April, 1920 
59 
can sit and dream. Rocks can be utilized in 
many ways, inspiring us with a fancy for a 
summerhouse if the view is sufficiently de¬ 
serving, or they may become part of a fernery 
or wild flower garden; or if there are flat ir¬ 
regular slabs, we can turn them into stepping 
stones across the lawn or into rough steps to 
reach an elevation. 
Opportunities for charming vistas from 
doors, windows and piazzas are often possible, 
for long vistas give the impression of freedom 
and extent even when the area in reality is 
quite limited. This illusion is emphasized by 
our seeing to it that all boundaries are hidden 
or disguised. \\’e may use a slope, a glade, a 
brook to enhance our garden, making its ro¬ 
manticism the nucleus of our scheme. If the 
grounds are originally bare and barren, the 
craft of the landscape architect enables him to 
create a glorifled portrait of Nature by arti¬ 
ficial means. 
But we cannot confine our sympathy and 
understanding entirely to the purely esthetic 
side of a garden—the principles of utility must 
also be considered. The necessities for com¬ 
fortable living must be frankly and adequately 
provided for. The whole arrangement of a 
garden may be greatly influenced by the amount 
of space required for a vegetable and flower 
garden, a tennis court, swimming pool and 
drying yard, and yet all of these features can 
be so handled that they can be reconciled to 
the artistic aims of the design as a whole. 
All of these problems are extremely interest¬ 
ing, for they give scope for individual expres¬ 
sion and the opportunity for the owner as well 
as the architect to obtrude his personality. 
The Materials Used 
The materials used in creating a romantic 
garden are not so wide in choice as those em¬ 
ployed in the design of the classic, so we must 
be discrete in using only those combinations 
that will harmonize. There is a movement 
afoot, almost a craze, for eliminating all ma¬ 
terial that is not native grown and that does 
not spring up within the short radius of the 
neighborhood in which it is used. This rather 
arbitrary ruling finds no justification in de¬ 
sign. There are many alien trees and shrubs 
that transplant easily and well, and are often 
necessary to give certain wanted effects and 
should be utilized if essential, provided they 
are able to become acclimated. But to use 
imported material simply because it is cheap 
or because, on the other hand, it gains in 
importance by being ver}' rare and costly, is 
equally unwise. The best results are gained 
by using congruous material that will grow 
and design well. 
One often hears the enthusiastic remark 
that a romantic garden makes so fine a natural 
setting for the house. As a matter of fact, no 
extensive romantic development can be related 
directly to the house. All the garden’s natural 
beauty may be preserved and developed to the 
fullest extent, but the design for the immediate 
surroundings of the house must be more or 
less formal. The real purpose of the rural or 
romantic type is to transport one away from 
all visible signs of material things into an 
imaginative realm that is touched by the magic 
of the woods. And if this feeling can be cre¬ 
ated, even though a garden be of small dimen¬ 
sions and lies within a short distance of the 
living premises, your romantic garden has ful¬ 
filled its purpose. 
The classic garden finds its perfection in a 
comparatively short time. Once it is brought 
to completion, its stateliness and finished de- 
{Continued on page 70) 
The rugged rock 
garden on the 
Drury place was 
completely built 
up by the land¬ 
scape architects 
A general view of 
the naturalistic 
garden and pool 
on the W. H. Clark 
estate at Stock- 
bridge, Mass. 
On a gently slop¬ 
ing hill in the 
Drury garden was 
built the grotto 
and shrub-hidden 
rockery 
