152 ROYAL GARDENS 



must be introduced only for reasons dictated by good taste, 

 convenience and common sense. Their selection should be 

 made under a strong feeling for proportion as regards their 

 size, number, quality and value, so that they may in reality 

 be suitable to the house for which it is sought to make 

 the garden an ideal setting. A garden without repose misses 

 its first reason for being. The watchwords of repose are : 

 Simplicity, Proportion, Suitability and Elimination — sim- 

 plicity of design, proportion of parts, suitability to surround- 

 ings, and elimination of the meretricious and unworthy. 



It has been seen, then, that in a picture, no matter how 

 ' beautiful the colour, skilful and scholarly the technique, and 

 graceful the sentiment, unless these qualities are united and 

 vivified by a definite scheme of light and shade, by singleness 

 of purpose, by a composition or spacing of the principal 

 masses ; unless it is given mystery by a delicate suggestive- 

 ness, and repose by a stern expulsion of trivial and unneces- 

 sary details, the result is felt to be wanting in charm and 

 coherence. So in a garden, the most lovely flowers, most 

 graceful trees and shrubs, the tenderest care and skill in cul- 

 tivation will not give a restful and pleasing effect, unless to 

 the placing of its component parts, to the juxtaposition of 

 colours, to the disposition of masses of dark and light plants, 

 to the hiding and revealing of its beauties, and to the keep- 

 ing out of undignified and trifling ' objects of interest,' the 

 greatest attention be paid. A strong sense of proportion, 

 too, is as necessary in garden designing as in painting a 

 picture. This will determine size of shrubberies, amount of 

 space to be devoted to lawns and flower-beds, width of paths, 

 height and scale of rose-arches, arbours, sundials and so 

 forth. Without sacrificing comfort and convenience, all these 

 and many other similar parts or accessories of the garden 

 should be designed in proportion to its area, or at all events 

 to the amount of it which can be seen from any one point. 

 Introducing large and in themselves possibly beautiful foun- 

 tains, pergolas or arbours into a small garden, will only have 



