DESIGNING A GARDEN 87 



at first that neither system would have an ad- 

 vantage over the other, but there is a distinct 

 advantage in practical accomplishment lying al- 

 ways with the symmetrical arrangement. Walks 

 that follow straight lines leave no useless corners 

 and produce no wasted strips or crescents here 

 and there. Every inch of space counts for its 

 very fullest in the garden of mathematical pre- 

 cision. Moreover it is well to bear in mind con- 

 tinually the fact that whatever the natural taste 

 may be, whether it demands a measure of care- 

 less irregularity and repudiates positively the 

 symmetry and order which are to another the 

 highest form of beauty, or no, the limitations of 

 the space and of the surroundings impose cor- 

 responding limitations on individual garden 

 development. 



In the interest of general harmony and seem- 

 liness, therefore, order of one sort or another 

 must distinguish even the irregular design. 

 Wilderness treatment is as out of place in town 

 environment as log-cabin architecture; and 

 though there may be the most secluded nooks 

 and idyllic retreats, there must be a certain 

 all-pervading neat precision. In other words, 

 limited grounds may show only to a very lim- 

 ited degree that element which we commonly, 

 though not very exactly, designate as infor- 



