The open season for “Garden Days” returns to delight hundreds of people and, incidentally, to secure financial aid for all sorts of worthy causes.
Of those who take advantage of the opportunity to visit gardens, few can hope to possess anything that approaches the more pretentious. Yet, the more modest gardens are within reach of many visitors, and ideas can be gained from all.
The popularity of garden tours is witness to the enjoyment they give, but one wonders whether visitors give touch consideration to the reason some gardens give so much more enjoyable than others.
Good Design Is Essential For Gardens
“Beautiful flowers” may be the popular explanation, but as a landscape architect, I believe good design is essential, as in any art. At the same time, some factors place the art of garden design apart from other modes of esthetic expression.
Here, we deal with using living materials that depend upon survival against the elements and are as essential to the complete picture as a degree of maturity that time alone can affect.
Perfection with living material also requires human care, a consideration that should enter into design.
Garden Day Questions
As one whose garden is regularly on the “visiting list,” I usually act as host, chatting with people and frequently answering questions. Of course, I always hope the questions may relate to design, but they rarely do.
Since “Garden Day” falls in tulip time and the ancient tamarisk is an attractive feature, I never fail to be asked the name of “that shrub with the feathery pink flowers.” I am afraid I take a little malicious delight in naming it as one of the very old-fashioned plants that our forefathers cherished.
It is not surprising that Daphne genkwa is runner-up on the “what-is-it” question, for it is not commonly offered by nurserymen and is too rarely used.
Goodstay Farmhouse
The original house at “Goodstay” was a small stone farmhouse that probably antedated the Revolution. Later, it became the easterly part of a house with a central hall and rooms on both sides.
The datestone on the barn – 1807 – probably approximates the date of this first enlargement. The garden, westerly of the house, may well be very early 19th century since it follows the Tudor tradition brought to Virginia and Maryland in the 17th and 18th centuries.
It is a rectangle divided by a central path, with three square areas on each side. When I first knew the garden, the central path was bordered by flowers and the rest of the garden was devoted to vegetables.
Some paths had box borders and two ancient box bushes could well have been planted when the garden was built 100 years before.
Interior Rearrangement
A large addition was made to the house in 1925, which required a complete rearrangement of the interior. A doorway of colonial design opened on the site for a terrace facing the garden.
The fence enclosing the garden created a definite separation at the very point where a close relationship was essential.
The walking pattern within the garden bore no relation to the position of the garden door in the house. So my problem was to effect a close relationship, eliminate all vegetables and design a flower garden that retained the old-time character as closely as possible.
Better Understanding Of Garden Design
Some additional box hedges were planted, and some new shrubs were added. I had little to do with perennials, bulbs, or annuals.
Flowers were a particular interest of my client, who was more sensitive to color than any garden lover I have ever known and concerned herself with this design phase in a way that requires daily intimacy with a particular garden.
I have sketched this brief account of the garden at “Goodstay” to illustrate how the design elements developed. Because so much of the place belongs to the past, visitors sometimes inquire about some of the buildings.
This allows me to tell some of the facts of design that they fail to ask about. There is much that none of us know about the old days, but in more recent days there is always a lively interest.
As a professional designer, I feel that there are things that should be known, especially to those who throng the many “open” gardens.
In this way, they may come to understand the factors of design and appreciate and enjoy gardens better.
Importance Of A Name
Too few people give much thought to the reason some gardens have more appeal than others. Instead, they are more likely to remark on this plant or one in someone’s garden.
Where guidebooks are prepared, one is apt to find inadequate descriptions. Attention is often called to an ancient tree or a rare or unusual shrub. Half the time, the name of the designer is not mentioned.
If a garden possesses “unusual charm” (an easy phrase to use), there should be no more need to state so than in the description of a fine paneled room in an “American Wing” of a museum.
The chances are the visitor will recognize the fact. It is probably of greater interest to know Samuel McIntire designed it. But, on the other hand, it is to be regretted when people admire because a name is attached which they have heard and think they ought to admire.
Basis Of Good Landscape Design
Too much is admired because people are told they should. On that basis, the dealer pawns off “art,” and the developer pawns off “ramblers” with “foundation planting.”
“Garden Days” should serve to develop an appreciation and understanding of good landscape design, just as a visit to an art museum does for fine arts.
Through their visits, the public can best come to understand the value of a well-designed landscape and attain an appreciation beyond the pleasure of seeing some flowers, a rare plant, or an ancient tree.
Living Materials
We have already mentioned a condition in a garden that should be further considered. The point is that the important decorative materials are living materials.
This is undoubtedly a major reason that the garden owner has, or ought to have, an interest comparable to his interest in a dog, horse, or other pet.
It requires certain care and attention and responds to it. The description of “Goodstay” indicates this condition very well.
First laid out by someone unknown to us, in more recent years redesigned by a professional, but in close cooperation with the owner, one is led to ask, “Who designs a garden?”
Satisfaction Attained
If esthetic satisfaction is attained in the design of a garden, it is proper that credit be given to the one who wittingly designed toward accomplish-m en t, whether professional or amateur.
One should expect a major contribution from the professional, as in any art, but one must remember that the professional’s responsibility often ceases after a short period.
The seasons change, plants grow, and today’s work is for tomorrow to come. The mature garden depends to a considerable degree on the original plan and the success of planting in large measure on the plants used. At the same time, the ultimate picture is a matter of continuing care and attention by those who live with it.
He who designs must hope his work will not suffer from neglect.
44659 by Robert Wheelwright