56 GAEDEN ORNAMENTS 



Like every other plan contrived by man, the gar- 

 den step should be fashioned to fit into its proper 

 place, adding and not detracting from the general 

 pieturesqueness. It depends upon the personality 

 of the creator as to its success, for steps while seem- 

 ingly a minor detail, can add or detract from a gar- 

 den's beauty materially. 



One should never swerve from the thought that 

 practicability should be the motive in planning 

 stepping stones to connect different levels of your 

 garden. They should not be added just for appear- 

 ance sake, any more than one should wear a showy 

 gown to attract attention. They should carry out 

 some well-thought-out plan. 



It would be bad taste to introduce rustic steps 

 into a formal garden, as much so as it would to 

 place delicately wrought slabs of marble in the 

 heart of a thicket. One should, that is if they wish 

 to excel other creators in the introduction of origi- 

 nal ideas, think out each individual part of the 

 ground assigned for garden purposes and deter- 

 mine where each feature can make the best show- 

 ing. It is then and then only that we come to a 

 realizing sense not only of the kind of material that 

 should be used but the shape and the setting. 



