THE PRACTICE OF GARDEN DESIGN. 



389 



is possible to produce similar sensations likewise in the freer parts of the 

 ground which are devoted to strolling and meandering, let us by all means 

 do so with all the skill possible, and without straining the effect. Every- 

 thing after its kind was a rule in the beginning ; and when from necessity 

 we must have a house, remembering that the house is, and must be, in 

 its main lines formal, it is fitting that the house should in the majority 

 of instances long for companionship after its kind in the garden, and 

 desire to have some circumscribed area commensurate with its size and 

 a complement to its plan. This is both, rational and logical ; therefore I 

 make no apology for the terrace and its usual formal arrangement ; nor do 

 I quarrel with, but rather commend, the man who is a strict purist in this 

 formal domain and keeps his plants subordinate. If the tallness in the 

 lines of the design of the house seems to demand a herbaceous border to 

 cut down its seeming tallness, then by all means have one right under 

 the windows, with hollyhocks and sunflowers and tall shrubs. There is 

 no danger, only the danger of laying down hard-and-fast lines. 



We will suppose now that we have a proper survey and sections giving 

 the boundaries of the garden or estate before us ; the first question is the 

 amount of money to be devoted to the garden. I need not trouble you 

 much with this most practical consideration. The question which is 

 immediately related to it, and which I find is equally important, namely, 

 the amount to be devoted to the annual upkeep of the garden, will perhaps 

 be of greater interest to you than the former one, namely, the amount to 

 be expended upon the lay-out. In many, many new gardens I am met by 

 my client with woeful tales that the extras on the house have run to such 

 an inordinate amount, it is imperative that as little as possible be expended 

 upon the gardens. This is almost always tantamount to saying that he 

 wishes a good show in the garden for a little money. Well, as most 

 gardeners know, this is not a difficult achievement provided there is a good 

 productive soil to start with, which is not always, indeed, not often, the 

 case. You can buy flowers and shrubs, plant them, and for a few years 

 they will make a passable show ; but if the ground has not been suitably 

 eairiched, and all deeply dug and furnished from the foundations with 

 a view to continuity, well we know what happens. 



The first step before launching upon anything is to honestly tell 

 a client what the ruinous policy of skimping in the garden formation 

 means, and to point out clearly from the first what amount in yearly 

 upkeep a proper garden will need, of such and such dimensions, which 

 every man who has experience in garden design could sketch out in 

 a few minutes on a plan with its shrubberies, glasshouses, kitchen garden, 

 terraces, lawns, and sundry departments. In passing, let me commend 

 the smaller though self-made garden, amply staffed, in preference to the 

 more extended garden inefficiently equipped and sparsely formed. Hear 

 what an American garden authority says about our English gardens : " It 

 is characteristic of the Englishman that, enumerating the things which 

 require consideration when planning the grounds, he names economy first. 

 This to them is a matter of great importance, and to its just consideration 

 is due, to a large extent, the number and beauty of the English gardens. 

 As a rule, work is not laid out or undertaken which cannot be easily 

 executed and maintained without taxing the resources of the owner. 



