FOREWORD 
Books and magazines written by and for American 
architects usually show in their illustrations fine imita- 
tions of lovely French, English, and Italian formalism and 
works of art in marble or other stone ornamenting the 
gardens of great mansions in this country. 
The object of this book is to present, more particularly, 
another type of garden, demonstrating the cultured Amer- 
ican’s love of beauty expressed through plant life rather 
than in stone; showing the development of his ideal in 
more original directions, when planning for himself the 
garden spot in which he is to live rather than when 
building wholly in imitation of some accepted type of 
classic art. 
With but few exceptions, these illustrations are of a 
class which might be called personal gardens. The at- 
tractive features in nearly every view speak so eloquently 
for themselves that there seems but little need of detailed 
verbal description of each beautiful spot. 
In covering all sections of the country, occasion is given 
for the observation and study of widely varying climatic 
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