The Natural Style in Landscape Gardening 



our selections and our groupings on the same fun- 

 damental laws which govern these matters in the 

 wild and native landscape. 



Many partial philosophies have been offered in 

 this connection. Every one seems to be sound, as 

 far as it goes. We may say, therefore, that they 

 are all true, and for practical use we may add them 

 all together and adopt the total. A brief review 

 of these different ideas will be worth while here. 



1. The use of native species in preference to ex- 

 otics began to be urged strongly in America about 

 1890. Downing's theory of the natural style which 

 had prevailed up to this time had endeavored to 

 use the forms of the natural landscape without 

 the native materials. This preference for native 

 plants, however, was reinforced by many argu- 

 ments, some of them very questionable, until it be- 

 came a sort of fad. It was, therefore, only in part 

 an effort to realize a more perfectly natural style 

 of gardening. 



2. Very soon, however, appeared the idea of mass 

 planting. This seems to have been the special con- 

 tribution of Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr. It repre- 



