CHAPTER XXI 

 THE USE OF ORNAMENTAL PLANTS 



LANDSCAPE-GARDENING is the art of so arranging trees, 

 shrubs, lawns, and other features of a landscape as to produce 

 an effect pleasing to the eye. In its more pretentious sense, 

 it signifies the laying out of large tracts of land, including 

 sometimes hundreds or even thousands of acres, as parks and 

 private estates; but the term is also applied to the ornamen- 

 tation of home and school grounds occupying even so small 

 an amount of space as a portion of a city lot. The element 

 of artistic design and subdivision of grounds enters largely 

 into the practice of the landscape art. 



There are several reasons why every student of horticulture 

 should have at least a slight knowledge of the practices and 

 materials employed in the processes of landscape-gardening: 



1. He should be able to plan ornamental plantings for his 

 own home grounds, for such features have both an aesthetic 

 and economic value. 



2. He should know something of the concepts governing 

 such plantings, whether the space be small or large, in order 

 that he may appreciate what others have done. 



3. He should know the common ornamental material of 

 his locality, for the mere ability to name the plant will of 

 itself give him a perpetual interest in it, and also lead him 

 to a knowledge of its adaptabilities. 



A complete understanding of landscape-gardening calls for 

 many years of close study; for there are technical details 

 that are exceedingly complex and difficult. It is possible, 

 however, to state some of the fundamental considerations in 



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