The Natural Style in Landscape Gardening 



subsequent chapter we shall give more extended 

 discussion to the meaning of the native landscape. 

 This is in reality an endeavor to understand the 

 landscape in spiritual terms, and thus to make more 

 clear our full definition which is that the natural 

 style of landscape gardening endeavors to present 

 its pictures in forms typical of the natural land- 

 scape and made vital by the landscape spirit. 



In this connection it is essential to remember that 

 a good deal of landscape art, and especially that 

 which adopts the natural style, is not required to 

 make every picture out of whole cloth. It might 

 be more accurately described as intelligently let- 

 ting alone a natural landscape. What does the wise 

 landscape gardener do when called upon to treat a 

 stretch of attractive natural scenery? He must, 

 first and foremost, endeavor to understand the 

 spirit of his landscapes. Then his work will be to 

 simplify and accentuate the characteristic natural 

 forms (chiefly topography and flora), and to clar- 

 ify and interpret the spirit of the place. This clari- 

 fication and interpretation of spiritual values is 

 the real work of the real artist. 



