VIII 
DM the beginning of these 
chapters I have assumed that 
naturalistic methods of garden- 
ing are the most interesting 
and important to Americans ; and this is 
the truth. But I have implied that even 
these methods must deal to some extent 
with formal elements, and also that a con- 
sistently formal scheme of design is some- 
times better for our use than any other ; 
and these are likewise truths. Indeed, they 
are truths which we should be at special 
pains to understand. Our Teutonic blood 
predisposes us to a more spontaneous and 
general love for Nature than for art, and 
thus to a preference for naturalistic rather 
than architectonic ideals in gardening : we 
are not likely ever to become so enamoured 
of formal gardening that we shall turn to it 
where landscape-gardening would serve us 
better. The danger lies in the opposite di- 
157 
