LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 
353 
It is not necessary that we should go into 
a laboured explanation of these expres- 
sions. They are more or less familiar to all. 
A few fine trees, scattered and grouped over 
any surface of smooth lawn, will give a cha- 
racter of simple beauty ; lofty trees of great 
age, hills covered with rich wood, an eleva- 
tion commanding a wide country, stamp a 
site with dignity ; trees of full and graceful 
habit or gently curving forms in the lawn, 
walks, and all other objects, will convey the 
idea of grace ; as finely formed and somewhat 
tall trees of rare species, or a great abundance 
of bright climbers and gay flowering shrubs 
and plants, will confer characters of elegance 
and gaiety. 
" He who would create in his pleasure- 
grounds these more delicate shades of expres- 
sion, must become a profound student both of 
nature and art ; he must be able, by his 
own original powers, to seize the. subtle es- 
sence, the half-disclosed idea involved in the 
finest parts of nature, and to reproduce and 
develop it in his landscape garden. 
"Leaving such, however, to a broader range 
of study than a volume like this would afford, 
we may offer what, perhaps, will not be un- 
acceptable to the novice — a more detailed 
sketch of the distinctive features of the beau- 
tiful and the picturesque, as these expressions 
should be embodied in landscape gardening. 
"The beautiful in landscape gardening, Fig. 
15, is produced by outlines whose curves are 
flowing and gradual, surfaces of softness, and 
growth of richness and luxuriance. In the 
shape of the ground, it is evinced by easy un- 
dulations melting gradually into each other: 
in the form of trees, by smooth stems, full, 
round, or symmetrical heads of foliage, and 
luxuriant branches often drooping to the 
ground, — which is chiefly attained by plant- 
ing and grouping, to allow free development 
of form ; and by selecting trees of suitable 
character, as the elm, the ash, and the like: 
in walks and roads, by easy flowing curves, 
following natural shapes of the surface, with 
no sharp angles or abrupt turns : in water, 
by the smooth lake with curved margin, em- 
bellished with flowing outlines of trees, and 
full masses of flowering shrubs — or in the 
easy winding curves of a brook. The keeping 
of such a scene should be of the most polished 
kind, — grass mown into a softness like velvet, 
gravel walks scrupulously firm, dry, and clean ; 
and the most perfect order and neatness should 
reign throughout. Among the trees and 
shrubs should be conspicuous the finest foreign 
sorts, distinguished by beauty of form, foliage, 
and blossom ; and rich groups of shrubs and 
flowering plants should be arranged in the 
more dressed portions near the house. And 
finally, considering the house itself as a fea- 
50. 
ture in the scene, it should properly belong 
to one of the classical m-.des ; and the Italian, 
Tuscan, or Venetian forms are preferable, 
because these have both a polished and a 
domestic air, and readily admit of the grace- 
ful accompaniments of vases, urns, and other 
harmonious accessories. Or, if we are to 
have a plainer dwelling, it should be sim- 
ple and symmetrical in its character, and its 
verandah festooned with masses of the finest 
climbers. 
" The picturesque in landscape gardening, 
Fig. 16, aims at the production of outlines of 
a certain spirited irregularity, surfaces com- 
paratively abrupt and broken, and growth of 
a somewhat wild and bold character. The 
shape of the ground sought after, has its occa- 
sional smoothness varied by sudden variations, 
and in parts runs into dingles, rocky groups, 
and broken banks. The trees should in many 
places be old and irregular, with rough stems 
and bark ; and pines, larches, and other trees 
of striking, irregular growth, must appear in 
numbers sufficient to give character to the 
woody outlines. As, to produce the beautiful, 
the trees are planted singly in open groups to 
allow full expansion, so lor the picturesque, 
the grouping takes every variety of form ; 
almost every object should group with an- 
other ; trees and shrubs are often planted 
closely together ; and intricacy and variety — 
thickets — glades — and underwood — as in wild 
nature, are indispensable. Walks and roads 
are more abrupt in their windings, turning 
off frequently at sudden angles where the 
form of the ground or some inviting object 
directs. In water, all the wildness of romantic 
spots in nature is to be imitated or preserved ; 
and the lake or stream with bold shore and 
rocky, wood-fringed margin, or the cascade in 
the secluded dell, are the characteristic forms. 
The keeping of such a landscape will of course 
be less careful than in the graceful school. 
Firm gravel walks near the house, and a 
general air of neatness in that quarter, are 
indispensable to the fitness of the scene in all 
modes, and indeed properly evince the recog- 
nition of art in all landscape gardening. But 
the lawn may be less frequently mown, the 
edges of the walks less carefully trimmed, 
where the picturesque prevails ; while in por- 
tions more removed from the house, the walks 
may sometimes sink into a mere footpath with- 
out gravel, and the lawn change into the forest 
glade or meadow. The architecture which 
belongs to the picturesque landscape, is the 
Gothic mansion, the old English or the Swiss 
cottage, or some other striking forms, with 
bold projections, deep shadows, and irregular 
outlines. Rustic baskets, and similar orna- 
ments, may abound near the house, and in 
the more frequented parts of the place." 
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