PLANTING 



PLANTING 



2677 



of such method in design when executed by the master 

 hand. 



The designers of the tremendous and monumental 

 landscape arrangements executed in France in the later 

 Renaissance periods gained distinctive effects by the 

 very bold use of sheared foliage; they virtually carved 



their broad axially 

 related plans out of 

 the woodland. The 

 "Bosque" in French 

 design is comparable 

 to the "Topiary 

 grotesque" in the 

 English. The French 

 parterre gardens, in 

 which intricate and 

 elaborate geometrical 

 designs are worked 

 out in low sheared 

 foliage or bed edging 

 and white or colored 

 gravel, are another 

 expression developing 

 from the same original 

 motive as produced 

 the topiary bird. 



In the colonial gar- 

 dens in America topi- 

 ary work was com- 

 mon, mostly in the 

 simpler 'form of 

 clipped hedges, gener- 

 3022. An attractive diaL ally of box, and DOX- 



edged parterre gar- 

 dens. Remains of many of these old gardens are still to 

 be found in the Atlantic states, and a few old gardens 

 are still in a good state of preservation and cultivation. 

 The box-garden at Mount Yernon is perhaps the most 

 noted, and is in an excellently preserved and restored 

 state at the present time. See Plate XLVI, Vol. III. 



A moderate amount of interesting and good topiary 

 work is under way in gardens in this country' today, 

 and a few nurserymen are in position to furnish good 

 clipped specimens in a variety of designs. The use of 

 topiary work other than simple clipped hedges should 

 be carefully and advisedly undertaken, however, for it 

 is appropriate only when the whole architectural style 

 of a property makes it suitable and when it becomes an 

 inherent part of the scheme as a whole. 



Garden architecture. 



Any structure or structural element placed out-of- 

 doors in nature takes on the significance of architecture, 

 and must bear judgment as such. Landscape as such 

 is either nature's work or man's work with nature's 

 materials in their natural form. The placing of archi- 

 tecture in the landscape is always the combining of 

 the obviously artificial with the natural, and the two 

 must be brought into harmony. It is a deplorable fact 

 that when, with the exercise of judgment and good 

 taste, it is possible to attain harmony in the least costly 

 as well as in the most expensive, so much bad and 

 inharmonious architecture encumbers the landscape. 



Under any circumstances, architecture becomes to 

 some extent a feature of accent in the landscape, at 

 least within its immediate surroundings. It is emphatic 

 in contrast with its setting and always functions as 

 focalizing the composition of which it forms a part. 



In general, it is wiser to attempt a simple design and 

 insure its substantial construction than to undertake 

 the ornate in garden architecture. There is a world of 

 interesting precedent in simple designs for the many 

 smaller architectural embellishments of the garden, such 

 as summer-houses or pools, pavements, seats, dial- 

 bases, boxes, tubs, jars, and other ornaments and 

 accessories. The use of simple boxes or ordinary pots 



for flowers and specimen plants is to be encouraged, 

 and the conversion of such inappropriate materials as 

 plumbing fixtures into garden ornaments is to be con- 

 demned. The usual cast-iron vases and the like are 

 marks of a passing era of bad taste. In lawn pottery, 

 in the form of pots and vases, excellent designs are 

 now to be had, as 

 also of sun-dials. 



No one considera- 

 tion is more impor- 

 tant than that the 

 architectural style of 

 even the simplest 

 seat or sun-dial be 

 similar to that found 

 in the larger archi- 

 tecture of the build- 

 ing or buildings to 

 which the landscape 

 development may be 

 related. 



A number of rep- 

 utable firms now 

 produce substanti- 

 ally made garden 

 furniture in consider- 

 able variety of good 

 designs and in many 

 different materials. 

 Particularly good 



3023. Vase at Hampton Court. 



garden seats and garden pottery are now obtainable at 

 reasonable prices and may be found in shops in some 

 of the larger cities. The advertisements and trade 

 catalogues of the manufacturing concerns are interest- 

 ing and instructive. 



However, the obtaining of individually well-designed 

 and substantial articles having been assured, there 

 remains still the selection of appropriate patterns. 

 Garden architecture should correspond to the style, 

 architectural and otherwise, of a property as a whole. 

 Its appropriate use is its justification. 



Rustic work is fitting and often most appropriate in 

 a naturalistic setting. It is, however, architecture and 

 should be so designed as to bear analysis as such. It 

 should be structural hi its line, and substantial. It is 

 best when simple and unobtrusive in design. It is 

 seldom appropriate when fantastic or whimsical. The 

 occasional use of rustic work in such way that in its 

 rough character it appears almost to have grown up 

 with the surrounding wild 

 conditions is very pleas- 

 ing, particularly good 

 unobtrusive seats, bridges, 

 and shelters. 

 EUGENE D. MOXTILLON. 



Ranting for winter effect. 



Winter is the season 

 when there is the least 

 sunshine, and the least 

 sign of life and color in 

 vegetation. As a floral 

 festival, Christmas ranks 

 second to Easter, owing 

 doubtless to the relative 

 scarcity and higher cost 

 of materials. The ideal is 

 for every family to grow 

 its own flowers for Christ- 

 mas gifts, but most persons 

 have to content them- 

 selves with less personal 

 products purchased from 



3024. Stone flower vase 4 or 5 feet the florist. Holly is the 

 high, used as a plant basket. symbol of Christmas as 



