Newark post., 1913-03-12
STYLES OF LANDSCAPE GARDENING
DELAWARE COLLEGE EXPERIMENT STATION
Rv PROFESSOR c. A. McCUE

four trees and the remainder or the
ground given over to a formal flower
garden. This might consist of walks,
patches of grass and of flower beds thus
composing a pattern. Or one might have
a colonial garden composed of free grow.
ing cold fashioned flowers in rectang
ular or elliptcal boX-edged beds and hor-
ders. In very small garden there might
he a carefully defined scheme of carpet
bedding. In the latter ease a back
ground of gravel is better than one of
grass as grass gives an undue brilliancy
to the bright hucd beds Where a taste
exists in initiating an old or quaint style
of residence any of these formal schemes
are in place.
In any of these plans the tIatucSs dec
to low growing plants should he relieved
by the Introduction of formal shaped
trees like Irish jumpers or other dwarf
cvcrgrccns. In localities where the near
by landscape is naturalistc or rural or
where the house is very plain and simple
formal garden, no matter how modest.
is out of place.
Whenever formal flower garden or
its elements can be appropriately made
within a crowded city it should be made.
All people like flowers and demand them
in their parks. This fact is the only eX
cuse for defacing naturalistic parks
with a great number of gaudy flower beds.
A sunken strip of ground can often be
utilized to good advantage in this way.
In all cities such sites as squares, vacant
spots at the juncture of streets, small
spaces about railway stations and pub
lie buildings should be planted with geo
The formal garden like a city is a man
made affair and they should 90 together
LAYING OUT FORMAL GARDENS.
/ A professional landscape gardener who
attempts to lay out formal gardens must
have a knowledge of architecture and
must make each garden agree with the
buildings surrounding it. He must know
/ ti' iNiiihNht7 VI bt'ih'ihS III ~ '"i '''
they apply to combine lines, masses and
colors. This style requires far less real
art than does the naturalistic style.
While sharp line must be drawn be-
tween the two great styles in so far as
fundamental conceptions go, yet in detail
of construction they overlap. Nature
must be allowed some freedom in the
most formal of gardens in the way of
some flowers, shrubs and trees that grow
at will. On the other hand formal ele-
ments must enter into every naturalistic
park. There must be non-natural paths,
roads, buildings, brhhftteated 36 to
sionally elements that s' etc. fc'-
proper only for one style may Dc Oecas,
duced to advantage in a general scheme
of the other style. For example, "The
Mall - in Central Park, New York, is an
element theoretically proper only in
formal design yet as it is used in Central
Park it actually adds merit to that great
naturaIistic park. We doubt, however,
if less skilled hand than that of Fred
erick Lon Olmsted could have made the
hold combination with success.
FORMAL FLOWER BEDS.
4 formal flower bed is beautiful or
! ugly according as to how well or how
| POORLY designed and as to whether it is
in the right or the wrong place. Such
bed is well designed when its outlines
are simple and graceful, when it's coors
are harmoniously arranged and its color
scheme does not strike too loud a note
iu the general effect of the grounds. A
formal flower bed is in place only when
symetrical lines of other sorts accompany
it and harmonic with it, 1t is never in
place in any naturalistc scheme where
all the surrounding walks, shrubs and
trees are natural. No position could be
worse for such a bed than stretch of
bright green lawn. A flower bed on
lawn ruins the air of repOse, unity and
breadth for which the lawn was made.
! The green of the surrounding grass
throws the colors into such relief that the
effect is like hanging a gaudy lithograph
| upon beautiful wall