OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS 39 



was bow to build, and to the solution of this problem the artist's mind was entirely devoted 

 for a long time. 



At this point of the study enter into play taste, sentiment, and personality, and, for 

 this reason, it is impossible to analyze these works of art, or to derive a rule or a formula 

 from them. Three characteristics we invariably find, and they, together with the beau- 

 tiful vistas the place could afford, constituted two-thirds of their charm. These three 

 characteristics are simplicity, an intimate relation between garden and house, and complete 

 seclusion. 



Their simplicity was due to the instinctive and intense dislike that all Tuscans feel 

 toward any exterior display or ornamentation. No matter how superb the interior of 

 the house, or how rich and vast the property might be, the outside appearances were 

 invariably demure and sober — straight lines, vast terraces sustained by undecorated walls, 

 wide alleys and walks, a few statues and fountains. The planting outside the flower- 

 garden was also simple: high hedges along the walks; beautiful indigenous trees, especially 

 to form alleys; formal beds wherever there was a concourse or a fountain; many terra- 

 cotta vases holding lemon trees; plenty of shaded walks and corners where a stone or 

 marble seat offered timely rest, and, in most cases, the enjoyment of a beautiful view. 



A close relation between the house and grounds always existed, so that villa and 

 garden were harmoniously united. To this effect, around the house, an esplanade, or first 

 terrace, was, more or less laboriously, architecturally treated, and was connected by a 

 staircase with a lower terrace designed as a flower-garden, so that two main objects were 

 obtained: to have a connecting link between house and garden, and to have a part of 

 the grounds (the nearest to the residence) whence the eye could embrace at a glance the 

 whole of the design and enjoy its beauty and fascination of color. Very often, a third still 

 lower terrace was less elaborately treated, as if the intention of the architect was gradually 

 to prepare the visitor for the end of the formal design, and for the beginning of the picturesque 

 surroundings of nature. 



It is necessary to emphasize the essentiality of seclusion. In general, the Italian style 

 of landscape architecture is formal, and in its formality consist its originality and beauty. 

 By enclosing the garden, a frame, or setting, is created which gives relief to the design, 

 limits the area from which the eye can "take in" the effect, and compels it to abstract 

 the enclosed part from the rest of the environment; and, last but not least, seclusion gives 

 privacy. 



The good old continental practice of making a closed-in estate a little world of one's 

 own is set at naught by the average builder. The absence of fences and tree-screens throws 

 what should be the owner's exclusive domain open to public invasion, and his neighbor's 

 business becomes as important as his own. This is particularly true of the suburban "lot," 

 a poor little beast, bestraddled by a good, healthy house, the tendency of which to reach 

 out is nipped by circumstances which compel it to pull in both knees and elbows to escape 

 its neighbors. This seclusion is especially desirable in the flower-gardens proper, where 

 I like to fancy the dames of old spending part of their day's time with their most cherished 

 flowers enjoying them, petting them, as it were, to make them respond to their wishes. 

 This part of the estate is, in the open air, what the drawing-room is in the house, and 

 as no one would like to have outsiders look into the living part of the residence, in the 

 same way no one should want outsiders to look into the living part of the garden. 



Many, a Tuscan villa had a small flower-garden, well screened by high walls, and 



