Oldal 552 [552]
eH EMV ATES) CO. a VL RGEN LA
ticularly the hemlocks. The terraces, the pool, and the general out¬
line were also there. But wild-cherry trees, a foot in diameter,
had grown up in the flower beds, and weeds and scrub were more
than head-high. For some years efforts at restoration were made
without professional advice. A great deal of clearing and renovat¬
ing was done, but the results were not very satisfactory because of
the lack of knowledge of garden design. Much moving was done
and some planting, but the sum total was without eftectiveness, be¬
cause it was without a closely-knit composition. ‘he essence of art
lies in composition.
What was desired was to restore, as nearly as possible, the old
general plan of the garden; to remove the picket fence and throw
into the garden the little lawn next the house. It was felt that
the garden plan should be symmetrical as to the north and south
axis of the house, but it was in the close interrelation of its parts
that difficulty was encountered. No home-made plan seemed satis¬
factory, so there followed much study of Humphry Repton’s "The
Art of Landscape Gardening,’ of Robinson’s various fine books,
of the work of Charles Eliot, and much reading of the Garden
Magazine. But; at length, the conclusion was reached that profes¬
sional advice must be had, both for purposes of economy and to
obtain a workable, livable and beautiful result.
Very fortunately, the services of the well-known landscape
designer, Mr. Warren H. Manning, of Boston, were secured.
The plan that Mr. Manning made has proved most satisfactory
and, though it is still far from being carried out completely, it is
being built up, little by little, year by year. The problem was to
utilize the basis of the old garden, bring it into closer association
with the house, link up all the utilitarian parts of the place,
screen out the unattractive and, in short, to combine the useful and
the beautiful. In addition, the plan was to be direct and simplé
and permanent, as well as economical in upkeep. A difficult prob¬
lem it seemed, and it is, to the untrained, but not beyond easy
accomplishment by the professional. That the result is free from.
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