"
I gave him an advertising pamphlet containing designs and prices of
garden ornaments, and told him they could select and order whatever they
liked from the manufacturers,--but declined to give any advice which
should connect my name with the work.
I have told this story as the readiest means of setting forth my ideas
of the capabilities of such public areas, and also as an illustration of
prevailing errors in regard to landscape gardening, which most people
seem to think consists solely of extraneous, artificial decoration, by
means of which any piece of ground can be made beautiful, however stiff
and formal may be the arrangement of the trees, shrubbery, and lawns
which give expression to its character as truly as the features of a
human face.
Such squares as I have described are the most common and simple forms of
public parks, and they might and should in all cases constitute not only
a chief ornament of the town, but a most attractive place of resort for
rest and refreshment. Nothing beyond the materials which nature
furnishes is needed for the purpose, but it is essential that these
should be gracefully dispersed, and that they should exhibit a
luxuriant, healthy growth.
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