176 ROYAL GARDENS 



Moreover, not only can full lists be found in numerous books 

 dealing with every department of gardening practice separately, 

 but many valuable suggestions are here included in articles by 

 the head gardeners of some of the places described. 



To sum up the intention of these notes. Garden design- 

 ing is an art. That is, a designer is born, not made. But 

 talent may be developed, and in many cases the man with a 

 highly trained small gift, may be more successful than a 

 genius who works only by " rule of thumb." For this reason 

 an attempt has been made to suggest lines of thought and 

 discover broad, general principles as briefly as possible, rather 

 than to enter fully into any one branch of the subject. 

 Certain gifts and qualifications a garden-designer must have : 

 — Imagination, knowledge of trees and plants, capacity for 

 taking in every feature and fold of the ground, a lively feeling 

 for both proportion and colour, good taste himself and ability 

 to appreciate the ideas and wishes of his employer, and, above 

 all, strong common sense. Given these, it is his obvious duty 

 to develop them by every means in his power. 



No two sites are quite alike ; and every garden should 

 be as original as it is possible to make it. When laying out 

 a new garden, before the designer begins his work an urgent 

 request should be addressed to the builder to leave every 

 feature and all trees or shrubs, as far as may be, exactly as 

 they were before a sod was turned, so that the distinctive 

 characteristics may be preserved. For, on these natural 

 features future success may wholly depend. The next steps 

 are to learn every minute detail of the ground, to study 

 most carefully the style and class of house which has been 

 or is to be erected, and to discover the likes and dislikes of 

 its owner. For the ideal arrangement undoubtedly is that 

 house and garden should not only suit each other, and that 

 both should fit in with the surrounding landscape, but that 

 they should reflect, as far as possible, the tastes and preferences 

 of him for whom the work is done. Having made a thorough 

 study of all these points, the designer will evolve a definite 

 plan. Not merely a surface plan, but one which takes into 



