THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN, 



and lily. And the first duty of all who care for the garden as a 

 picture is to see these noble natural forms in every part of life and 

 nature, and once they see them they will never mistake decorative 

 patterns for art and beauty in a garden. 



In some writings on garden design, it is assumed as a truism 

 that the landscape and naturalistic view of that design was the 

 invention of certain men, and a mere passing fashion, like many that 

 have disfigured the garden. This is a serious error, as it was based 

 on observation of the landscape beauty which has existed ever since 

 the eyes of men were first opened to the beauty of the earth, whether 

 on wild mountain woodland, or in the forest plain, apart altogether 

 from man's efforts, as seen in the parks of England from Alnwick to 

 Richmond ; and in either case it is too lovely a lesson to forget so 

 long as man has any eyes to see beauty. If all the works of man in 

 landscape planting were swept away, there would still be beautiful 

 landscape on vast areas in many lands. There are ten thousand 

 grassy lawns and glades among the mountain Pines of Switzerland, 

 as there are on the mountains of California and Cashmere, and, 

 indeed, the many other woody mountain lands of the world ; and 

 many of these are suggestive of all that is most beautiful in planting. 



Apart from the planning of ground and its form, there is the 

 question of the arrangement of all the beautiful things of earth- 

 flower, shrub, or tree in right or wrong ways. Here there are always 

 lessons to be learned in nature : lovely colonies of Bird's-eye Primrose 

 in the bogs of Westmoreland ; and of Gentian by the alpine streams, 

 islets of wild Heath, lakes of wild Hyacinth, and wood carpets of 

 Primrose; groups of Venetian Sumach cropping out of the hot 

 southern rocks ; and of May on the hill, the stately groves of the 

 lowland forest, and the Grey Willows of the marsh land. In plant- 

 ing in like ways we are simply taking a lesson from Nature, and not 

 dabbling in a mere fashion. Even the creatures of earth and air are 

 held together beautifully wild birds in the air, delicate brown flocks 

 of them by the cold northern sea, as well as many groups of nobler 

 birds on the banks of the Nile and southern rivers; the cattle 

 on a thousand hills : in no other way could their forms or colours 

 be so well seen. And so it must ever be in the garden where 

 natural grouping is the true and artistic way. 



The expression of these ideas may seem to some to imply that 

 the garden generally is to be a tangled wilderness. But having plants 

 in natural forms does not in the least prevent us from making a 

 straight walk along a straight wall, or from having the necessary wall 

 protection for our gardens. A straight line is often the most beautiful 

 that can be used ; but its use by no means implies that we are not to 

 group our plants or bushes naturally alongside it. 



