The River Falls journal. (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1857-1861, 1858-05-12
Landscape Gardening.

The spring IS season of the year when
this art receives most practice. Every
body who owns q rood of earth desires TO
improve and ornament it, for the love of
the beautiful is sort Of second nature to
man. The first principles of beauty are
the same in all men; they differ mainly
in t cultivation of taste. There are
some men who cannot tell how thing
should be. done, that know at glance
when a thing is done right. frequently,
first impressions of beauty are the most
correct and permanent.
Few men possess as correct q taste in
this useful art, as the late lamented Down
ing. Landscape gardening was the great
study of his life. He found this art in its
infancy. He left it, nursed into vigorous
youth. The blending of shades and col
ors, the comparison of shapes and forms,
the eternal harmony and fitness of things
were continually before his mind. His
thoughts of beauty written upon the gar
den and the green sward, remain as his
monuments. 1t matters not whether such
men die old or young. They early &C
complish life-work. This man, though
dead at 81, lived centuries of common
lives.
As no two spires Of grass are exactly
alike, so no two persons can be found,
who agree perfectly in all the minutiie OF
this art, for no two minds have exactly the
same degree of cultivation. But there
are general rules on which mos. men
freely unite. To speak of these is the
main object of this article. Two distinct
styles have generally been adopted in the
planting of ornamental grounds, the reg
ular and the natural The former makes
beauty consist IN squares and angles, laid
down with geometric precision. The
latter deals in graceful curves and wind
ings, and seeks to initiate nature. One
delights to see trees stiff and unbending
in the breeze, brooks and rivers running
/ in bee lines to the ocean, cataracts brought
to as straight an edge as an artificial dam,
and mountains square as perfect blocks.
The other loves the varieties of nature,
especially the waving willow and the elm,
the meandering rivuIet, the ragged water
fall, and the broken outline of hills.
We need not say which Of these tastes
is most correct. There is thesame differ
ence between these two classes that there
is between the philosopher and the Chris
tan. One reduces nature to geometry.
The other turns easily "from naturs UP
to natures God" An anecdote illustra-
ting the absurdity of the regular style is
told of an old English gardener. He had
cultivated his favorite idea till it became
kind of mania. Each tree on the right
side of his house was opposed by another
on the left On one occasion, when 80
thief WIS confined in the summer house,
for stealing fruit, for the sake Of symme-
try he shut up his own son in the sum
mer house opposite"
The regular style we trust is gradually
passing away, and the natural is increa-
sing in favor But nature requires study.
To perfectly initiate her ill landscape gar
dening requires high degree of talent.
Nothing less than the skill of an artist and
the genius of sculptor, are fully compe-
tent to the work. Natures groupings
rarely confuse the eye, or startle with
their contrasts. She never places the
willow and the oak together, and rarely
the elm and tie pine. The dropping and
the tapering trees do not harmonic any
more than the extremes of color. Unity,
harmony. and variety are the alphabet OF
landscape gardening.
If dignity is the effect desired in q
group of trees, the oak is preferable. Ii
grace, the elm and willow should be pro-
minent. If cheerfulness, give us the birch
and maple. If gloom, plant the sombre
pines. We do not recommend an entire
grove of either one of these, for this would
lack variety. On the contrary, we would
blend them all SO that harmony shall be
the result We would break up the stiff
ranges of art, and plant clumps of foliage
as # they were sown by the sdmmer wind
In word we would initiate nature.
A good opportunity to achieve a repu-
tation in landscape gardening, is now open
at Hampden Park. A grove of trees is
wanted on the north and q belt on the
east. The whole should be so arranged
that the effect will be pleasing. Were we
rich and q bachelor, we would sooner
trust the trees of this park for immortali-
tv, than monument of Par;an marble.
We had rather plant maple or an elm
that shall shelter some weary pilgrim,
than erect useless pyramid.-Spring
field Republican.