1Islan&s 167 



few bits of stone with a little earth and a shrub or two, 

 or just a few bare rocks jutting out on the surface of 

 the water, tailing off as if they were small islands in the 

 train of a big one, are found in thousands of places in 

 the lakes of the country and are suggestive of this kind 

 of landscape gardening that should be undertaken. 



The clothing of islands with trees and shrubs should 

 be in harmony with the growth of the shores nearby. 

 If young plants are selected almost any of the woodland 

 types can be used ; elms, maples, alders, white willows, 

 birches can all be used, but the kinds similar to those 

 on the neighbouring shore should predominate. Where 

 the mainland is free from woods, it is a good idea to 

 throw across the water on the shore a mass of similar 

 island growths. The repeating of a note of foliage 

 in this manner is always effective and should be used 

 in various ways throughout the neighbourhood as well as 

 on the islands. All formalism in the planting should 

 be avoided and the trees and shrubs grouped in many 

 sizes, but for the sake of a considerable mass of colour, 

 masses of one sort should be used together. If a small 

 valley or cleft in the crest of an island occurs, it should 

 not be planted, except with low shrubs or undergrowth, 

 so as to emphasize the variety of surface and increase 

 the contrast or contradiction of parts which contributes 

 so much to the beauty and picturesqueness of the 

 landscape. 



It takes almost a special gift to compass these natural 

 effects, but the above simple hints or suggestions will 

 place one on the right road. It sometimes almost 



