204 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
nurseries. It is our duty to ourselves and customers that all the 
various characteristics of our plants be carefully studied and 
known so that we can properly inform purchasers of the special 
conditions under which any plant will best grow and develop. 
Our desire to serve must be grounded by a knowledge and sin¬ 
cerity, and we must always be willing to miss a sale rather than 
to suggest an improper plant for any particular location or con¬ 
dition. 
How is the busy nurseryman to acquire this knowledge some 
one might ask. That’s easy. No nurseryman can take a walk 
through the fields or in the woods without coming in contact 
with nature ready and willing to teach him a lesson and any 
lesson copied from nature can be relied upon, for nature makes 
no mistakes. Look how she has massed the fence row along the 
field. There are quantities of gray twigged dogwood growing 
against the stone-wall, with now and then a grouping of sheep- 
berry coming out into prominence. 
She has lavishly used bayberry and sweet fern in the fore¬ 
ground. A strong growth of bitter-sweet half hides the rugged 
stones of the old wall, and golden-rod, daisies, potentillas and 
asters blossom in the outer fringe. Here and there a group of 
wild cherries rises out of the mass and then an elm tree stretches 
forth its stately arms. On each side of the pasture gate a sturdy 
hickory stands on guard. Then comes the meadow, rich in its 
carpet of grasses and flowers, stretching across the plain to the 
base of the hill, where it is cut by a little stream. In the moist 
ground along the banks we find groups of cottonwood, willows, 
oziers, button-ball and alders, and in the open places lobelias, 
forget-me-nots and gentians love to grow. 
The sloping hillside is studded with red cedars interspersed 
with laurel and spreading jumpers, and white birches form a 
foreground for the forest beyond. Then the eye is lost in a 
barrier of green foliage. Walk through the parks and you will 
find only an adoption of nature’s methods, and see how the land¬ 
scape architect, by his skill and art, has transplanted the en¬ 
vironment and made it possible for nature to serve his purpose. 
Then there are a great many useful books to be had, in which 
the principles of landscape gardening are thoroughly explained. 
It is the duty of every one of us to study nature, to observe care¬ 
fully the work of good gardeners, and to read good books so that 
each of us may become a conscientious and well-informed horti¬ 
cultural adviser in our immediate territory. 
There is too much highly colored foliage being offered today, 
such as golden leafed elder, variegated weigela, red leafed plants 
and other examples of gaudy foliage which appeals to the eye 
of the novice who knows nothing about the correct methods of 
plant grouping. Most every community has its man who calls 
himself a landscape architect, landscape gardener or the least 
excusable of all terms, a landscape artist, who is absolutely ig¬ 
norant of the simple principles of landscape gardening and is 
getting by on pure bunk. These are the men who plant a round 
bed or make a star, anchor, diamond or some other geometrical 
pattern in the center of a small lawn and call it landscape gard¬ 
ening. The man who is familiar with the finer points of land¬ 
scape gardening knows that gaudy foliage is taboo except in rare 
instances where it can occasionally be used to advantage, and 
that correct design in gardening consists in maintaining broad 
and open centers and massing the boundaries and foundations. 
He also knows that geometrical patterns can only be used in 
formal work and that carpet bedding and scroll work are only 
intended to show what can be done with plants and are as much 
out of place on the average home grounds as is a tapestry in a 
log cabin. 
Many of us are too careless in instructing our customers re¬ 
garding the method of preparing soil. Most nurseries are located 
where there is deep and plentiful loam. We all know that in 
most building operations contractors are very careless about fill¬ 
ing around the foundation of the house with poor material and 
that the lawn rarely ever receives a sufficient amount of loam 
to maintain a luxuriant growth of grass. 
When we are passing the home of a customer and see that he 
is engaged in building operations it is well enough to stop and 
have a friendly chat with him or write him a letter calling these 
matters to his attention. If he takes your advice he will thank 
you for it; if he does not, later on he will wish he had. 
There is a separate and distinct field in which nurserymen may 
operate without conflicting with the interests of the professional 
landscape architect. Many people have an idea that there is a 
vast competition between the nursery interests and the profess¬ 
ional interests, but as a matter of fact the margin of conflict is 
a very narrow one. Like the trolley lines are feeders to and not 
competitors of the great railway systems of the country, so are 
well-organized landscape nurseries feeders to the business of the 
professional landscape architects. 
After all, the building of fine homes, the laying out of vast es¬ 
tates or even the planting of the simple home grounds is only 
a manifestation of one’s desires to score a point in the race of 
vanity. The desire for attractive home grounds is contagious. 
Give me a commission on half a dozen houses in a new section 
and I will guarantee that the majority of homes in that vicinity 
will be developed within two years. 
The nurserymen’s field lies in serving the modest home. As 
his customer becomes more prosperous he moves into the sub¬ 
urbs and buys a larger estate. Having already acquired a love 
for beautiful home grounds he now, with ample means for de¬ 
velopment, becomes a patron of the landscape architect. 
I do not believe that the broad-minded professional man fears 
any encroachment from the landscape nurserymen but looks upon 
them as missionaries who are blazing the way for him to follow. 
There are landscape architects and there are landscape architect- 
lets, the latter rarely ever securing a commission of any propor¬ 
tion and is always willing to snatch a little job away from the 
nurseryman and complain if he does a single piece of planting. 
This type of man is not broad enough or well educated enough to 
go after a big commission. In this connection the point arises 
as to what the nurseryman engaged in the landscape business 
shall call himself. I do not believe that anyone not a graduate 
of a reputable landscape school has a right to call himself a land¬ 
scape architect. This term is reserved for those who are making 
a profession of the business and have educated themselves along 
professional lines. The practical man must seek another term. 
Nurserymen may call themselves landscape gardeners or land¬ 
scape contractors and under these two terms will be able to in¬ 
clude all the work which they are competent to handle. 
A few of the larger nurseries throughout the country are em¬ 
ploying graduate landscape men in their business and are doing 
a very high class grade of work. The field for the well-equipped 
nurseryman along this line is unlimited. Today the surface is 
merely being scratched. One has only to travel around the 
well-developed nursery centers of the country to see how the 
home builder has welcomed and utilized this service. Then as 
he travels in the remoter districts he notices that practically 
nothing has been accomplished, that the well-designed house, 
carefully planned and modernly equipped, has had little done 
towards the development of its grounds, possibly a few choice 
shrubs which appealed to the owner’s liking have been bought 
and set either in straight rows or planted promiscuously upon the 
lawn. 
A vast army of American home owners is only waiting for 
well-equipped nurserymen to produce a landscape service and 
show how the small home may be developed along artistic and 
logical lines and is willing to spend a reasonable sum for attrac¬ 
tive surroundings. 
The problem before the nurserymen today is one of presenting 
this service to the waiting buyer. After a great deal of experi¬ 
menting I am convinced that the best method of placing a good 
landscape service before the public is by the use of good sales 
advertising in the leading horticultural and local papers as a 
means of securing leads. This advertising must be well illus¬ 
trated and carefully worded so as to attract attention, create 
desire for the service and lead to inquiries for further informa¬ 
tion. After you have received an inquiry the possibility of an 
order depends upon how this request is treated. It should be 
followed up with a good snappy catalog, full of sales talk and 
argument, one which will show the customer how and where to 
use plants. In addition, there must be broadsides of the land¬ 
scape department, showing what has been done for others and 
describing in detail the method in which landscape problems are 
handled. 
Correspondence must be handled quickly and accurately; all 
questions carefully answered and the customer shown that we 
are on the job ready and willing to serve him. 
Any advertising campaign must be backed by an organization 
that can deliver the goods. It is folly to get out good advertis¬ 
ing matter which brings requests and then either falls down 
in correspondence, personal calls or planting service. If we are 
to advertise that we are well equipped to take care of landscape 
propositions we must be sure that we have enough good, well- 
trained men to take care of the business as fast as it comes in. 
It has often occurred to me that it might be well for all en¬ 
gaged in high class landscape work to form an association, pre¬ 
pare a strict code of ethics and adopt a name which might seem 
a little more applicable to our special line. The name “Land- 
scapeors” or some similar name might be used to advantage. 
This name should be registered and the qualifications of all 
applicants thoroughly investigated. Each member’s work from 
time to time should be examined carefully by a competent com¬ 
mittee and it should be the duty of every individual in the or¬ 
ganization to see that the code of ethics is strictly adhered to 
