A COMMON SENSE GARDEN 25 



plucked; such desecration produced a painful im- 

 pression on his mind and upset him for days after- 

 wards. He sought flowers in their own retreats, 

 and perhaps better than any one who has written 

 did he understand their language. 



Such a garden as I have endeavoured to describe 

 looks neither new nor garish from the very be- 

 ginning, neither does it ever appear ridiculous or 

 top-heavy with cheap dignity that it never really 

 possessed except on paper, or in someone's imagi- 

 nation. It will be neither a French garden nor a 

 German, nor Dutch nor Italian nor even English, 

 although it will show many influences of the latter. 

 It will possess the best characteristics of Ameri- 

 can gardens, and if you will only keep the gar- 

 dener out of it it will remain a garden for ever and 

 a day. 



Why do not people give more thought to their 

 gardens? They build houses and go extensively 

 into architecture, especially into that particular 

 style, or combination of styles, in which their own 

 house is designed, yet they seem to think that a 

 garden is just merely a garden, a miscellaneous 

 collection of flowers and colours meant principally 



