FORMAL AND LANDSCAPE PLANTING 41 



by the laws of geometry, is infinitely more pleasing in 

 the majority of English gardens. The effective group- 

 ing of trees, either in the form of isolated clumps or 

 boundary plantations, is a matter requiring great skill 

 and artistic perception, and it is only right that the 

 designer should have a hand in their disposal, even if 

 they occur outside the strict boundaries of the garden. 

 A mistaken idea, prevalent among certain owners of 

 property, is that garden design affects only that piece 

 of ground which it is proposed to lay out with beds, 

 lawns and walks. This is not so, for the beauty of 

 certain gardens lies not so much in their own attractive- 

 ness, as on the distant views obtainable from them. Of 

 course there are limits to this theory, as for example the 

 hill gardens of Italy, with their extended vistas of roll- 

 ing mountains and fertile valleys the hand of man is 

 not responsible for scenery of this type. But in English 

 gardens, especially those which are set in a small park, 

 or paddock, we expect that the same mind that designed 

 the garden shall also have the direction of such of the 

 surrounding property as is observable from it. Un- 

 sightly objects, factory chimneys, ugly buildings, or 

 workmen's cottages can usually be screened from view 

 by suitably disposed groups of hardy trees. The attain- 

 ment of some measure of beauty in the home landscape 

 will also provide an excuse for the opening out of the 

 garden, the reduction of boundary walls and hedges, 

 letting in air and sunlight, without of course rendering 

 the place wind swept. 



In forming boundary plantations, there is seldom any 

 need for making them continuous, a form of planting 

 which becomes exceedingly monotonous, at the same time 

 defining the limits of the property in an unmistakable 

 fashion. Privacy and shelter are of necessity considered, 

 but if without defeating these objects we can secure a 

 vista of distant country, rich meadowlands and purple 



