How to Make a Flower Garden 



V. Scattered Planting vs. Masses 



By "M." 



iple of massed planting 



The first of the accompanying illustrations shows one of the fundamental 

 conceptions m landscape gardening, namely, mass planting as opposed to 

 the indiscrimmate scattering of individual plants. In the second photograph 



one sees a large number of rare and 

 costly plants. The mind wanders 

 from one detail to another; the 

 whole effect is distracting and be- 

 wildering. There are many plants, 

 but there is no picture. The 

 question of what to plant is of 

 secondary importance to the ques- 

 tion of how to plant. 



The first picture is characterised 

 by simplicity and strength. The 

 mind grasps the whole scheme at once. The open lawn in the center is 

 not cluttered with a miscellaneous and meaningless collection of curiosities« 

 The Imes of the border are free and 

 gracefully flowing. Such a border 

 requires very little care compared 

 with the second one. It is com- 

 posed of perfectly hardy trees and 

 shrubs arranged in a nature-like 

 manner. The border is full of 

 colour, which is set oft by a natural 

 background of tree foliage. In the 

 second picture we have only the 

 interest of detail. There is no 

 unity, no grouping, no massing of 

 plants. The tender foliage plants are costly and ephemeral, while unsightly 

 stakes are a poor substitute for robust, sturdy, self-supporting plants. 



Example of scattered planting 



