LESSON 33 
A GARDEN IN THE NATURAL STYLE 
HE purpose of this lesson is to bring before the 
student the principles underlying the use of the 
natural style in landscape gardening, more es- 
pecially the use of this style in the small domestic 
garden. 
Discussion 
The natural style of landscape gardening has its most impor- 
tant application in the preservation and development of large areas 
of natural scenery such as those found in National Parks, National 
Forests, State Parks and Forests, large country parks owned by 
municipalities, and grounds of large country clubs. It is well 
adapted also to the development of large private estates, and in a 
more or less modified form comes into good use in developing such 
areas as college campuses, city parks and park cemeteries. A still 
further modified naturalistic or informal style of landscape gardening 
may be made entirely satisfactory upon small home grounds. 
Americans and Englishmen generally have a strong and inborn 
preference for this natural type of scenery and for the natural style 
of landscape gardening founded upon it. For this reason the natural 
style is sometimes forced upon land unadapted to it and into an 
environment better suited to formal types of gardening. There is 
also a popular notion (which is very far from the truth) that the 
natural style of landscape gardening is very easy to do. The idea 
seems to be that as long as objects are kept away from straight lines, 
all walks are made crooked and all plantings irregular, the result is 
informal and must necessarily be natural. The fact is quite the 
contrary. The truly successful piece of natural gardening arti- 
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