564 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



and on what lies beyond, so that every case must be considered on its 

 merits. 



It is well known to how great an extent photography has increased 

 interest in the pictorial effect of gardens. The utility of such 

 pictures to landscape gardeners and garden owners is obvious. 

 They offer some facilities, however, of doubtful benefit. For instance, 

 it is not unusual for an amateur who intends to make a garden to 

 collect all sorts of photographs of pleasing garden scenes, and to 

 submit these to a designer with the idea of making them or their like 

 the basis of a new garden. A garden designer of experience will 

 know how to deal with such circumstances without offending his client 

 or depressing his imagination by an attempt to make a puzzle of a 

 series of scenes collected from alien sources. It should be remem- 

 bered that such scenes generally owe much of their happy effect 

 to their original surroundings, which cannot well be imitated, and 

 this will explain why a borrowed design is rarely as effective in a 

 new position as in the original one. 



Moreover, the pleasing effect of many a garden photograph is due to 

 some little technical touch which is entirely beyond the knowledge 

 of anybody unversed in the wiles of an artistic photographer. 



Sometimes exaggerated and none too clear language is employed 

 concerning the development of what is called " the genius of a place." 

 Undoubtedly most sites do possess, in addition to an inherent local 

 character, some individuality which suggests a form of arrangement 

 differing from that of any other garden, and it would be wise to 

 develop these advantages before borrowing ideas elsewhere. Local 

 characteristics are expressed by geological and climatic conditions to 

 which witness is borne in the form of contours, the nature of soils, 

 and the flora natural to a district. A garden should harmonize with 

 local conditions, but it must express personal individuality if it is to be 

 interesting. The most striking quality it possesses should therefore 

 be looked for and developed. 



It is difficult to particularize, but such features may be found in 

 some special view, in the peculiar undulation of the ground, in some 

 striking group of trees, in a piece of water, or other scene. If no suit- 

 able nucleus exists, then a character must be invented for the garden. 



This calls for a special effort of the imagination on the part of the 

 garden designer, for imagination is the life-force of all art. The art of 

 garden design would degenerate if its practice were reduced to a formula 

 and to the automatic adoption of a limited number of set ideas. 

 Gardening has suffered from decay on more than one occasion during 

 its history owing to the paralysis of imagination, but there is no fear 

 of such a set-back when every new garden possesses a real indivi- 

 duality. It is to be hoped, therefore, that garden owners will insist 

 upon the exercise of imagination in the landscape gardeners they 

 employ, and will refuse to be satisfied with the reproduction of 

 features which have been successfully designed for other situations. 



One must not, however, be too insistent about the development 



