PRACTICAL BOOK OF GARDEN ARCHITECTURE 



lished a famous garden of formal architectural de- 

 sign fully four thousand years before Christ, and 

 he became so fond of his beautiful garden that he 

 had it described upon; his tomb. Marble ruins of 

 stately temples are also claimed to have been derived 

 from Grecian gardens, of the same age; and their 

 value is supposed to lie in their antiquity rather than 

 in their architectural beauty. The more sensible 

 garden builder does not strive after questionable 

 antiquities of these ancient Grecian and Egyptian 

 gardens, nor after the excavations dating from the 

 later period, when the darkness, of the Middle Ages 

 settled down over Europe, after the fall of Rome. 



The classic marbles of Grecian, Egyptian, and 

 Italian fame that are most frequently imported for 

 garden adornment seldom date from the earliest 

 forms of garden art or from excavations of mediaeval 

 gardens, but from the time of the cessation of wars, 

 and the awakening of artistic activity, during the 

 period now known as the Renaissance. Many of the 

 importations for adorning American gardens are 

 modelled after suggestions offered by ancient ruins; 

 but in their stately simplicity there is no trace of 

 exaggerated display. 



When the type of garden temple has been wisely 

 chosen, or whether it is the costly importation or the 

 work of the ambitious wielder of trowel, stone, and 



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