232 FLOWER GARDEN. 
evanescent than those of any of the sister arts. The hand 
of the designer is not here guided by the imitation of Na- 
ture, for his work is wholly artificial in its arrangements 
and appliances, neither does utility come in, as in archi- 
tecture, to supply a form and frame-work, which it is the 
artist’s part to adorn. - As flower gardens,” ‘says Mr. Lou- 
don, the best authority on this topic, “ are objects of plea- 
sure, the principle which must serve as a guide in laying 
them out must be taste. Now, in flower gardens, as in 
other objects, there are different kinds of tastes; these em- 
bodied are called styles or characters; and the great art of 
the designer is, having fixed on a style, to follow it out un- 
mixed with other styles, or with any deviation which would 
interfere with the kind of taste or impression which that 
style is calculated to produce. Style, therefore, is the lead- 
ing principle in laying out flower gardens, as utility is in 
laying out the culinary garden. As objects of fancy and 
taste, the styles of flower gardens are various. The modern 
style is a collection of irregular groups and masses, placed 
about the house as a medium, uniting it with the open 
lawn. The ancient geomatric style, in place of irregular 
groups, employed symmetrical forms; in France, adding 
statues and fountains; in Holland, cut trees and grassy 
slopes; and in Italy, stone walls, walled terraces, and 
flights of steps. In some situations, these characteristics 
of parterres may with propriety be added to or used instead 
of the modern sort, especially in flat situations, such as are 
enclosed by high walls, in towns, or where the principal 
building or object is in a style of architecture which will 
not render these appendages incongruous. There are other 
characters of gardens, such as the Chinese, which are not 
widely different from the modern; the Indian, which con- 
sists chiefly of walks under shade, in squares of grass; the 
