4 THE BOOK OF GARDEN DESIGN 



endless repetition. But we have brought it on ourselves, 

 and must either rest content with that we know to be 

 false, or make an effort to free ourselves from this 

 meretricious form of art without further delay. All 

 may not possess the faculty for suggesting a complicated 

 plan for themselves, but there are few who may not 

 study the outlines of the subject, so that they may be 

 better able to control those whom they employ. After 

 all, the garden should reflect the ideas and taste of the 

 owner, not of the professional. The art of garden 

 making consists very largely in the exercise of common- 

 sense and a due perception of the fitness of things. 

 These, coupled with a love for flowers and a knowledge 

 of their requirements, will lead the beginner to success 

 far more quickly than any ability he may possess for 

 map and plan drawing. 



The formal garden, as it existed in the days before its 

 modern substitute cast a slur on the word " formality," 

 reflected no small credit on the skill and taste of its 

 originators. There was a sense of breadth and stateli- 

 ness about it which is sadly lacking in its modern rival. 

 Especially praiseworthy were the open stretches of turf, 

 and bold grouping of trees, which were characteristic of 

 the time. The planting of avenues, to whose beauty 

 many of our older houses owe so much, the alleys and 

 greens bounded with hedges of clipped yew, and the 

 wide borders filled with herbaceous flowers, were all 

 pleasing in spite of their stiffness. Aided by handsome 

 terraces, used only where needed, as at Haddon and 

 other places, these old time gardens were free from any 

 suggestion of trickery or deception. Their designers 

 were men whose ideas, if a trifle austere, were perfectly 

 honest ; they liked their handiwork to display its 

 beauties in a straightforward manner, with the con- 

 sequence that their gardens were well-proportioned, 

 and clearly betokened that money had been ungrudgingly 



