I THE FORMAL METHOD ii 



landscape gardener, on the other hand, turns his 

 back upon architecture at the earliest oppor- 

 tunity and devotes his energies to making the 

 garden suggest natural scenery, to giving a false 

 impression as to its size by sedulously concealing 

 all boundary lines, and to modifying the scenery 

 beyond the garden itself, by planting or cutting 

 down trees, as mav be necessary to what he 

 calls his picture. In matters of taste there is 

 no arguing with a man. Probably people with 

 a feeling for design and order will prefer the 

 formal garden, while the landscape system, as 

 it requires no knowledge of design, appeals to 

 the average person who " knows what he likes," 

 if he does not know anything else. 



One or two charges, however, which have 

 been brought against the formal system, ought 

 to be dealt with here. In the first place, it is 

 said to be unnatural to lay out a garden in 

 straight lines and regular banks and to clip 

 vour hedges. The landscape gardener appears 

 to suppose that he has a monopoly of nature. 

 Now, what is " nature " and what is " natural " 

 in relation to gardens ? '' II faut se mefier du 

 mirage de le mot ' naturel ' lorsqu'il s'agit des 

 nuances de la sensibilite. Outre qu'il sert de 

 masque, le plus souvent, aux inintelligences des 

 ignorants ou aux hostilites des gens vulgaires, il 

 a le malheur de ne pas envelopper de signifi- 

 cation precise au regard du philosophe." ^ 



^ Paul Bourgct. 



