XII 



ILLINOIS AND INDIANA 



Illinois, with its claim to countless fine estates, in- 

 cludes a plentiful share of gardens, and more especially 

 in the lake region, where luxuriant growths of trees tell of 

 congenial soil and climate. As a background the great 

 lake stretches like a sea beyond many of the beautiful 

 flower-borders, which bloom almost as richly as those near 

 the distant ocean. 



Unfortunately some of the finest plantings are not 

 illustrated in this book, which is limited to gardens of a 

 formal design, and the type characteristic of Illinois is 

 mostly informal, as so frequently seen in America, an 

 arrangement which does not lend itself satisfactorily to 

 photography. In such a plan the flowers are usually 

 massed in long, broad beds bordering the lawn, the front 

 lines are laid in irregular curves, with trees and shrubs 

 for the background. Groups of shrubs with other beds 

 are sometimes used to break a wide stretch of lawn, and 

 make a rambling and delightful sort of garden scheme. 

 But in photography detail is lost when the camera is at 

 sufficient distance to include more than a small section of 

 such a design. For this reason pictures can never do full 



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