59 



f trtonal §>nt\m 



OF 



GREENING'S Pictorial System of 

 Landscape Gardening 



Up to this point T have endeavored hy text and ilKts- 

 tration to make plain the principles of landscape 

 gardening, and the appreciative stndent "is now readv 

 to enter upon the study of the best examples of land- 

 scape compositions as portrayed by pictorial art. 



There are some things beyond the power of lan- 

 guage to express. Words are but the shucks of sound. 

 After all, language is a very imperfect instrument to 

 convey thought, and when the poor power of words can 

 go no further, pictures tell our inmost musings. Pic- 

 tures are the soul of sense. 



There are beauties and emotions that transcend 

 all speech. A Ijeautiful garden is one of these. It 

 makes a perfect picture. In the presence of such a 

 picture we can but stand bedumbed with awe, and in 

 the hush and silence feel the thrill that speech hath 

 never told. 



From now on the student has but to sit and look 

 and let his brooding soul hatch out his thoughts. The 

 pictures are arranged like a mo\'ing panorama, and 

 every style of garden in various stages of development 

 is presented for consideration. 



In this respect the present work is unique. To teach gar- 

 dening in the language of pictures has never been attempted before, 

 and no writer on the subject of landscape art has collected such a 

 large number of beautiful photographs for a similar purpose. 

 Each one is true to life and reflects with absolute iidelity " the 

 face and form of nature's perfect self." 



Whilst the book will be of great assistance to professional 

 landscape gardeners and building architects, it is designed pri- 

 marily for the amateur who can learn how to beautify his own 

 grounds and weave his personality into every feature of his gar- 

 den. The study of pictures will help him develop his analytic 

 faculty, after which the synthetic sense of construction will come 

 quickly into play, and the making of gardens will become a supreme 

 delight. 



As a further aid to the student I have added my own descrip- 

 tion of each subject, but I recommend that he make his own analy- 



PJate 60 



A FLOWERY GLEN— VERY PICTURESQUE 



A rolling country offers great diversity of scenery and is the delight of the land- 

 scape artist. The scene shows a house built on a hillside. The top of the hill is cov- 

 ered with Maple-trees and the slope is naturalized with flowers. On the lower level is 

 the yard proper, which is kept open for use and beauty, and the framework of shrubs 

 around it consists of Rosa Rugosa, Spiraea, Weigelia, Philadelphus, Lilac and Deutzia. 

 The tree in the left center field is a Lombardy Poplar and the one next to it is a 

 Magnolia. The vines on the house are Hall's Honeysuckle and American Woodbine. 



specimen evergreens are Thuya Occidentalis, var. Pyramidalis. One urn 

 Century Plant, and the others are filled with Geraniums. 



The little 

 contains a 



sis and refer to the text merely as an incidental aid. In every case 

 I have named with great particularity of detail all the trees and 

 shrubs that are used in each picture, and indicated its special 

 beauties or faults of construction, thus enabling the reader who 

 has no time to pursue the study in detail to quickly vmderstand the 

 salient points of garden composition And, if after reading this book 

 there still remain any obstacles to overcome, the reader is asked to 

 write me freely for any further information he may desire. I 

 want him to write me an3diow. If I ha.ve helped him, it is pleasant 

 to be told ; if I have failed to do so, his generous suggestions will 

 teach me how. 



And in conclusion, I ask all readers who have beautiful garden 

 scenes, especially those readers who have had unusual successes in 

 their garden work, to send me some good \Mews suitable for repro- 

 duction. All that are available will be gladly used in a future 

 edition of this book and proper acknowledgments will be made. 



