197 
PARK AND CEMETERY . 
SOME GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF LANDSCAPE DESIGN 
From Paper Read Before the Missouri State Board of Hor- 
ticulture by L. P. Jensen, Landscape Architect of St. Louis. 
The natural methods of gardening are 
undoubtedly the most interesting to the 
American people, and I believe the for- 
rnal arrangement should be confined to 
restricted areas disconnected from the 
other parts of the grounds. In connec- 
tfcn with magnificent architecture and 
considered as part of the architectural 
sbheme, this *kind of gardening is per- 
fectly; fitting. 
i The aim of the landscape gardener is 
the formation of pictures and the prin- 
ciples governing his work are the same, 
whether he is working on a large park 
or on the area of a city lot. His ma- 
terials are earth, rock, wood and water. 
The buildings, roads and walks are ar- 
tificial features necessary for the com- 
fort and convenience of man. The first 
step in the arrangement of any grounds 
is the making of a plan. This plan 
should give every detail of grading and 
planting arrangement. It should be 
made to a scale large enough to, if 
possible, give the location of each indi- 
vidual plant; it should show the loca- 
tion of buildings, roads and walks, 
drains and all existing and proposed 
features. This plan should be accom- 
panied by written instructions and 
specifications, and it should be con- 
scientiously followed as a guide in 
future operations to prevent inhar- 
monious features and confusion. 
The laying out of the grounds should 
be done in the following order : Lo- 
cating and building of the house and 
•other structures; grading and laying of 
drains ; making roads and paths, plant- 
ing of trees and shrubs ; and lastly the 
finishing of the lawn. 
The location of the residence, and 
the planting near it, should be very 
■carefully considered. 
Planting about the base of a build- 
ing helps to connect it with the lawn 
upon which it stands, and softens the 
stiff, regular lines. This planting should 
consist of hardy material which will 
be effective even in winter. 
Porches and parts of the buildings 
ought to be planted with hardy vines 
for privacy and comfort. The lawn 
should be as spacious as possible to give 
extent to a place, and should have a 
boundary of closely planted trees and 
shrubs in irregular masses, the fore- 
ground of which may be planted here 
and there with masses of herbaceous 
and annual flowers carefully arranged 
so as not to cause a spotted effect. 
Outbuildings should be partially 
screened by mass plantations so as to 
only show those parts of them which 
will add to the beauty of the composi- 
tion. 
Avoid the common fault of scatter- 
ing your plants all over the grounds 
without reason or thought. In the ar- 
rangement of your plantations be care- 
ful to study the natural growth of the 
plants, such as height, form, rapidity of 
growth, texture and color of foliage 
and season of bloom. While most leaves 
are' green, there is a great difference 
in the shade of green, which difference 
must be carefully considered for the 
sake of harmony in the landscape com- 
position. Such plants as the blue spruce, 
purple beach, plum and birch, golden 
elder and all plants with highly colored 
leaves should be carefully used, as 
should also many of the plants like the 
weeping mulberry, weeping elm and the 
Kilmarnock willow. 
Take advantage of the beautiful points 
and scenes in the surrounding landscape 
by the opening of vistas and plant tall 
growing trees and shrubs to shut out 
undesirable objects. 
When planting groups and masses do 
not indiscriminately mix your plants, 
but where more than one kind or va- 
riety is used in a group, let them mix 
slightly, to avoid the formation of stiff, 
regular lines. 
The proper location of drives and 
walks is an important consideration. 
They should be as direct as possible; 
planned for convenience as well as 
beauty. Except in very small places, a 
slightly curving road or walk is gener- 
ally more pleasing than a straight one. 
Every road and walk should have a rea- 
son for its existence and have a distinct 
aim, such as buildings, pleasing view- 
points, etc. Large bends will only be 
justified by natural obstacles, such as 
rocks, water or groups of trees. The 
curves should be easy and graceful, 
following the natural contour of the 
ground. If possible do not let your 
roads and walks cross through the cen- 
ter of an open lawn or meadow, but 
keep them to one side and plant masses 
of trees and shrubs irregularly along 
them in such manner as to prevent long 
stretches of them from being seen from 
any one point of view, and at the same 
time make them more interesting for 
those who drive or walk on them. 
The entrance to a place should be as 
simple as possible, and in keeping with 
the general layout of the grounds. 
Water is one of the most effective 
features in the landscape and should be 
introduced wherever possible. The pond 
and lake give a peacefulness to the 
scene not otherwise easily acquired, 
and the rippling brook and the waterfall 
enliven the woods with their murmurs, 
the former never resting as it runs 
from shadow to sunlight. 
The planting of margins of streams 
and lakes gives an opportunity for in- 
troducing a great variety of plants 
which could not otherwise be grown, 
such as water lilies, cat-tails, calamus, 
Japan iris, and scores of other moist- 
ure loving plants. 
The making of artificial ponds and 
lakes and the planting of them to fit 
natural surroundings is vastly more dif- 
ficult than the arrangement of ordinary 
ground surfaces. They are apt to be 
made stiff and formal in their outline, 
examples of which are found in abund- 
ance in our parks and pleasure grounds. 
A good way is to study nature’s ar- 
rangement, note carefully how she goes 
about the formation of her outlines, the 
obstructions in the streams causing the 
formation of natural dams, and how 
she forms her islands in streams and 
lakes, and you will gain valuable in- 
formation by the following of which 
you will be able to make and plant the 
natural water features of your garden. 
Bridges should be of a pleasing, sim- 
ple design, harmonizing with their sur- 
roundings. No bridge should be built 
unless there is a reason for its use. 
In the planting of the naturalistic 
garden or landscape we should mainly 
rely on plants of undoubted hardiness, 
and for this reason our native plants 
are especially adapted. We have a 
wealth of hardy material in our woods, 
fields and meadows suited to every lo- 
cality, soil and condition. Nature is the 
best teacher ; get acquainted with our 
native material first of all. Then visit 
as many good gardens as possible to 
learn how to use this material to the 
best advantage. Do not try to grow 
such plants as love shade and moisture 
on a dry hillside. 
Use American grown' . plants in your 
plantations if you want to succeed. Do 
not attempt to transplant, large trees 
and shrubs from the woods into' your 
garden ; they will either not live or pro- 
duce a stunted growth. Small plants 
may be collected and transplanted suc- 
cessfully. 
