12 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 



scale and aspired to more grandeur and dignity 

 than the gardens of New England. In the South 

 vegetation thrived luxuriantly and new and ex- 

 quisite forms of plant life were frequently dis- 

 covered to delight the heart of the horticulturist, 

 forms that would not thrive in the bitter cold of 

 the Northland. Slave labour was plentiful and 

 cheap and was at the command of the planters to 

 carry out extravagant feats of gardening; thou- 

 sands of hands could be spared for the super- 

 cultivation of the myriads of flowers and shrubs, 

 without which an impressive formal garden is 

 impossible. 



There, too, the tradition of entail was followed 

 by many of the prominent families, so that an 

 estate remained with a name for an indefinite 

 period, generally passing to the eldest son as in 

 England. This was merely a substantial expres- 

 sion of the Englishman's deep-rooted respect, one 

 might say superstition, for custom which became 

 a considerable factor in many Southern gardens. 

 They were made not only for the enjoyment of 

 the generation then in existence, but planned and 

 planted a hundred years into the future. 



