54 THE BOOK OF GARDEN DESIGN 



This is the view which has been embodied in the design 

 of hundreds of English gardens ; the possession of a 

 scrap of water being seized upon as an opportunity for 

 a lavish display of dressed stone or artificial rockwork 

 built into an endless variety of grotesque forms. Ex- 

 tremes are seldom pleasing, and the lover of flowers and 

 sylvan scenes will regard these monotonous canals and 

 round ponds as scant compensation for the loss of much 

 natural beauty. The artificial treatment of water, 

 especially when it is required to form part of a formal 

 scheme, is one of the most costly undertakings in the 

 whole practice of garden craft, and there are many who 

 bitterly regret the day when they took the first step 

 towards taming this fickle ally. 



From this it will be inferred that I have little sym-i 

 pathy with those elaborate arrangements which were 

 considered of such supreme beauty by Le Notre and 

 certain of the older designers. Not the least objection- 

 able feature of water which has been conveyed by pipes 

 or other means into basins and similar receptacles, is 

 that it is nearly always stagnant. Movement is essential 

 if sweetness and purity are to be obtained ; the offensive 

 condition during hot weather of water in garden tanks 

 is the surest confirmation of this. Water is precious 

 because it enables the cultivation of a host of beautiful 

 plants, whose presence we should otherwise lack; but 

 healthy vegetation is almost impossible amidst the decay 

 occasioned by stagnation. 



On a small property water generally occurs in the 

 shape of a stream or brook, often running an irregular 

 course, with possibly small falls between the different 

 levels. A case of this kind recently came under my 

 notice, and I was interested to see how the owner pro- 

 posed including it in his plan. The stream entered 

 somewhere on the outskirts of the property, and on no 

 occasion passed nearer than 300 yards of the lawns and 



