6 HAND-BOOK OF PRACTICAL 



The art of composition embraced in Landscape Gardening 

 has certain principles which go towards forming a unity of the 

 whole, and from which no deviation can be made without 

 marring the result Taste may be possessed in a greater or less 

 degree ; but without reference to principles it will fail to create 

 a design of harmonious proportion or association. It is to be 

 regretted that so little attention is given to the subject of 

 principle and arrangement of tree, shrub, flower and path, as a 

 whole in the decoration of our homes. Thousands on thousands 

 of dollars are yearly expended in the creation of new places 

 that have to be again remodeled because of apparent want, when 

 completed, of congeniality and harmony necessary to an effective 

 whole. 



It is not expected that every man will or can be a land- 

 scapist, any more than he can be a lawyer or physician ; but he 

 should have sufficient love for his own home to induce him to 

 study the principles of the art, so as to be able to appreciate the 

 reasons for arrangements of designs submitted by a landscape 

 artist. A spirit of independence, a pride and love for the 

 creation of one's own, should imbue every citizen to the improve- 

 ment by judicious planting of his home grounds. Were this the 

 condition of things, the rapidity and beauty of new home 

 surroundings would be greatly enhanced, and many grounds 

 that now receive frequent remodeling would exhibit most 

 gratifying results within a period of five to six years from first 

 planting. 



It may be pleasant to pass through an apprenticeship of 

 learning by practice the character of tree and plant, the requisite 

 breadth of lawn or road to give the best effect, or to arrange 

 them in one harmonious whole, but it consumes years of time 

 and is a knowledge which may be bought and made applicable 

 whenever the purchaser has his ground ready for its practice. 

 These prefatory remarks are as cautionary against one of the 

 most common errors in ornamental gardening, viz: That of 

 mixing herbaceous flowers with shrubs and trees, by which 

 neither can thrive properly ; or if they do, the effect of the one 



