116 LANDSCAPE GARDENING 



lighter or darker background may be a set of build- 

 ings, any architectural work, such as walls, gates, 

 or terraces, or a wide sweep of lawn and meadows 

 in less highly formalized work. The sizes and lo- 

 cations of these masses are determined by the 

 problem in hand, and a successful solution will de- 

 pend simply upon a nice discernment of their es- 

 thetic and economic significance. 



In a large number of cases planting is valuable 

 chiefly on account of its silhouette in elevation. 

 This is generally the case in the informal style. 

 In the formal gardens, where parts are filled with 

 brilliant bedding plants, and where the whole 

 scheme is seen at a glance, the plan will be of major 

 importance; the accents alone will appear to any 

 extent in profile, and they are often architectural. 

 The plan will also be of utmost importance if the 

 planting is to be looked down upon from a height, 

 as often happened in the old Italian gardens of the 

 Renaissance, which were almost invariably located 

 on hillsides. It can be said, however, that almost 

 all of these problems where the plan has greater 

 significance will fall within the formal style of 

 planting. 



In the informal style the elevation is of greatest 

 importance, and the plan is considered mainly as 



