148 Landscape Gardening 



among the rocks cither in the form of a cascade, a weeping 

 fountain, or a perpendicular jet. A little basin of water is 

 formed at the foot or in the midst of the rockwork; and 

 the cool moist atmosphere afforded by the trickling streams, 

 would offer a most congenial site for aquatic plants, ferns, 

 and mosses. 



Fountains of a highly artificial character are happily 

 situated only when they are placed in the neighborhood of 

 buildings and architectural forms. When only a single 

 fountain can be maintained in a residence, the center of the 

 flower-garden, or the neighborhood of the piazza or terrace- 

 walk, is, we think, much the most appropriate situation for 

 it. There the liquid element, dancing and sparkling in the 

 sunshine, is an agreeable feature in the scene, as viewed 

 from the windows of the rooms; and the falling watery 

 spray diffusing coolness around is no less delightful in the 

 surrounding stillness of a summer evening. 



After all that we have said respecting architectural and 

 rustic decorations of the grounds, we must admit that it 

 requires a great deal of good taste and judgment, to intro- 

 duce and distribute them so as to be in good keeping with 

 the scenery of country residences. A country residence, 

 where the house with a few tasteful groups of flowers and 

 shrubs, and a pretty lawn, with clusters and groups of 

 luxuriant trees, are all in high keeping and evincing high 

 order, is far more beautiful and pleasing than the same 

 place, or even one of much larger extent, where a profusion 

 of statues, vases, and fountains, or rockwork and rustic 

 seats, are distributed throughout the garden and grounds, 

 while the latter, in themselves, show slovenly keeping, and 

 a crude and meagre knowledge of design in Landscape 

 Gardening. 



Unity of expression is the maxim and guide in this de- 

 partment of the art, as in every other. Decorations can 

 never be introduced with good effect, when they are at 

 variance with the character of surrounding objects. A 

 beautiful and highly architectural villa may, with the 

 greatest propriety, receive the decorative accompaniments 



