124 PRACTICAL LANDSCAPE GARDENING 



The Italian gardens did not depend on floral ornamentation for 

 their chief beauty. While not entirely devoid of flowers they were 

 mostly appreciated for their architectural embellishments. Built 

 upon three levels, ample opportunity was afforded for retaining walls, 

 capped with balustrades of the most ornate character. The use of 

 water in the garden was brought to its greatest perfection by the 

 Italian architects. Remarkable water effects were achieved within 

 a small compass and with little quantity. 



The French gardens were also very architectural in design, but 

 more extensive in area. Much consideration was given to vistas, 

 particularly along diagonal lines. Many plants trimmed to formal 

 outlines were used. Even the trees were treated as units in the 

 architectural scheme, to be pruned and fashioned in harmony with 

 the structural parts of the garden. 



The Italian and French gardens, though softened by the elements 

 of time and made interesting by the charm of romance, are not so 

 satisfying as are the English gardens. The English garden exists 

 more for its flowers and, although not devoid of architectural fea- 

 tures, the masonry is softened by the abundant display of flowering 

 plants. It is from the English garden and its flowers that we shall 

 derive the greatest inspiration for our own gardens. 



It is to the flower garden as an enclosed feature, of formal or 

 informal design, that these notes will chiefly apply. 



The flower garden should be treated as a unit in the general 

 scheme and the principal A-iews of the garden should be considered 

 from the house. It should be an enclosure separated from the lawn 

 by a wall or hedge. Such a scheme provides privacy and seclusion 

 for those who would walk or work among the flowers; it is a pro- 

 tection to the growing plants and, in concealing this feature from 

 without, leaves something to the imagination and more to be appre- 

 ciated from a vantage point in the house. 



GAEDEN DIMENSIONS AND DESIGN 

 — GARDEN ENTRANCE 



The principal entrance to the garden (Fig. 113) should be from 

 the house and on an axis with some important door or window. It 

 is from this point that we receive our first impression, and it should 

 be so featured that the whole scene unfolded creates in the be- 

 holder that delight, fascination, allurement and complete sense of 



