XII 
ILLINOIS AND INDIANA 
Illinois, with its claim to countless fine estates, in- 
cludes a plentiful share of gardens, and more especially 
in the lake region, where luxuriant growths of trees tell of 
congenial soil and climate. As a background the great 
lake stretches like a sea beyond many of the beautiful 
flower-borders, which bloom almost as richly as those near 
the distant ocean. 
Unfortunately some of the finest plantings are not 
illustrated in this book, which is limited to gardens of a 
formal design, and the type characteristic of Illinois is 
mostly informal, as so frequently seen in America, — an 
arrangement which does not lend itself satisfactorily to 
photography. In such a plan the flowers are usually 
massed in long, broad beds bordering the lawn, the front 
lines are laid in irregular curves, with trees and shrubs 
for the background. Groups of shrubs with other beds 
are sometimes used to break a wide stretch of lawn, and 
make a rambling and delightful sort of garden scheme. 
But in photography detail is lost when the camera is at 
sufficient distance to include more than a small section of 
such a design. For this reason pictures can never do full 
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