158 LANDSCAPE GARDENING 



Japanese landscape shown in Figure 38 the con- 

 tortions of the rock surfaces are repeated in the 

 grotesque forms of the trees. 



If one were to believe all that the untrained en- 

 thusiasts say about natural conditions and native 

 planting, some very strange designs would result. 

 One is told that plants should be only of the native 

 and local varieties, and that they should not be 

 corrected or trained, for "is not Nature the great- 

 est artist of all?" Every one is familiar with 

 planting schemes of this type, for they may be seen 

 in any village where places have been allowed to 

 go to ruin. They certainly look well in pictures, 

 but are impossible to live with; straggling lilacs, 

 unkempt trees, matted grasses, and a profusion of 

 weeds, accenting the " native element," are seen on 

 all sides, and are truly the logical outcome of just 

 what the "back-to-nature" men are clamoring for. 

 I The entire question of selection of plant mate- 

 rial is one of suiting the means to the end. With- 

 out judicious selection, any planting scheme will 

 fail miserably. 



