560 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 



establishment, the possession of which is the ultimate desire of most 

 Englishmen. 



In establishments of smaller pretensions the scale of the garden 

 should naturally vary with the proportions of the house, for the sense 

 of harmony is spoilt when the garden is too ambitions or too mean for 

 the residence. It would be difficult to set a limit in acres upon the 

 size of any garden in relation to a given house, for a good deal 

 depends upon the method of its arrangement and something upon 

 the surroundings. Happily the charm of a garden does not depend 

 upon its size, for the smallest one is capable of the most enchanting 

 transformation when skill is brought to bear upon its plan. Never- 

 theless it should not be forgotten that it is from the large places 

 that the best ideas generally emanate, as they are the scenes of 

 unceasing experiments in horticulture and artistic arrangement. 



In the larger gardens the absorption of landscape scenery in the 

 principal views is customary and plays a considerable part in our 

 conception of an ideal garden, which is animated largely by sympathy 

 with home landscape. Consequently a strong feeling for what is called 

 nature is incorporated with and expresses itself in all gardens. No 

 English garden-maker can hope for popular recognition unless he is 

 thoroughly imbued with this sympathetic feeling and possesses the 

 ability to give expression to it. 



A love of nature is necessary for a complete understanding of the 

 artistic side of gardening, and gardeners will always claim a fore- 

 most place among the declared lovers of nature, for their work 

 continuously develops the power of finding attraction in effects to 

 which others may be blind. Many of those subtle forms of nature, 

 however, which possess allurement for the horticulturist may fail in 

 the quality of beauty. Similarly the ability to practise horticulture, 

 so necessary in the perfect garden, implies no special power to appreciate 

 beauty, much less to create it. It is possible for a garden to contain 

 every tree, shrub, and flower perfect of its kind, but it will be a failure 

 from an artistic point of view unless the trees and plants are 

 arranged in picturesque proportions. To be a work of art as we 

 understand it, the parts of a garden must be arranged deliberately 

 to produce pictorial effect. 



Whatever difference of opinion there may be about details — and 

 the form or style of a garden is a detail — the ideal garden will present 

 the largest possible number of perfect pictures, and to satisfy this ideal 

 condition it is necessary that every salient point of view should introduce 

 a real picture, in which all that comes within vision unites to perfect the 

 scene. Consequently the craftsman who aspires to make a garden in 

 which " the excellencies of nature " are harmoniously united must have 

 a clear knowledge of what actually constitutes a picture before he can 

 feel sure of his ability to produce one. He must not trust to chance, 

 nor rely upon the friendly aid of nature to cover his deficiencies. The 

 mere capacity to recognize beauty is not sufficient. He must acquire 

 a knowledge of the technique of picture-making. There is no way 



