CHAPTER IX 



How TO Plan a Garden 



It is well for the gardener to start with an 

 open mind. He should look for suggestions 

 from the site, not omitting to take into account 

 its immediate environment. The best gar- 

 dens are personal: they take their character 

 from their makers. 



I am sometimes asked "What style of 

 garden would you suggest for my plot?" 

 and I am tempted to reply, "The common- 

 sense style." The exact treatment for a 

 given plot is not to be laid down by rule. The 

 gardener may not recognize the possibilities 

 of the site at first glance, but he will do so 

 when he has carefully studied it. In Chapter 

 IV I showed the utility of straight lines in 

 an oblong plot of limited size. I do not wish 

 to magnify the difficulties of planning, and I 

 may say at the outset that the more knotty 

 problems arise most often in connection with 

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