the notable 

 country estates are of recent origin — those of compara- 

 tively few pioneers dating back hardly more than a decade 

 or two. 1 he rapid increase during the past ten years in 

 the number of more or less elaborate summer homes, set 



in rural surroundings, and attractive covintry estates of 

 extensive and diversified holdings, shows no sign of 

 abatement, and though the movement is in its infancy, 

 there has been distinct progress toward a more rational 

 and less pretentious style of American gardening and 

 landscape architecture. 



The Italian ideas and models, so lavishly imitated by 

 the earlier modern estates, are being superseded by more 

 truly American types in both the architectural and land- 

 scape features. The uniting of the charms of a rural 

 home, with a proper regard for making the property 

 productive as well as beautiful, and within reasonable 

 limits of outlay, is to a large extent supplanting the 

 "regardless-of-expense" idea of .the more pretentious 

 examples scattered throughout the eastern and middle 

 States. The tendency is strongly in favor of preserving 

 and restoring the natural features of American landscape 

 beauty, the creating of a more distinctly characteristic 

 style of gardening, instead of literally copying Europe, 

 and to give our native plants and flowers more promi- 

 nence in the laying out of the scheme for a country 

 estate, or for a more modest rural home. Another hope- 

 ful and significant feature is that men of wealth, weary 

 of the city, are learning that the owning and developing 

 of a home in the country can be made something more 

 than a dream. They are also learning to waste less and 

 to give more thought and attention to the things that 

 satisfy, instead of the purely artificial adornments, within 

 or without, in planning these havens of restful compan- 

 ionship with nature for their declining years. 



There is no lack of desirable farm-land, idle pasturage, 

 and wooded hillsides, waiting development as admirable 

 sites for country estates, and many with great possibili- 

 ties unthought of by their present owners. The good- 

 roads movement, the suburban trolley line, the distance- 



TIIIC XATUR.M, GROWTH Ol" MAPLES, OAKS. ETC., FRONTED WITH MOUXTAIX LAUREL, RHODODEXnRONS 

 LOCK. NATIVE LILIES THRIVE .AMONG THESE AND PROLONG THE SEASON OF FLOWERS. 

 THE COLOR EFFECT IN FALL IS GLORIOUS. 



