CHAPTER I 



THE FUNCTION OF PLANT MATERIAL IN 

 LANDSCAPE DESIGN 



PLANT material is the medium which makes possible the realiza- 

 tion of the third dimension of a landscape plan. It is the plant- 

 ing, in the last analysis, that makes for success or failure of a 

 landscape design. In the successful design the planting articulates the 

 whole scheme makes the component parts cohere. Planting produces 

 relief by giving elevation in place of flat monotony, and inspiring 

 framed vistas in place of unbroken horizons. Color in flowers, foliage 

 and fruit provides a means for producing charming contrasts with the 

 quiet greens and browns of nature, delightful to the eye. 



Though architectural features and earthwork are useful aids in 

 the same respect as planting, they are seldom successful unless com- 

 bined with planting. Inanimate forms or masses can be seemingly in- 

 stilled with life when relieved by living plants. 



The results produced by planting are so strikingly obvious that 

 the layman is but indifferently impressed with the other factors of a 

 successful landscape plan, and as a consequence, landscape develop- 

 ment, whatever the type, finds favor or disfavor in the popular eye 

 solely from the, point of view of planting. This fact is a source of 

 some discouragement to the intelligent designer, who realizes that good 

 design is the real basis of his work, and cherishes that above all else. 

 Without a good design as a basis for landscape development, plant 

 material ceases to function as a delightful medium in which to "render" 

 the plan, but serves instead as a means for covering up or blotting out 

 unsightly mistakes. 



According to natural sequence, the design is the most important 

 factor in a landscape development, for unless an intelligent design is 

 first prepared for the whole development, much time, labor and expense 

 will be wasted. Planting is next in importance, for it is the material 

 medium that gives life to the design. But so far as popular approval 

 is concerned, the landscape architect realizes that practically his only 

 source of satisfaction in working out a good design is his own artistic 

 conscience, and that the public loudly praises a successful planting. 



