INTRODUCTION xix 



painter who loves the country, or the dramatist who 

 loves men and women. The mention of this nat- 

 uralistic tendency makes one think at once of 



The Rock Garden, 



which is the most signal instance of it in modem gar- 

 dening. It must be confessed at once that rock gar- 

 dening, as we all practise it, is inconsistent with all 

 the ideas that have produced formal gardening, and 

 aims at a dififerent kind of pleasure from that which 

 the formal garden gives. A formal garden is a place 

 to live in, whenever our climate allows; but no one 

 would think of living in a rock garden. There are no 

 flat spaces of lawn in it or shady retreats. It is all 

 up and down, and, except for a few narrow and wind- 

 ing paths, all made up of rocks and flowers and shrubs. 

 No one except the rock gardener himself ever stays 

 in it for long. For others it is a sight to be seen, per- 

 haps with interest, perhaps with a polite show of in- 

 terest. If it is very large, very boldly built, and very 

 skilfully cultivated it may possibly have some slight 

 resemblance to an Alpine hollow or slope; but usually 

 it has none at all, and betrays itself at once as a con- 

 trivance for the cultivation of certain plants that will 

 not thrive or will not display their full beauty except 

 in certain special conditions. It is, in fact, a place 

 made for the sake of the plants which are grown in 

 it, whereas the plants in a formal garden are but orna- 

 ments to the general design of the garden. 



So, if you are a formal gardener on principle, you 



