LANDSCAPE GARDENING 



, Q landscape art is in the rural arid garden cemetery, 

 "he first distinct movement towards a rural cemetery 

 ?as made in 1825 by Jacob Bigelow, of Boston, whose 

 i-ork was soon taken up by the Massachusetts Horti- 

 ultural Society. As a result of the agitation by this 

 .dmirable organization, Mt. Auburn Cemetery, at Cam- 

 bridge, was established and incorporated in 1831. The 

 consummation of this enterprise gave to the world a 

 emetery which should be distinct from church-yards, 

 .emoved from the city, and softened by the gracious 

 ouch of nature ; and thereby, also, the young Massa- 

 husetts Horticultural Society set an example to all 

 imilar organizations and achieved for itself enduring 

 ame. The work of Repton and Loudon had not then 

 enlivened and broadened the conceptions of Landscape 

 ,jardening, and Mt. Auburn, whilst an excellent work 

 >f its kind, is not a landscape garden cemetery. The 

 ( nodern art of garden cemetery making in which, as in 

 he park, the continuous expanse of greensward is the 

 ,'undamental conception of the fabric originated with 

 Adolph Strauch, who, in 1854, became superintendent 

 >f Spring Grove cemetery, Cincinnati. Strauch was a 

 3 russian, born in 1822, and died in 1883. His work at 

 Spring Grove cemetery has justly given him lasting 

 ; :ame, and his book describing the place must be con- 

 sulted by any one who traces the evolution of the garden 

 ,:emetery. The Board of Directors of the cemetery said, 

 it the time of his death, that "he had filled the measure 

 )t his ambition by the consent of his profession, which 

 anked him as the equal of Repton and Piickler-Muskau 

 is a master of art in landscape creation, which had been 

 inally proved by him to be possible to be successfully 

 ipplied in adorning and making attractive the last rest- 

 ing places of humanity." At the present time, about a 

 aundred burial places in various parts of North America 

 ;an be said to be landscape-garden cemeteries. See the 

 irticle on Landscape Cemeteries, following. 



The successful practice of Landscape Gardening de- 

 fends, first, on an artistic temperament and an inher- 

 3nt love of nature; second, on an intimate knowledge of 

 plants; and third, on familiarity with various arts and 

 handicrafts, as the making of roads, grading, draining, 

 enriching the land, and the like. Landscape Gardening 

 ,rnust be sharply distinguished from gardening : the 

 former is the making of pictures with plants; the latter 

 is the growing of plants without reference to the pic- 

 ture. In one, the interest centers in art: in the other it 

 :enters in plants. Since Landscape Gardening is pri- 

 marily a matter of taste, it is impossible that it be 



LANDSCAPE GARDENING 



879 



1231. Glimpse in Shenstone's Leasowes. 



dominated by rules. However, a few general precepts 

 and suggestions may be useful, and these are given in 

 the following paragraph (see Figs. 1232-1238). 



The motive of a true landscape garden, as already ex- 

 plained, is to make a picture. The picture should have a 

 landscape or nature-like effect. The place should be 

 one thing: it should emphasize some thought or feeling, 

 should have one central or emphatic object. Avoid 

 attered effects. Bunch or mass the planting. Dis- 



56 



tinguish sharply between the fundamentals and the in- 

 cidentals, -those things which are to give the character 

 or tone to the place, and those which are embellishments 

 or ornaments. Keep one or more spaces open. Plant the 

 sides or boundaries with masses. Use single or individual 

 plants only to emphasize or to heighten an effect, not to 



1232. Outline of an open center and mass-planted sides. 



Suggestion from Englischer Garten, Munich, 

 give it character: they are incidentals. Ornament should 

 be an incident. Foliage is a fundamental. Greensward is 

 the canvas on which the picture is spread. Plants are more 

 useful for the positions they occupy than for their kinds. 

 Walks and drives are no part of a landscape picture : 

 they are a necessity, but they may be made to conform 

 to the spirit of the picture. The place for walks and 

 drives is where they are needed : otherwise they have 

 no use or purpose. It is the part of a good landscape 

 gardener to make his grounds conform to the build- 

 ings : it should equally be the part of an architect to 

 make his buildings conform to the landscape. Make 

 views to desirable objects in the outlying landscape or 

 the offscape. Obstruct the views to undesirable parts. 

 Aim for a good prospect from every window in a 

 residence, including the kitchen. Shear the trees and 

 bushes when hedges, curiosities, and formal gardens 

 are wanted : let them assume their natural forms when 

 a landscape garden is wanted (Figs. 1237, 1238). Place 

 no tree or plant until you are sure that it will mean some- 

 thing. 



The best results in the planning of any place are to 

 be expected when one employs a competent landscape 

 gardener. Avoid the man who places great stress on 

 flower beds and "designs." Yet one can do much by 

 himself, and be the happier for the effort. Books will 

 help. Some of the current American books on Land- 

 scape Gardening and related topics are the following : 

 Downing's "Landscape Gardening ;" Kemp's "How to 

 Lay Out a Garden ;" Parson's "Landscape Gardening'- 

 and "How to Plan the Home Grounds ;" Long's "Orna- 

 mental Gardening for Americans ;" Waugh's "Land- 

 scape Gardening ;" Maynard's "Landscape Gardening as 

 Applied to Home Decoration ;" Davis' "Ornamental 

 Shrubs ;" Van Rensselaer's "Art Out of Doors ;" Bai- 

 ley's "Garden-Making." See Borders, Herbs, Lawns, 

 Parks, Shrubs. j^ jj B 



Landscape Cemeteries (Plate XVII). -The cemeteries 

 of the present day have come into existence from a desire 

 to have burials made at a distance from centers of popu- 

 lation, and among beautiful surroundings. They are 

 often called "rural cemeteries." The first one in the 

 United States to merit this name was Mt. Auburn, near 

 Boston, Mass., founded in 1831. Since then the idea of 

 having burial places park-like in their character has 

 been spreading until they contain to-day some of the 

 most beautiful landscapes developed by the hand of 

 man. The wish to have in the cemetery all the beauty 

 of trees, shrubs, lawns and flowers has gradually led to 

 the abolition of fences, coping and other lot enclosures, 

 and a reduction in the number of monuments and the 

 size of headstones. There are many who now believe 



