THE PRACTICE OF GARDEN DESIGN. 



The Re- 

 naissance 

 of the Art. 



The train- 

 ing of the 

 Landscape 

 Architect. 



while he is content with those adornments which are curious or novel, or have the sanc- 

 tion of fashion, viewing them as isolated features and never as a part of an artistic 

 composition, the intelligent and educated observer must have, first of all, a clear impres- 

 sion of the fundamental principles underljdng the art, and resulting in a self-contained 

 and co-ordinated entity embracing within itself all the necessary parts of the scheme, 

 giving to each its proper place and necessary emphasis as a part of a well-balanced whole. 



Far too long has the whole art been the sport of changing fashion and uninformed 

 public taste and the prey of a spurious dilettantism which, by its vagaries, its sham 

 ruins, its miniature Alps and impossible vistas, has reduced it to utter absurdity. 



With the domestic architect on the one hand viewing his creation as an isolated unit 

 to the exclusion of everything else, the practical gardener on the other trampling under- 

 foot every canon of art in his eager desire for perfect specimens of exotic plants, and the 

 engineer whose sole idea of beauty is superadded adornment, things have fallen to a very 

 low ebb and, unless the present awakening to the need of a collective effort in design is 

 adequately responded to, the contemporary school of landscape architecture will have 

 only itself to blame if its claims are denied and its work and status taken from it 

 and bestowed upon others who will more worthily uphold its traditions. 



How then is the renaissance of the art to be effected ? I think that the best way 

 to answer this important question is to consider, very shortly, first, the training and 

 requirements of the landscape architect, and, secondly, the ideal which should inspire him 

 throughout his life-work. The former will give us some insight into his practical, and 

 the latter into his artistic equipment. 



The first of these questions, if fully considered, would involve an examination of the 

 whole syllabus of the student's training in landscape architecture ; but, although this is a 

 subject of great interest, which, in its application to the design of cities, is receiving 

 experimental treatment at Liverpool University at the present time, it is impossible, in 

 the space available, to do more than to indicate a few of the principal subjects which it 

 will be necessary for him to master. First of all must come a general training, which 

 shall be framed with the intention of inculcating that catholicity of ideas, power of 

 concentration, and love of orderly progression and logical sequence which are best attained 

 by an all-round classical education, the fruits of which find their use and expression in 

 every walk of life, and which will be particularly appreciated in work which consists 

 primarily in the welding of component parts into a balanced whole. On this foundation 

 must be built a knowledge in the round of, and sympathetic interest in, not only every 

 branch of architecture, but also in arboriculture, forestry, engineering and many other 

 most divergent sciences which all go towards the making of a city or the embellishment 

 of its parts. 



It is not of course necessary, or indeed possible, that the Landscape Architect 

 should possess such an intimate knowledge of the minutiae of all these professions that he 

 could dispense with the services of the expert in each department. His task must be 

 very largely that of an arbiter, who by a broad-minded sympathy for the aspirations of 

 each, born of knowledge of the rules and ideals of his profession, is able to prevent that 

 multiplication of little aims and disjointed efforts which abound in the average city or 

 domain. 



Superimposed on this academic training must be a marked natural versatility which 

 will enable him to appreciate the efforts and the points of view of all the various 

 designers or craftsmen of the component parts of the scheme, and so to give to each its 

 proper place and correct emphasis. It thus follows that he must possess the jtidicial 

 mind with the soul of the artist, a rare combination, it is true, but a necessary one if 

 the confidence of his fellow-workers is to be obtained and held, a condition absolutely 

 essential to success. 



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