The Art of Gardening 
not suggest it to those English gardeners 
who developed it so beautifully. They 
were inspired by the artificially formed 
meadow-lands and forest-glades of the Eng- 
land of their time. 
Yet all the semi -natural, semi -artificial 
beauty of England would not have taught 
them how to make beautiful parks and gar- 
dens had they not been taught by their own 
imagination too. What they wanted to 
create was landscapes which should charm 
from all points of view, bear close as well 
as distant inspection, and be free from all 
inharmonious details ; and, moreover, land- 
scapes which should fitly surround the homes 
of men and accommodate their very various 
needs and pleasures. Such landscapes we 
never find in Nature, not even in cultivated, 
semi -artificial Nature. That is, while we 
can imagine a natural spot which would be 
an appropriate setting for a hunter’s lodge 
or a hermit’s cell, we can fancy none which 
would fittingly encircle a palace, a mansion, 
or even a modest home for a man with civil- 
ized habits and tastes. Every step in civil- 
ization is a step away from that wild estate 
21 
