80 
FAULTS TO AVOID, 
on the professional services of educated gardeners. It would be 
as absurd for the mass of men, engrossed in active business, to 
devote a large amount of time to the study of the mere rudiments 
of gardenesque art, simply to enable them to lay out a half acre or 
acre of land, as it would be for the same business man to pore 
over an architect’s library and pictures to enable him to design his 
own hous z—provided skillful planters were as easily found as com¬ 
petent architects. Twenty years ago there was the same dearth of 
architects of culture as there now is of educated gardeners. The 
general study of domestic architecture, which Downing’s works then 
aided to make a fashion, produced, at first, an astonishing fermen¬ 
tation and rising of architectural crudities; but it also produced, 
afterwards, a crop of architects. If we can induce every family 
who have a home to adorn, to study the art of planning and ar¬ 
ranging their own grounds, the seed will be planted that will ger¬ 
minate, in another generation, in a crop of art-gardeners of such 
high culture, and of such necessity to the educated community, that 
it will be one of the honored professions of our best collegiates. 
Now, however, the number of such men, devoted to this profes¬ 
sion, is so small, that we have not heard even of more than half a 
dozen skilled, professional gardeners among our thirty millions of 
native Americans ; and not greatly more than double that number 
of educated foreigners, who have established a deserved fame 
among us as men of culture in their art. Even these men, with 
few exceptions, are little known outside the wealthy circles of the 
great cities, nor half appreciated where they are known. Until 
employers are themselves persons of culture, artists, even when 
employed, are regarded as a kind of dilettanti, whom it is neces¬ 
sary to employ rather to conform to “ the fashion,” than for such 
service as the employer is competent to appreciate, and really 
enjoy the results of. We know of nothing that will at the same 
time cultivate a taste for the fascinating art of gardenesque design¬ 
ing, and produce a quick return of pleasure for the time spent, as 
the study of paper plans for one’s own grounds. 
Ignorant gardeners, and self-sufficient business men who know 
nothing about gardening, are apt to indulge in ridicule of this 
paper gardening, but it is the ridicule only which is ridiculous. 
