232 FLOWER GARDEN. 



evanescent than those of any of the sister arts. The hand 

 of the designer is not here guided by the imitation of Na- 

 ture, for his work is wholly artificial in its arrangements 

 and appliances, neither does utility come in, as in archi- 

 tecture, to supply a form and frame-work, which it is the 

 artist's part to adorn. " As flower gardens," says Mr. Lou- 

 don, the best authority on this topic, " are objects of plea- 

 sure, the principle which must serve as a guide in laying 

 them out must be taste. Now, in flower gardens, as in 

 other objects, there are different kinds of tastes ; these em- 

 bodied are called styles or characters ; and the great art of 

 the designer is, having fixed on a style, to follow it out un- 

 mixed with other styles, or with any deviation which would 

 interfere with the kind of taste or impression which that 

 style is calculated to produce. Style, therefore, is the lead- 

 ing principle in laying out flower gardens, as utility is in 

 laying out the culinary garden. As objects of fancy and 

 taste, the styles of flower gardens are various. The modern 

 style is a collection of irregular groups and masses, placed 

 about the house as a medium, uniting it with the open 

 lawn. The ancient geomatric style, in place of irregular 

 groups, employed symmetrical forms ; in France, adding 

 statues and fountains ; in Holland, cut trees and grassy 

 slopes ; and in Italy, stone walls, walled terraces, and 

 flights of steps. In some situations, these characteristics 

 of parterres may with propriety be added to or used instead 

 of the modern sort, especially in flat situations, such as are 

 enclosed by high walls, in towns, or where the principal 

 building or object is in a style of architecture which will 

 not render these appendages incongruous. There are other 

 characters of gardens, such as the Chinese, which are not 

 widely different from the modern ; the Indian, which con- 

 sists chiefly of walks under shade, in squares of grass ; the 



