224 LANDSCAPE GAEDEXING 



to do so, introducing features of a sort Tvliicli are 

 entirely out of place, and transporting some *'bit 

 of nature" to a spot ^here it would never have oc- 

 curred had nature herself been allowed to dictate. 



The point that is missed by those who argue 

 strongly against so-called "rules and regulations" 

 in the designing of landscape, and indeed in all 

 branches of the arts, is, that man's handiwork is 

 of necessity unnatural-looking. For this very 

 reason, if the jDlanting about and in close connec- 

 tion with the house be absolutely naturalistic and 

 unrestrained, the house will ai^jjear more ujinatu- 

 ral and out of i^lace than ever because of the in- 

 sistence of the surroundings upon contrasting 

 features. If the planting about the house — and 

 this applies to gardens, because they are generally 

 found in close proximity to the house — is planned 

 carefully to show that natural objects have been 

 used b}^ man to express his ideas and to harmonize 

 his house with the countryside, of which it is a 

 part, by combining nature with design, the result 

 is much more worth while than a tangle of natu- 

 ralistic planting, however good that may be of it- 

 self and in its o^^ti i^lace. 



UjD to the seventeenth century landscape gar- 

 dening was essentially garden design. Garden de- 



