6 LANDSCAPE GA.RDENING. 



"Landscape gardener," "landscape architect," 

 '^landscape artist," "gardener," have their obvious rela- 

 tion to the terms ah*eady considered. Whatever he may be 

 called, the practicioner of the art is an artist. He may 

 be a good artist, or a poor one. He would face the same 

 possibility if he were a painter. It seems to the writer 

 that the term 'landscape gardener" is much the best 

 one for American use in all connections where simple 

 "gardener" would be of doubtful intention. The affec- 

 tation of the title "landscape architect" by those profes- 

 sionally engaged in the art seems to be gaining ground, 

 but it is surely unfortunate. In subsequent chapters we 

 will distinguish two great schools of this fine art, and 

 will endeavor to justify the names of "natural style" 

 and "architectural style" for them. If the professional 

 artists of the former school would call themselves land- 

 scape gardeners, and those of the latter inclination 

 would assume the title of landscape architects, we should 

 have a consistent and useful terminology. The fact is, 

 however, that some of the Americans who call themselves 

 landscape architects are the warmest partisans of the 

 natural style. 



We have already tried to distinguish between the 

 landscape artist and the layman who has a trained and 

 sympathetic understanding of the artist's work. The 

 layman possessed of good artistic taste and a proper hor- 

 ticultural knowledge can doubtless produce many beau- 

 tiful and satisfactory things in his own yard; and such 

 lay artists are sorely needed. But for real creative work 

 of any magnitude the born and trained artist is required. 

 Genius like that of Raphael, or Turner, is more of a 

 natural endowment than an education. Genius like that 

 of Frederick Law Olmsted is of the same order. In 

 the few following pages the only attempt is for the cul- 

 tivation of the taste of the layman. There are many 

 things which he ought to understand, and to that end a 



