177S LANDSCAPE GARDENING 



LANDSCAPE GARDENING 



tiuns, elaborate with designs and fornuUities, crmiipeil 

 with peomotrical details. A Koniaii panlon (Fip. ■J(M)l) 

 was giKHl in its plait', but tliorc aiv otlior coniiilions 

 ami other itiojUs. Oi\\\ mtrcqncnih can siu-h pardons as 

 these tind the proper set tine. If elTective, they nivist 

 be doniinattxl or supported by !U-eliiteeture. In the 

 freer atmosphere of theo|HMi eountry, tliey :ire evidently 

 artitieial: they ;ire conceits. The reader will catch the 

 feeling of the formal gardens of a later time by looking 

 at Kig. '206a, which is a reduction from one of Hatty 

 Liingley's designs in his "New l'rinci|)les of dardeniiig, " 

 172S. Ljuigley sihmus to have been tlie cxtremest of 

 geometricians. In fact. Part 1 of his Ijook on gar<lening 

 treats "Of Geometry." Yet his plates suited the t;iste 

 of the time. The particular plan which is sliown in I'ig. 

 206o he describes as follows: "The House opens to the 

 North upon the Park A, to the East ujwn the Court H, 

 to the South upon the Parterre of Ciriuss and Water C; 

 and Lastly to the West upon the circidar Bjison D, 

 from which leads a pleasant Avenue ZX. The Mount F, 

 is raiseil with the E;irtli that came out of the Canal KE, 

 and its slope H, is planted with Hedges of different 

 Ever-Greens, that rising behind one another of different 

 Colours, have a very good ICtTect, being view'd from 

 M, L L arc contractetl Walks leading up the Mount." 

 The ideas of the time are further reflected in Fig. 20G6, 

 which is a reproduction, on a smaller scale, of one of 



tion has been left us of the Leasowee. Here is a glimpse: 



"Pa.ssing through a small gate at the bottom of the fine 

 swi'lliiig lawn that surrounds tlie house, you enter ujxm 

 a winding path, with a [liece of water on your right. 

 The palli and water, over-shadowed with trees that 

 grow ui)on the slopes of this murow dingle, render the 

 scene at once cool, gloomy, solemn, and sequestered; 

 and forms so .striking a contraste to the lively scene you 

 have just left, that j'ou seem all on a sudden landed in a 

 subterraneous kind of region. \\'inding forward down 

 the x'alley, you pass besiile a small root-house, where on 

 a tablet are these lines: 



'Mere iu cool Kfut. and nicwsy crll. 

 We rviral fayy arid faeries dwell; 

 Tlio' rarely seen by mortal eye, 

 When the pale moon, aseendmj^ liiRh, 

 Darts thro yon limes her quivering beams, 

 We frisk it near these crystal streams.' " 



The garden-art of the old time was largely a corollary 

 of architecture. The garden-art of the present time, 

 particvilarly amongst Knglish-sjjeaking peoples, exists 

 for its own sake. Yet, one cannot say that the old-time 

 garden-art is unlovely, or that it contradicts the canons 

 of gooti taste. The two belong to difTerent categories 

 of esthetic feeling, and the mere fact that both of them 

 use plant-subjects does not make them comparable. 

 Garden-art, like painting or music or literature, develops 



2065. One of Langley's "Designs for gardens that lye irregularly to the Grand House." 1728. 



Langley"s pictures of artificial ruins. It is one of his 

 "views of the Ruins of Huildings, after the old Roman 

 manner, to terminate such Walks that end in <lis- 

 agreeable Objects; which Ruins may either be painted 

 upon Canvas, or actually built in that manner with 

 Brick, and cover'd with Plaistering in Imitation of 

 fitone." 



The awakening love of nature and of the spontaneous 

 life, as expres-sefi in writings .and paintings, soon found 

 expres.sion also in garrlens. In verse. Pope gave rules 

 for the laying out of a spontaneous garden. The accom- 

 panying plan of Shenstonf^'s garflen, the Leiisowes 

 fFig. 2067), and the jncture of a glirnp.se therein (Fig. 

 2008;, show how far his eoncei)tion!< were removed 

 from those of Langley, howsoever much they may fall 

 short of the ideals of the present day. A full descrip- 



along racial or national lines. The Latins and their 

 descendants h.ave liked the formal and conventional 

 gardens; and since these gardens express the personal 

 and national emotions, they need no apology, notwith- 

 standing the fact they are condemned by some land- 

 scape gardeners. 



A difTerent type of endeavor is that which attempts to 

 interi)ret nature in the making of landscapes. The ideal 

 landscape garden,, like the ideal landscape painting, 

 expresses or emphasizes some single thought or feeling. 

 Its expression m.ay be gay, bold, retired, quiet, florid; 

 but if it is natural, the expression will conform to the 

 place and the purjjose, and the exi)ressions are not mat- 

 ters of rule. It should be a pii^ture. not a collection of 

 interesting objects. Mere planting and grading do not 

 make a landscape garden: in fact, they often spoil it. 



