NOVELTY AND GENERAL CATALOG 
21 
The Ornamentation of Grounds, Plans 
and Planting 
Landscape gardening, a recognized profession through whose advice and supervision 
enable you to produce a perfect and harmonious effect of grounds surrounding your dwell¬ 
ing, make a picture that changes not only every day of the year, but also during different 
parts of the day, makes an inviting place for you to take healthful walks, and inhale the 
ozone of pure fresh air, balmed with sweet perfume of various flowers, a playground for 
your family, grounds which furnish you with beautiful flowers, fresh and wholesome 
vegetables and delicious fruits for your use or a welcome gift for most any occasion. 
All my life has been spent in studying and practicing the profession of a horticul¬ 
turist, having made myself familiar with most of the trees, shrubs and other hardy plants, 
their habits, eventual development, their time of flowering, the effect produced by them 
during certain seasons of the year, the soil necessary, the exposure needed and hardi¬ 
ness of the flowers and plants and the proper treatment for developing same has been 
my first aim to acquire. 
Now, with this knowledge gained by practical experience of forty years, I have 
devoted my attention to the study of nature and the effect produced unaided by the 
hand of man, and must confess there are such rural sections in America and Europe 
that no skill of landscape artist could improve upon. In fact, it might be said the 
mission of the landscape gardener is to imitate nature in the style of gardening and 
harmonize and combine effectiveness in the formal style of gardening and render limited 
spaces as attractive as possible with a very moderate outlay of money. This outlay 
should not be classed as an expense, but as an investment, for, while buildings, either of 
wood, stone or any other material, deteriorate from year to year, on the contrary, a small 
sum of money judiciously invested in planting the ground with choice trees, shrubs and 
plants will be the most remunerative investment, for, with little care, the choicest trees, 
shrubs and plants will increase in size and beauty from year to year, and in a short time 
have a hundred-fold value of the original outlay. In other words, it could be said that 
grounds around the buildings, judiciously planted with the proper material, will increase 
the value of the property in about the same ratio as buildings will deteriorate and will 
be worth less than originally expended upon them, thus, in that light, it must be properly 
regarded as an investment and not as an expense. 
Landscape Gardening 
Landscape Gardening, or Landscape Architecture, as it is generally called, is not 
anything new, but only newly practised as far as America is concerned. It is an art 
employed in the conception and designing and ornamenting grounds generally adjacent to 
country dwellings, the building of artificial gardens, preserving the natural growth of 
trees, shrubs and plants, and assisting nature in developing a pleasing effect, a setting 
for residences, a pleasing retreat during the summer months, a creation of natural 
panoramic picture ever changing from day to day, and from season to season, always 
something of interest to admire. 
Points to Observe 
There are two cardinal points in the successful landscape garden. The first Is to 
know how, and the second, to have the material to do it with, both of these being essen¬ 
tial to the ultimate result. 
