PLANTING 



PLANTING 



2057 



Herbs in Vol. Ill and on Landscape Gardening in 

 Vol. IV. Inasmuch as trees are discussed under Arbori- 

 culture and herbaceous plants under Herbs, the present 

 treatment is mostly of shrubs. (Figs. 3001-3005, 3011-12, 

 are adapted from "Garden and Forest.") 



2991. A street improvement, exhibiting good community feeling. 



This svmposium on planting has the following parts: 



Page 

 The relation of planting to the fundamental design (Pilat). . . .2657 



Village improvement in relation to planting (Waugh) 2658 



Shrubbery in the landscape (L. H. B., Simonds) 2660 



Woods in the landscape (Manning) 2662 



Wild-gardening (Miller) 2663 



Bog-gardening (Taylor) 2666 



Water-gardening (Trieker) 2668 



Subtropical-gardening (Manning) 2669 



Plants for the seaside (Manning) 2670 



Succulent plants (Thompson) 2672 



Topiary planting and garden architecture (Montillon) 2675 



Planting for winter effect (Miller) 2677 



Planting on walls (Miller) 2680 



Screen-planting (Curtis) 2681 



Winter protection of planting (Egan, Watson) 2684 



Shrubs, small trees, and woody vines (Curtis) 2690 



Shrubs for the Middle West (Miller) 2693 



Shrubs for street and park planting (Mulford) 2694 



Shrubs for midcontinental regions (Irish) 2694 



Shrubs and climbers for the South (Berckmans) 2696 



Ornamental shrubs for California (Gregg and Stevens) 2700 



Vines for Calif ornia (Gregg, Stevens and Jones > 2705 



The relation of planting to the fundamental design. 



It is the business of the landscape architect to com- 

 bine beaut}- and utility into a harmonious composition. 

 The artistic aim in the practice of landscape architec- 

 ture is to produce beautiful pictures. To achieve such 

 Eictures, the creative imagination must be controlled 

 y familiarity with the accepted canons of design. Good 

 design in landscape work must be based on the 

 fundamental principles of art and the laws of 

 nature. Fitness, proportion, variety, mystery 

 or intricacy, unity, and harmony, all these 

 must be considered. 



While it is the aim, in creating landscape 

 gardens and parks, to produce natural effects, 

 the best results are not necessarily secured by 

 a mere imitation of nature as it happens to exist 

 in a given locality. It is possible to modify 

 nature to fit artificial conditions; and by chang- 

 ing the scale, by adding new features, or making 

 different combinations, compositions may be 

 produced which have all the charm of a natural 

 scene, yet surpass nature in beauty and interest. 

 Varied emotions are produced by different com- 

 positions. Sometimes the mood is gay, as in 

 flower-gardens. Awe, wonder, and admiration 

 are produced by the large natural features, 

 rocks, cliffs, canons, waterfalls, the mountains, 2992 



and the sea. Mystery and intricacy are conceived by 

 rambles through the dense woods and jungles. Rest, 

 peace, tranquillity are suggested by certain woodland 

 scenes, a sheltered lake, or a meadow with a meander- 

 ing stream. The sense of deliberation, dignity, and 

 maturity is produced by the stately arched trees of 

 avenue or mall, and by groves of matured trees. 



Many laymen and artists think of landscape archi- 

 tecture only as a decorative art; and to their minds 

 planting is of value only in so far as the foliage hides 

 some ugly foundation, softens hard lines or relieves 

 bare spaces, screens some unsightly view or forms a 

 setting for an architectural feature. Sculptors and 

 architects especially are prone to think that the most 

 charming natural parts of our public parks are suitable 

 sites for memorials in stone and statues in marble and 

 bronze. They reason that the spreading branches of 

 the trees and the background of foliage wfll enhance the 

 beauty of their work of art. Their thought is of their 

 own creation and they fail to realize that by introdu- 

 cing anaitificial object, no matter how beautiful it may 

 be in itself, the harmony and beauty of the natural 

 scene may be destroyed. 



From the point of view of the landscape architect, 

 planting is not merely a superficial decorative process. 

 He considers the arrangement and disposition of the 

 foliage-masses as well as the modeling of the earth's 

 surfaces to be fundamental in landscape design. Neces- 

 sary buildings, roads, paths, and other artificial features, 

 must be provided for use and enjoyment; but the best 

 design is the one that succeeds in effectively obscuring 

 or subduing these necessary objects in the landscape 

 and still provides fully the facilities required for use, 

 shelter, and other enjoyments of the people. 



While design is the main consideration in creating a 

 landscape, nature, life, and time are necessary for the 

 completion of the design and the full development of 

 its beauty. The beauty of a landscape is dependent 

 largely on the green living things, as trees, shrubs, 

 grass; but the success of the picture is due more to the 

 disposition and arrangement of the material than to 

 the materials themselves. Therefore, it sometimes 

 happens that a thorough knowledge of horticulture, 

 especially when this knowledge is combined with great 

 enthusiasm and, perhaps, with an added interest in 

 botany, is a decided handicap to the success of the 

 amateur designer. The horticultural features are over- 

 emphasized at the expense of the composition. Many 

 places and parks that were originally well designed have 

 been robbed of then" charm and beauty and landscape 

 effects, because of the interest and enthusiasm on the 

 part of gardeners, owners of estates, or park com- 

 missioners in horticultural things. In the conviction 

 that they are embellishing the beauty of a glade, valley, 

 lawn, or meadow, they proceed to cover these open 

 spaces with rare specimens of trees and shrubs, thus 



A series of back-yard improvements, exhibiting pride in premises. 



