262 
PARK AND CEMETERY. 
ON ENGLISH GARDENS.* 
As with Eaglish architecture the chief interest 
centres about the simpler work, the homely quality of 
which directly appeals to one, so the smaller and less 
pretentious English gardens seem in every way most 
perfect. There one finds no question of the rival 
claims of formal and informal school, of Italian, 
French, or English styles, but merely a natural common- 
sense adaptation of means to an end — a direct meet- 
ing of needs. In the great Italian and P'rench gardens 
one feels the presence of a complete and studied 
scheme, and also of a conscious effort for effect. As 
exponents of the art and science of landscape-gardening 
French and Italian examples are distinctly superior to 
the English; but for mere lovable beauty, fitting the 
needs of true country lovers, nothing can touch the 
English garden. 
In the many periods of English gardening the in- 
lluence of foreign styles and fashions has been felt, 
and has to a certain extent, modified the planning and 
planting of grounds, but except in those places which 
have attempted grandeur one finds no purely scholastic 
work. The earliest work of which we have any perfect 
knowledge is that which was influenced by the Italian 
Renaissance. When Jones and Wren introduced the 
balance of Classic planning and the detail of Classic 
work, the gardens developed on similar lines. This 
period gave us the formal terrace, the walled gardens, 
the bowling-greens, clipped hedges, and the intelligent 
use of architectural accessories which mark the majority 
of the good English gardens. The general character 
of this work remained practically unchanged for a 
couple of centuries. With the beginning of this 
century, when taste in architecture and art was distinctly 
declining towards its final depth in the thirties, there 
came, first, a carelessness for the beauty of the old 
gardens which resulted in neglect, and then the period 
when under the guidance of Brown, the imitation of 
nature and the making of pictures was the aim every- 
where. This resulted not only in the destruction of 
many fine gardens, but in a general perversion of taste 
which it has taken many years to counteract. 
The reaction from Brown’s hopeless endeavor to 
imitate nature and to avoid everything pertaining to 
formality was very quick, and yet it is indicative of the 
English temper tnat it was not a violent swing of the 
pendulum to the other extreme. Kemp, writing 
between fifty and sixty, laid down rules, or rather 
suggested principles, which seem thoroughly sound and 
sensible. He urged the necessity for formal treatment 
in and about the house, and yet valued the freer and 
more natural possibilities which were unaffected by the 
immediate proximity of architecture. He deprecated 
the imitation of nature and made a strong plea for 
retaining “art,” by which he meant anything of a formal 
or studied nature. Simplicity, convenience, seclusion, 
are among his chief aims, and it is characteristic of 
the Englishman that in enumerating the things which 
*A paper by R. Cllpston Sturg'ls, F. A I. A., read before the Thirty-fourth 
Annual Convention of the A. I. A. 
require consideration when planning the grounds, he 
names economy first. By this he would include not 
merely making the plan on such a scale that the owner 
can afford to lay it out, but considering also the cost 
of maintenance, and, still further, arranging the place 
so that the maintenance can be done with economy. 
This is a matter of great importance, and to its just 
consideration is due to a large extent the number and 
beauty of the English gardens. As a rule work is not 
laid out or undertaken which cannot be easily executed 
and maintained without taxing the resources of the 
owner. 
^V’■ith the English, gardening is so old an art that 
the cost of maintaining can be as readily estimated 
beforehand as can the cost of execution. Tradition, 
habit, social custon, have all combined to fix the lines 
on which work shall be conducted, and thus to make a 
standard of “form,” used in the athletic sense, for the 
maintenance of the service of the house, the stable, and 
the grounds. If a man can afford but three servants 
his house is arranged on the basis of what three servants 
can do thoroughly well, and he will not have a larger 
house unless he can afford to have his service adequate. 
His stable will be regulated with equal care. He will 
have only such horses and carriages as can be kept in 
first-rate condition. Applying these same principles 
to the garden, collecting and making use of the 
cumulative experience of many generations of gardeners, 
he lays out his grounds with clear foresight as to its 
maintenance. Nothing is to be slovenly, nothing 
neglected. The results amply justify this course. 
The thoroughness of the English garden is the very 
root of its charm. The garden, whether large or small 
shows care in every part, and not only care, but 
generally the loving care of the man who is really fond 
of his garden as a whole and of his plants individually. 
One cannot go through a garden with the owner or his 
gardener without feeling that to them the garden is as 
intimate as the house. 
The whole attitude of mind of the Englishman is 
the desire to satisfy a need rather than to supply a 
luxury, and, therefore, this is generally found to be ihe 
chief motive in the laying-out of his garden. The 
great majority of English gardens have developed in 
direct response to practical needs, and if one studies 
these needs, and sees how they have been met, the 
history of nine-tenths of the English gardens is given. 
The needs of the house are approaches and courts, 
or yards. The main approach is for the convenience 
of the family and their guests; it is not considered as a 
portion of the grounds especially desirable as an out- 
look. The chief living rooms are where aspect and 
outlook are most favorable, so that the entrance-hall is 
naturally given the less desirable aspect. On this 
account, if for no other, the immediate approach to 
the house is not so capable as other places of being 
made liveable. Considerations of utility are, therefore 
paramount. If it is a carriage-entrance, a short drive 
and a convenient turn are things sought. This has 
resulted in a number of types of which the most familiar 
