410 THE GARDEK AND ITS DEVELOPMENT. 



of the ground arose the idea of enlivening the garden hy the use of 

 wate]' devices. 



Not everywhere, indeed, could such an alnmdance of water be 

 obtained as at Tivoli, where an arm, led off from theTeverone, ru.shed 

 through the terrac3-formed and supported villa of the Cardinal of Este. 

 Where, upon such mountain declivities, springs were available, their 

 water was so directed that behind the house it fell over a series of 

 steps. As the precipitous character of the site made it necessary to 

 level off against the mountain a larger area, the so-called "teatro," in 

 order that the declivity might not coniiningly press upon the house, 

 the cascades were naturall}^ led so as to form the middle point and 

 termination of this area. These water courses, which were for the 

 most part quite scanty, as we find them in the Albanian Mountains at 

 the villas of Frascati, were the prototypes of a whole series of arrange- 

 ments of cascades in the most widely scattered castle gardens. Never, 

 however, have they produced a more imposing effect than behind the 

 castle of Wilhelmshohe, where, of colossal magnitude, they close in a 

 teatro equalled by none now extant. 



By the elevation of the daughters of the Medici to the royal throne 

 of France the Italian garden obtained a ready reception and imitation 

 in that country. This was al«o the case in the Netherlands, where, 

 indeed, the appearance of the flat-laid-out garden became quite 

 changed. Everything that could cast a shade had to be avoided under 

 the cloudy sk}^ of Holland. The stone balustrade was, from want of 

 materials, replaced by thin boards without special architectural treat- 

 ment. The abundance of standing water led to the laying out of long, 

 canal-like stagnant l)asins, and upon the rectilinear box-bordered beds 

 low-growing flowers were cultivated. Therefore the Dutch gardens 

 appeared parti colored, indeed, but flat and barren, and had, as a 

 whole, an insipid, conunonplace character. With its pronounced 

 predilection for floriculture, this style was for centuries the pattern for 

 the stiff, ordinary suburban garden of German}^, with its straight 

 central path and its flower borders. This foriu of garden, yet well 

 known to us all, has only just disappeared because of the rapid growth 

 of the city, which has absorbed the old gardens about the towns and 

 changed them into suburbs. 



This Dutch style became first possible at a time when there was at 

 the command of the florist a considerable variety of plants, as the style 

 of the garden depends in the greatest degree upon the plant material 

 available. Until the year 1600 this was much more scanty than is 

 generally supposed. 



Very slowly did the scholastic prejudices against the study of nature 

 disappear, and it was the renaissance that first effected in this a com- 

 plete revolution. Interest in the diversity of plant forms was awak- 



