PREFACE TO THE LANDSCAPE GARDEN SERIES 



"I never had any other desire so strong and so Hke to 

 covetousness, as that one which I have had always, that I 

 might be master at last of a small house and a large 

 garden." - — Abraham Cowley, 1618-1667. 



GARDENING is one of the most inexpensive and entertaining 

 pastimes the year round. The gardening year is divided into 

 four regular seasons: winter, or planning time; spring, or plant- 

 ing time; summer, or enjoyment time; autumn, or the season for the 

 harvest of vegetables and fruits. A study of the average home grounds 

 in America seems to show that few people have grasped the principles 

 of garden design or have given to this phase of home making the atten- 

 tion that it deserves. 



The object of the Landscape Garden Series is to sei-ve as a guide 

 to garden care and planning. It is not the object of the authors to 

 cover each subject, of this series, in an exhaustive manner, but rather 

 to include in these books such information as will be found helpful in 

 planning and caring for private places. 



It has been the endeavor of the writers of this series to avoid senti- 

 mental effusions upon incidental details of gardening. Such articles 

 and books upon the subject of^ gardening have done untold good in 

 arousing interest in this fascinating pastime, but it has seemed to the 

 authors of this series that their inspirational literature is not supple- 

 mented frequently enough by clear exposition of the fundamental 

 theories of good planning, and by practical information as to how these 

 ideas may be carried out. 



The material in these booklets has been arranged so that each 

 phase of landscape work can be studied conveniently and the separate 

 books used as a part of the garden equipment. There is necessarily 



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