OUR CITY GARDENS 



I 



IN our large towns, most of the gardens made or rear- 

 ranged within the last half century seem laid out on an 

 unvarying plan. They all present the same winding 

 paths, which turn upon themselves to lead nowhither, the in- 

 evitable lake, in a more or less drawn-out ellipse, the essential 

 lawn, with the useless and obvious mounds and valleys, adorned 

 at intervals with everlastingly oval flower-beds, while, here 

 and there, an exotic plant, a palm, an araucaria or an aloe, 

 stands chillily awaiting an uncertain ray of sunshine. All 

 this is neither extremely ugly nor extremely displeasing, be- 

 cause nothing is quite ugly or displeasing in the world of plants 

 and the most indifferent display of green is welcome to the 

 eye of one who lives in a stone prison ; and yet we are entitled 

 to ask if these paltry and monotonous combinations really ex- 

 haust all the joys that the trees and flowers can give us. 



2 



In my opinion, the "landscape garden" or "English 



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