NOTES ON GARDEN DESIGN 157 



appearing inharmonious when plants have arrived at maturity, 

 whereas the very same flowers differently arranged would 

 have given complete satisfaction and delight. Again, the 

 gardener will do well to bear in mind that in a few years a 

 group of trees intended to present its best appearance from a 

 certain point, may by injudicious selection and placing of 

 quick and slow growing varieties, become entirely different 

 from what was expected. He should, as far as possible, choose 

 a well-established tree or group for a nucleus and, as it were, 

 build up to them with new additions to form the ' mass ' 

 he wants. In this way and by careful pruning and thinning, 

 the general shape or ' composition ' will be preserved and 

 his original idea, perhaps, improved upon. 



The second important respect in which garden designing 

 differs from pictorial art is this : a picture presents a de- 

 finitely selected view from one chosen spot, or at all events 

 should appear to do so, whereas a garden is seen from very 

 many places by persons moving about in it. This difference 

 does not in reality contradict the assertion that gardens give 

 peculiar satisfaction when designed more or less in accordance 

 with generally accepted laws of pictorial composition. For 

 that proposition chiefly refers to aspects of a garden from 

 specially chosen points of view, which it is suggested should 

 be indicated by seats or arbours. And because certain aspects 

 are improved by a well-devised scheme of massing and spacing 

 is no reason for fearing that other views will thereby suffer. 

 On the contrary, well-arranged groups of actual living trees 

 and growing flowers seen under the vivid light and shade 

 of real sunlight, will appear all the better from every point 

 for the care and thought that have gone to make them as 

 perfect as possible when seen from one particular place. In 

 other words, let art and nature combine to make certain 

 prospects superlatively good, and nature will see to it that 

 others are not worsened. 



Paths and walks are so essentially necessary in every 

 garden that I think it better to include a few remarks 



