i 4 THE BOOK OF GARDEN DESIGN 



and a cool shady pathway will be much appreciated 

 during the hot days of summer. The fruit and vege- 

 table garden should always be within easy access of the 

 kitchen quarters ; and though the tool and potting 

 sheds ought not to be obtruded, they should be con- 

 venient of access and not approached by narrow, tortu- 

 ous paths. On the plea that these and other necessary 

 conveniences are unsightly they are often banished to 

 remote out of the way corners, and as a consequence 

 economy both of time and labour are out of the ques- 

 tion. We do not hide our cherised works of art in 

 cupboards or attics, but hang them in a good light 

 where they can be viewed comfortably at all times. 

 The same should be the case with our gardens, which 

 deserve to be conveniently situated and readily access- 

 ible in all their parts. 



Undue complexity is as a rule totally out of place in 

 the garden, for the reason that it bewilders the visitor 

 as to the aims and intentions of the designer. Such 

 gardens give one the impression that they were designed 

 piecemeal, each time with no thought for what had 

 been attempted before. Simplicity does not necessarily 

 mean formality, it is rather the expression of a set of 

 ideas in a straightforward, common-sense manner. We 

 cannot have simplicity when we fill our gardens with 

 patchwork flower beds, destroying the beautiful surface 

 of a lawn to make them ; neither is tawdry furniture, 

 ill-designed statues, fountains, sun-dials and seats, 

 likely to impress the beholder with feelings other than 

 those of ridicule or contempt for a display of vulgar 

 opulence. Wherever we look there should be evidence 

 of a desire for unity in the several parts, a sense of 

 breadth and dignity which is the true test of a skilled 

 workman. So many people persist in confusing this 

 desire for simplicity with a wish for puritanical severity 

 straight walks, bare unbroken stretches of lawn, and 



