The Natural Style in Landscape Gardening 



America which are over-furnished. For it is just 

 as possible to overdo this work of gardening as to 

 underdo it; and since the former is much the com- 

 moner fault in American house furnishing we might 

 possibly expect to see the same defect creeping 

 into gardens. The overloaded gardens in this coun- 

 try are mostly, on the contrary, the distinctively 

 un-American gardens. Usually they are filled with 

 European or Asiatic junk and are called Italian 

 gardens or Japanese gardens. But these cases are 

 exceptional, and may be passed over with this brief 

 reference. 



The opposite mistake of leaving the garden bare 

 of furniture is the common one with us. It is well 

 nigh the rule, especially in our gardens made after 

 the natural style. There are thousands of gardens, 

 otherwise pretty well made, which haven't in them 

 a single bench or chair or table or shelter, nor 

 even a wheelbarrow to sit down upon should one 

 desire to smoke or talk or watch a humming bird 

 at the columbines. These gardens are as absolutely 

 devoid of those conveniences which would make 

 them habitable as the house which has only the 



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