In combining the various elements of the garden design, they should be so 

 placed as to form a composition ; that is to say, each element should stand in its 

 proper relation to every other. An example will show what I mean. In discuss- 

 ing the difference between the natural and the formal styles, we saw that in the 

 formal garden the paths were a part of the decorative design. Suppose, then, 

 that in some geometrically planned garden a series of parallel paths were to be 

 separated by strips of grass or by flower beds. If the paths and the grass strips 

 were made of the same widths throughout, the uniformity would suggest a piece 

 of striped calico in green and yellow. Not only should there be a difference, 

 then, in width between the grass and the walks, but there should be a difference 

 between the widths of the paths themselves. Some one path is sure to be more 

 important than the others and should therefore be emphasized. 



What is true of the paths is true of the other elements of the garden. The 

 same rules of contrast apply ; though the desire for contrast should be at all times 

 controlled and tempered by the balance of the scheme as a whole. If symmetry 

 be one of the elements in a design, it would be a mistake, for instance, to plant 

 one side of a path with Japanese dwarf evergreens, and the other with American 

 cedars. The two would not harmonize, the balance would be lost, and, owing 

 to their differences in size, the two kinds of trees would, in their symmetrical 

 positions, be out of scale with each other. 



To keep the garden " in scale " is one of the most difficult problems with 

 which a designer has to contend, and is one that requires experience and training. 

 Shall he crowd many elements into a given space, making the scale small, or shall 

 he use fewer elements and keep the scale large ? It is a matter for individual 

 choice with each designer ; sometimes it is even a matter of individual habit, 

 for some men always design large, while others always design small. The char- 

 acter of the surrounding landscape, whether part of the same estate as the garden 

 or not, has much to do with the scale ; and the size of the building near which 

 it is to be laid out has, as we have said, even more. The garden of Versailles 

 laid out beside a New England farm-house would be as inappropriate as a Salem 

 garden adjoining the Vatican. 



The scale of the gardens is determined not only by the relative sizes of paths, 

 lawns, and flower beds, but also by the proportions of the architectural ornaments. 

 Sometimes a fragment imported from Europe is set up in surroundings which in 

 themselves form no fitting frame, and what was admirably suited to some large 

 Italian villa garden is found to be utterly unsuitable to the surroundings of an 

 American country house. Unfortunately this disparity in scale is not limited to 



