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Digitized by Microsoft® Circular 184 ie ILLINOIS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION — November, 1915 Garcdenimg Y 7 WHAT THE PEOPLE OF ILLINOIS HAVE DONE AND CAN DO TOWARD DESIGNING AND PLANTING PUBLIC AND PRIVATE GROUNDS FOR EFFICIENCY AND BEAUTY IBY WWVHILIRTE LIME W(t itleniee Department of Horticulture, Division of Landscape Extension ME Fite, pF yf Dy Ti A forerunner of a praine type of permanent farm home surrounded by permanent vegetation native to Illinois UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE URBANA Copyrighted, 1915, by the Department of Horticulture. All rights reserved Free to anyone in Illinois who will ¥gn/ 8 RE alise po [YG/ criRSeeTHAent ornamental planting within a year | Le Chapter IN—A Free Restoration of Ancient Illinois I—The Prairie Style of Landscape Gardening....... IlI—Everyone Can Apply the Principle of Conservation IV—Restoration Applied to Farmstead and City Lot V—Restoring the Romantic Types of Illinois Scenery ViI—Can the Prairie be Restored? ................... Page Chapter Page SIS OUSHES Pi db encdaedandncade oivedesees 1 VIIl—Everyone Can Apply the Principle of Repetition..... snk eds ince aeayopanis trcnenspsstdn dias 19 Bisissdeumaiun af kes 6 VIII—Adapting the Prairie Style to Other Kinds of Scenery............. .... 22 Be an as ohne a) rane 8 IX—Materials Used in the Prairie Style........ asd Easy neatine Sua’ sod sides Gesuatens ies eee 24 eee ade nes «dba 10 X—Some Uses for Illinois Materials Sa AAG en a ee Sask da 12 XI—Literature of the Prairie Style of Landscape Gardening SOM ESS ocd Auaeewae 16 XII—The Showiest Plants in the World...... The above words, accompanied by a bur- oak leaf, have been inserted inconspicuously in the lower corners of many photographs as a guarantee that the pictures were really taken in IIlinois and not in other states and “DONE IN ILLINOIS” represent cultivation rather than wild nature. All such pictures are examples of the “Illinois way of planting,” since they contain a high percentage of trees and shrubs native to Illinois. Many of these landscape effects have been consciously designed in the prai- rie style of landscape gardening. Collect- ively these pictures offer convincing evidence that Illinois is creating a new and appropriate type of beauty. “Conservation” is the First Principle of the Prairie Style of Landscape Gardening Has your community destroyed its oldest trees or hasyit sayed_its scenery, }ikg - Riverside? e trees line a river bank, which is not treated as a dump- heap, while the elders and sumacs show that the lot owh od GNG Aid Chebpiphe [OOK the luxuriant, native vegetation. . CC ee A New Mode of Designing and Planting, Which Aims to Fit the Peculiar Scenery, Climate, Soil, Labor, and Other Conditions of the Prairies, Instead of Copying Literally the Manners and Materials of Other Regions COMUNE uno ENN IMTS MMMM MT MT HE Middle West is just beginning to evolve a new style of architecture, interior decoration, and landscape gardening, in an effort to create the perfect home amid the prairie states. This movement is founded on the fact that one of the greatest assets which any country or natural part of it can have, is a strong national or regional character, especially in the homes of the common people. Its westernism grows out of the most striking pecu- liarity of middle-western scenery, which is the prairie, i. e., flat or gently rolling land that was treeless when the white man came to Illinois. Some of the progress that has been made toward a prairie style of architecture is incidentally illustrated in these pages. (See front cover, and Figs. 1, 5, 17, and 76.) The progress in landscape gardening is typified by the following statement from one member of the new “middle- western school of artists: “When I was landscape gardener for the West Side parks in Chicago I directed the expendi- ture of nearly $4,000,000 on projects inspired by the prairie. Some of the money went for salaries and maintenance, but there was a bond issue of $3,000,000 for new construction. This was chiefly spent on such designs as the Prairie River in Humboldt Park (Fig. 2), the Prairie Rose-garden (Fig. 8), and the Conservatories in Garfield Park (Figs. 25-34). Of course, the primary motive was to give recreation and pleasure to the people, but the secondary motive was to inspire them with the vanishing beauty of the prairie. There- fore, I used many symbols of the prairie, i. e., plants with strongly horizontal branches or flower clusters that repeat in obvious or subtle ways the horizontal line of land and sky which is the most impressive phenomenon on the bound- less plains. Also, I aimed to re-create the atmosphere of the prairie by restoring as high a proportion as possible of the trees, shrubs, and flowers native to Illinois.” The principles of design on which the “prairie men” lay most stress are conservation, restoration, and repetition, as illustrated on the contents page and by Figs. 2 and 3. A great field for applying these principles is offered by our parks. Of course, literal restoration of prairie scenery is impractical in places that are visited by thousands of people daily. But the spirit of truth can-be restored to every large city park in the Middle West, witness the Prairie River and its adjacent meadow (Fig. 2). Each city can produce a different picture by restoring its local color, or characteristic vegetation. There are three ways of doing this, for the prairie spirit can be idealized, conventionalized, or symbolized. For example, it is idealized in the Conserv- atories (Figs. 25-34) by. suggesting the appearance of Illi- nois in geological periods before the coming of man. It is conventionalized in the Rose-garden (Fig. 8) so much so that there are no prairie flowers in it, and in Humboldt bou- levard (Fig. 59). It is symbolized in the playground at Douglas Park (Figs. 55-56) by means of plants with hori- zontal branches and flower clusters. . The same principles and methods have been used on many private estates, which offer a larger canvas for pure restorations than the average farmstead or city lot. How- ever, every home can express the new idea in proportion to its means. The farmer may: idealize his farm view by fram- 1. The Prairie Style of Landscape Gardening Married to the EL Ld Uh Prairie Style of Architecture “The environment is woodland,” says the landscape HY ery" Wie corey: are designed to frame the view of the house and give an invitation to the prairie which is not far away.” (Home 1s of! he ‘ er eras! f ivan, architect.) 2 THE ®RAIRIE SPIRIT IN LANDSCAPE GARDENING ae 2. “Restoration” The famous “Prairie River” in Humboldt Park, Chicago. ing it with haws as in Fig. 12. The city dweller may conven- tionalize the prairie in his garden, as in Fig. 13. The humblest renter may symbolize the prairie by putting a prairie rose be- side the door, as in Fig. 14. Amid the most artificial surround- ings it is possible to hint at the bountiful prairie which sur- rounds every city and is the source of its prosperity. Even among the tenements, a single brown-eyed daisy in a window box may keep alive the hope of freedom, prosperity, and a life amid more beautiful surroundings. Thus every home in Illi- nois can connect itself with the greatest source of inspiration Is the Second Principle in the Prairie Style The aim is to re-create the spirit of disappearing types of American ‘scenery by restoring as much as possible of the “local color” or peculiar character impressed upon each scenic unit by nature thru ages of experiment. (Jens Jensen, landscape -architect.) in middle-western scenery, by preserving, restoring, or repeat- ing some phase of the prairie. _ The origin of the “middle- western movement” in landscape gardening, if it may be so called, can be traced back to 1878 when Mr. Bryan Lathrop “discov- ered” Mr. O. C. Simonds and persuaded him to become a, land- scape gardener. The latter then began to lay out the new part of Graceland Cemetery, which, during the next quarter of a cen- tury, was perhaps the most fa- mous example of landscape gar- dening designed by a western man. It is more than a mere cemetery, for it is full of spirit- ual suggestion, and its wonder- ful effects produced by trees and shrubs native to Illinois have profoundly influenced the plant- ing of home grounds. In 1880 Mr. Simonds began to trans- plant from the wilds the com- mon [Illinois species of oak, maple, ash, hornbeam, pepper- idge, thorn apple, witch hazel, ; panicled dogwood, sheepberry, elder, and the like. Many of these plants have achieved great size and beauty. All the species named are nowadays called “stratified plants,” but there was no talk then of “repetition,” or even of “restoration.”” The guiding spirit was that respect for the quieter beauties of native vegetation which comes to every cultured person after he has lived a few years among the showiest plants from all foreign lands as assembled in ordinary nurseries and in the front yards of beginners. Grace- land was to be a place of rest and peace, not a museum or a gaudy show. Should not the same ideal prevail in our home grounds? Li 3. “Repetition” is the Third Principle in the Prairie The branches or flowers of hawthorns repeat many Ergrtiz which is often the strongest feature of middle-western s ; t Graceland Cemetery, Chicago, has greatly influenced home planting in Illinois. “ts Style of Landscape Gardening. abel CLES OP or aly The first piece of work done by Mr. Simonds that sug- gests what is now called “res- toration,” was begun in 1895 at Quincy, Illinois, when its fa- mous park system overlooking the Mississippi was projected under the leadership of the late’ Edward J. Parker. One glance at the plans shows that Mr. Si- monds had drunk deep of the spirit of Downing and the elder Olmsted, who taught that pres- ervation of the natural land- scape is usually more beautiful and less costly than leveling every hill and filling every ra- vine. Some of the best-known work of Mr. Simonds is in Lin- coln Park, Chicago, but the whole “North Shore” shows his influence in home grounds. Probably the first designer who consciously took the prairie as a leading motive is Mr. Jens Jensen, who was trained in Den- mark and came to America in 1883. In 1885 he settled in Chi- cago and was at once impressed by the surrounding prairie, which was then a sea of grasses and flowers. Acres of phlox and . Simonds, landscape gardener.) THE PRAIRIE SPIRIT IN LANDSCAPE GARDENING 3 ' = W4 | wes 4 Rie FES RS Sa: ed es a d f uke eats lhe PAY yh 4-5. Can We Make out of Simple Scenery and Common Plants a Prairie Style of Architecture and Landscape Gardening? Beside the barbed-wire or occasional rail fences of Illinois, the farmer “I purposely repeated the prairie line in the roofs,” says the architect, sometimes leaves a relic of “the glory that was,” some “repeater of the prairie,” William Drummond. “The.elder in the back yard echoes the same note. It i. e., a harmless shrub with flat flower clusters, like elder, dogwood, or viburnum. suggests that this house would look more homelike with foundation planting.” blazing star and thousands of compass plants were a familiar architects of the western school. He planned many houses in sight. The first design in which prairie flowers were used in the prairie style. His chief American work in landscape a large, impressive way, was made in 1901 for Mr. Chalmers architecture has been done at DeKalb, Decatur, Oak Park, at Lake Geneva. Here were planted hundreds of the wild Hubbard’s Woods, Edwardsville, and Veedersburg, Indiana. Phlox paniculata, parent of more than 400 garden varieties; The planting list for DeKalb shows that as early as 1906 he hundreds of purple flags (Iris versicolor) collected from the was using a high percentage of plants native to Illinois—espe- banks of the Desplaines river, and hundreds of swamp rose cially the stratified materials. In 1912 he won a world-com- mallows which glorify the rivers of Illinois in August with petition for a city plan for Canberra, the new capital of Aus- their pink flowers five inches in diameter. The first attempt to tralia. Mr. Griffin must be regarded as a middle-western land- epitomize the beauty of Illinois rivers was made in 1901 for scape architect, since he maintains an office in Illinois and un- Mr. Harry Rubens at Glencoe, where there are a miniature dertakes new work in the Middle West. spring, brook, waterfall, and lake (Figs. 47-48). Practically There are many other good landscape gardeners now prac- all the surrounding trees, shrubs, and flowers were planted, ticing in the Middle West. Those who acknowledge the prairie and more than ninety-five percent of the species grow wild asa leading motive in their work, are, however, not numerous within a mile of the spot. From 1905 to 1907 he designed and at the time this paper is prepared. There are several young planted the Prairie River and Prairie Rose-garden in Humboldt men whose work is promising, but not mature or extensive Park, and the Conservatories in Garfield Park. enough to show their feeling for the prairie style. One of A third landscape architect who has been greatly influ- the older men has submitted an itemized list of his work in the enced by the prairie is Walter Burley Griffin. He received prairie style done in IIlinois and nearby states since 1901 which his training in landscape gardening at the University of Illi- makes the respectable total of $6,000,000. nois, and supplemented it by work in the offices of several Whether the work here described and illustrated consti- i ; . Wee : j eT 2 ce ; Begs 4 ( 6. A Farm View without a Frame of Trees %. A Farm View Framed by Hawthorns in Bloom Altho corn is considered one of the most beautiful crops, people often The farmer can increase the natural beauty of his pasture or cornfields by complain that Illinois scenery is tame and monotonous. ‘The wild prairie, with ee trees near his front door, beside the dining-room window, along the d its varied flowers, has gone forever. How can men. re! ti SCH we can frame a good view. Especially suitable are stratified suggestion to a land nearly ninety percent of which is se r (ZE0 by . ~etabs, honey locust, and flowering dogwood. e THE PRAIRIE SPIRIT IN LANDSCAPE GARDENING 8. The Prairie Style can This rose says the designer, tutes a new style or not is an interesting and important ques- tion. One of the conservative group among the middle-west- ern landscape gardeners says, “I doubt if there is any western style of art. Good design must always grow out of the ne- cessities peculiar to each case—not out of pet theories. I am not conscious of any new principles of design.”’ As to motives, of course, the creator of an artwork is the final authority, but as to results the general public is entitled to an opinion. The popular belief is that the man just quoted has a style of his * own, and that his work also possesses an indefinable quality that may be called middle-western. He generally uses a rather large proportion of western plants—more than most eastern landscape gardeners who have done important work in Illinois. When the same question was put to one of the progres- sive or prairie group he replied: “Undoubtedly there is a middle-western style of landscape gardening. All good design that meets western conditions counts toward a western style. Style, according to Webster, is a characteristic or peculiar mode of developing an idea or accomplishing a result. The conservatives unconsciously use, to some extent, conservation, restoration, and repetition. The middle-western work is not a ‘style’ in the same sense that people speak of the ‘formal and informal styles.’ It would be more accurate to speak of be Executed in the Formal Manner garden in Humboldt Park is so conventionalized that it contains no prairie flowers. “I put hawthorns at the entrance to suggest the meeting of woods and prairie. them as the formal and informal manners. For example, the prairie style has been executed in the formal - manner, as in the Rose-garden (Fig. 8), tho it is generally executed in the informal manner. Authoritative books commonly speak of the ‘garden- esque style,’ which is typified by canna beds in the middle of the lawn. Surely all the middle-western work is better than that, and even the most conser- vative examples are colored more or less by middle-western materials. For these reasons I am willing to accept ‘the prairie style of landscape garden- ing’ (a phrase which I did not pro- pose) until a better name for this new thing is discovered and agreed upon.” The settlement of this amicable difference of opinion, we leave to our readers. Whether the new work is good or bad, time alone can tell. Per- haps the publication of this circular should have been postponed a century or two. On the other hand, the average person has a strange disinclination to wait a hundred years for the news. The peo- ple of Illinois actually seem glad to know about a new thing before it is too late for them to benefit by it. And they are generally willing to assume full responsibility for their own opinions. We do not advise any one style of architecture or landscape gardening for all conditions, nor have we any quar- rel with those who prefer older styles of architecture and gardening. All we ask is that every reader see some of the new work for himself, with a mind free from prejudice. “But,” Also I lowered the garden two feet in order to get the flowers well below the level of the eye as they are on the prairie in the spring. I gave the people the obvious beauty of roses and I hope a subtle charm also.” Definition of the “Illinois Way” The Illinois way of planting is not a new system of design. The original defini- tion says, “The Illinois way is to meet all the outdoor needs of the family by having ninety percent of the planting composed of trees and shrubs that grow wild in Illinois.” However, in the most exacting and arti- ficial conditions, like downtown parks, formal gardens, and the smallest city yard, only ten to twenty percent of Illinois plants may be consistent with good design. Symbol of:the Illinois Way—lllinois or Prairie Rose. 9-10. “This bank had been denuded of its original vegetation,” says the eee “ db single tree, shrub, or flower. The location is. identified, by a ee iaoment of weakness. I shall be glad when BS eppimcingiap iy’ Hero m@iee Before and After Restoring the Native Flora to a Man-Made Watercours e in Humboldt Park “The margin did not Idok as bad as this, because it was old cottonw rassed, but it was d—in the park and an exclamatory Lomb: i the billowy masses of western weodland* = Ee meet THE PRAIRIE SPIRIT IN LANDSCAPE Around the foundations of the ordinary house, forty to fifty percent may be suitable, while the borders may contain sixty to ninety percent of Illinois species with general satisfaction. Therefore, the following revised definition is proposed: “The Illinois way of planting is to use as high a proportion of plants native to Illinois as is consistent with practical requirements and the principles of design.” In this sense, our neighboring states may have an Iowa or Indiana way, using the same plants that we do, for there is no plant of importance native to Illinois that is not also native to other prairie states. And, by the same method, every state in the Union can develop a beauty of its own, even if no state is a scenic unit. , Definition of the “Prairie Style” The prairie style of landscape gardening, however, is a genuine style in the opinion of several critics, for it is based on a geo- graphic, climatic, and scenic unit, and it employs three accepted principles of design—conservation of native scen- ery, restoration of local vegetation, and repetition of a domi- nant line. However, it is not a system of rules and there never can be anything of the sort in any fine art, tho people crave it forever. In good design there are only principles. Nor is the prairie style a mere collection of novel features, such as camp- fires, players’ greens, council hills, prairie gardens, and Illinois borders. Features never make a style. Sundials, pergolas, and blue spruces may fit certain conditions to perfection, but a man who uses them in every plan is open to the suspicion of being an inferior designer. Therefore, until something better can be had, the following definition is proposed: The prairie style of landscape gardening is an American mode of design based upon the practical needs of the middle-western people and character- ized by preservation of typical western scenery, by restoration of local color, and by repetition of the horizontal line of land or sky which is the strongest feature of prairie scenery. To those who are in danger of being carried away by new fashions, may we give a word of caution? The best gardens cannot be had simply for paying money and copying or imitat- ing. One must patiently study fundamental principles. There is nothing new about the principles used in the prairie style; only their applications are new. Some even declare that the only new thing in the world is undying zeal for hard, persistent work in adapting old principles to new conditions. Surely there is no other way to produce that thing which is infinitely more precious than the universal, endless imitation of the past— a living national art which grows out of the heart of the people and which the humblest mortal can understand and enjoy, as every Greek did in the thrilling new days when temples and Symbol of the Prairie Style —A Stratified Hawthorn, 12-14. Three Ways by which Every 12. Idealize the farm view, c. g., frame it with haws, crabs, or honey locust. Ab) Bie MALCK ARO Spit into his Home Geaunde in Co 13. Conventionalize the prairie, e. g., put into 14, the formal garden some flat-toppéd flowers. ee GARDENING statues were grow- ing out of the rock at Athens! In the great work of fitting homes to the prai- rie country every one of us may have a part, for everyone may strive towards a permanent home surrounded by permanent native plants. Let us do all we can to help realize an Illinois type of farmhouse married to an Illi- nois type of in- terior. decoration andlandscape gardening. aT& ARCHITECTS:~- -MINNEAPOLS 11. The Minnesota Mode! Farmhouse Plans secured (1913) by Minnesota State Art Society, published by University of Minnesota, St. Paul, in Extension Bulletin 52. Who will help Illinois develop an Illinois type of farmhouse set in a farmstead designed for efficiency and beauty? Note on Chapter Endings To meet the ever-recurring question, ‘““What shall we do?” we have put, at the ends of certain chapters, summaries in the form of practical suggestions headed by the phrase “I will” or “We will.’ The former is a motto of Chicago; the latter has been suggested as a new, informal motto for Illinois. Is your family united on any of the projects named below? If not, the “We will” suggestions may help you agree on what you wish to do. Again, to realize one’s ideal it is often helpful to record one’s aim. If you wish to record an individual de- termination or family agreement you may make a cross in the appropriate square. Such action commits nobody to any ex- pense or publicity. It is merely a private memorandum. WE WILL O See some of the chief works of the western landscape gardeners. O Have a landscape gardener make a comprehensive design for our home grounds. O Draw to scale a plan for our farmstead or city lot and get the best advice we can. O Connect with the “Illinois way” by putting in our front yard at least one mass of shrubs native to Illinois. O Study some of the best “prairie houses,” indoors and out, with a mind free from prejudice. O Build a farmhouse or country home in prairie style. an ts untry or City . , Symbolize the prairie, e. g., plant Illinois or prairie roses beside the front door. 6 THE *RAIRIE SPIRIT IN 15-16. Is your Community Butchering it s Trees, or is it Saving them as Urbana Do LANDSCAPE GARDENING Vy) The elms at the right and all other street trees in Urbana are being saved by a public-spirited citizen, who serves as “tree warden” without pay. No one can cut down, prune, or plant a tree without his permission. Cannot your community have a city forester or shade-tree commission? II—Everyone Can Apply the Principle of Conservation It WILL do little good to bewail the beauty . that has been destroyed in Illinois. Let us save the beauty that is left. Here is a simple program that may help every reader decide what he can do for this great cause. 1. Save the trees on your home grounds. Have a tree surgeon examine them and esti- mate the cost of putting them in perfect condi- tion. Locate the new house so as to save trees (see Figs. 17 and 76). Let every farmer save-a few trees for shade and beauty, even if they do harm crops a little. For example, save some trees along the roadside, around the farmstead, near the barns, and at least one tree in the permanent pasture. See Figs. 19-20. 2. Help save the street trees. Take the trees out of politics and put. them in charge of a public-spirited citizen serving without pay —a city forestgr, or tree warden (see Figs. 15-16). He can stop tree butchery caused by telegraph and telephone companies. 3. Help save roadside trees and shrubs. See your township supervisor or county superin- tendent of highways. Show him Figs. 21 to 24 _ and 51 to 54, 4. Help save the watercourses. Get the au- thorities to forbid their use as dumping grounds (see contents, page). 5. Help save the historic features of your community and -give them a proper setting. See Fig. 18. 17. Let us Save the Trees on our Home Grounds 18. “Because I love trees I bought this lot and snuggle so that three big trees are growing thru_the front Rive ie oat a hole 0 Prgtized by Mrereso eaves to make room for one.”—William Drummond, Riv d my_house among them, 6. Help save the state’s scenery. Join an organization that,works for state reservations, like White Pine Grove, Cahokia Mounds, and the proposed addition to Starved Rock. Organizations Devoted to Conservation ON LOCAL propositions it is generally best to work thru the Chamber of Commerce or the Woman’s Club. The National Conservation Association, of which Gifford Pinchot is president, is devoted to saving our natural resources, especially the forests, waterways, and minerals, The secre- tary is Harry A. Slattery, Colorado building, Washington, D. C. The American Civic Association, of which J. Horace McFarland is president, is devoted largely to city planning, including housing. It has issued important publications on smoke, billboards, saving Niagara, and other subjects. The secretary is Richard Watrous, 913 Union Trust building, Washington, D. C. The Friends of Our Native Landscape, of which Jens-Jensen is president, aim to save all types of native scenery by means of na- tional, state, and local reservations. The sec- _retary is Sherman M. Booth, Borland building, Chicago. The General Federation of Woman’s Clubs has a Conservation Department with commit- tees on forestry (including street trees, water- ways, birds, and Lincoln Highway). The chair- man of the Conservation Department is Mrs. John Dickinson Sherman, Hyde Park Hotel, Chicago. The Illinois Federation of Woman’s Clubs has a Conservation Department, the chairman of which is Mrs. Charles W. Irion, Ottawa, Illinois. I WILL O Write to national, state, and local organ- izations interested in conservation, study their literature, and help them all I can. O Work and vote for the extension of the state park system to include all types of Illinois scenery. O Ask the county highway superintendent to save trees, shrubs, and flowers on state and country roadsides. O Work and vote to help our community ex- tend its system of local parks and res- ervations, and to save the street trees. 1 Give the people some piece of scenery to enjoy forever. 1 Save the permanent native vegetation on my farm or home grounds, as far as possible, he We moved it ek Save Every Historic Feat “Lincoln often slept in this century-old cabin—the first built in Piatt county. n environinent like the original, arks and more should be.”—William eral ure and Give It a Proper Setting! Sag A old settlers’ cabins are F. Lodge, Monticello. THE PRAIRIE SPIRIT IN LANDSCAPE GARDENING iz, Ros 19-20. Have you sent your Woodlot to the Sawmill, or have you Saved it? “Here is the sawmill with which I cut up my neighbors’ trees, but not my own. If they insist on selling their birthright, I might as well have some of the pottage. But before I accept a job I remind my neighbor that for three generations my family has never cut a tree on our farm, just because they are beautiful. And the fourth generation promises to do the same. At the right are some of our trees.”—L. D. Seass, Arthur, Illinois. i P) im i} a Ay 21-22. Have you Saved the “Brush” along the Roadside? Farmers, will you reduce your daily drive to this condition or do you want something in your life besides dollars? You can save beauty that would cost you $500 to $1,500 a mile to replace by conference with your highway superintendent or county supervisor. The Illinois law does not compel the cutting of brush, only of noxious weeds. These sumacs have been saved by Wisconsin people along a famous drive into Madison. 23-24. Have you Saved the Trees along the Roadside for Shade and Beauty? These ash trees at the left were cut down for the Py RIZED WAIT OSTALRY The trees at the right have been preserved near Sidell by getting every supervisor to agree not to cut them dows 1 Tr educational value because they compel attention. 8 THE “PRAIRIE SPIRIT IN LANDSCAPE GARDENING II—A Free Restoration of Ancient Illinois A SERIES OF LANDSCAPES UNDER GLASS, SUGGESTING THE BEAUTY OF VANISHED AND DISAPPEARING TYPES OF SCENERY PARK design is an important part of land- scape gardening, and a popular feature in every large park system is a range of green- houses. The famous Conservatories in Gar- field Park, Chicago, have attracted hundreds of .thousands of visitors and have been pro- nounced the. “best of the kind in the world.” Prior to 1906 the West Side had three small, old-fashioned greenhouses in separate parks: These buildings were visited by few persons and could hardly be said to adorn the scenery. The new landscape gardener proposed to de- stroy them in favor of one great new struc-- ture in which Chicagoans could take real pride. At first the project was resisted, for no locality likes to lose any permanent im-: ’ ‘ J | 2 ME Ra" 25. The First Spring in Prairie-Land This man-made rockwork is so successful that - visitors commonly believe that it is a natural spring, around which the greenhouse was built. 27. When Chicago was a Jungle The first greenhouse contains a lo tunnel lined with palms and ferns. I fountain, which alternately leaps and disappears. ng vista like a At the end is this provement, but when the plans were explained, the people became enthusiastic. Instead of. the customary potted plants on high benches we are surprised to find these nature-like gardens.: The most intelligent vis- itors are deeply moved by these exquisite scenes and feel that they convey an idea too deep for words. This intuition is correct, for the designer’s motive is restoration. His pic- tures do not pretend to furnish a literal, scientific restoration of any particular geo- . logical epoch, such as a museum ‘might have. The idea is poetical—to suggest the tropical beauty of prairie-land before the coming of man. And the reason for this is that we need to see our surroundings from a fresh point prairie rose? of view. We need to realize that modern Illinois contains equally beautiful scenery that we thoughtlessly destroy, but ought to save or restore, Few communities in Illinois can afford greenhouses large enough for such landscapes under glass, but they all have a great oppor- tunity out-of-doors. Every large park can preserve or re-create one epitome of the scenery and vegetation of Illinois. . Can you not apply the principle of restora- tion to your own home grounds? These pic- tures should stimulate your imagination. If you have room for only one bush to symbolize the vanished scenery, may we suggest the See also pages 24, 25. Moa 26. First Cascade in First Prairie River _ Perhaps it stepped down then as now, with giant ferns, like the golden polypody arching over the cliffs like falling water. 26a. A Man-Made Cascade in Kentucky _ One of the many ways in which the restoration spirit expresses itself out-of-doors. This is forty- two inches high and cost about $40. 28. The First Hint of Stratification, or Repetition of the Prairie Line Tropical evergreens, like Norfolk Island pines or araucarias, may have sounded the note now echoed PHOT FES DY WHClOSOFt i pines beside Lake Michigan and. hawthorns on the rairie. The rocks of this primitive water- ter sandstone of some prairie rivers of today. THE PRAIRIE SPIRIT IN LANDSCAPE GARDENING 9 i, 29. Some Ancient River Bluff or Rolling Prairie 30. Nature’s First Dream of Prairie-Land When the forest may have been composed of tree ferns and fringed with This open, central lawn (one of the fundamental conceptions of landscape Venus’ hair, forerunner of our matchless hardy maidenhair. Let us restore to gardening out-of-doors) is not composed of vertical grass blades. To give the woodlots and river banks the overhanging bushes and férns that form the most prairie feeling the designer used a moss-like plant with stratified foliage—Selagi- picturesque and romantic element in middle-western scenery! nella denticulata. In Fig. 25 he used the moisture-loving S. Martensii. irae Se E ~ ES ie ai O53 at TEE o gi Re. hed cha a 31. The Original Woodland Border 32. The Primitive Glade in a Middle-Western Forest : Not like the stark southern pine forests where there is no undergrowth to Half-close the eyes, and the hard brick walk becomes the winding trail that soften the abrupt descent from tall trees to flat meadow. The transition from leads to woodland mysteries, hinting of primeval campfires, council rocks, and forest to prairie made by haws and crabs should be the motive of our hardy borders. players’ greens. Forest and prairie subtly connected by stratified maidenhair. 33. The Beginning of a Prairie Bog 34. The Margin of some Ancient “Lake IIlinois” Here are water hyacinth, cardamon, umbrella plant, and the palm-like cur- When tropical plants arched over the bank, as do these tree ferns, carda- culigo. In modern bogs grow orchids, pitcher plants, and fringed gentian, hall mon, and Nephrolepis. Let us put this grace into hardy water gardens by we save no moist spot near each community where futur pHppscmay yy Veeros: ergs stolonifera, Typha angustifolia, and Calamagrostis of the the unique flowers of bog gardens? 1 ! e 10 THE PRAIRIE SPIRIT Le LANDSCAPE GARDENING rao @ y 35-36, goose pond” style of treating water in city parks. The Kind of Restoration that costs the (ae ae Mop Farmer not one Cent—only the Labor of Collecting and The cattle must have a place to drink, but whv not restore to some creeks the original margin of shrubs and perennials? The second shows a restoration in an Illinois city park. Pe Dri EA ih Planting Waterside Flowers The first picture typifies the ‘‘early (Pickerel weed and calamus.) IV—Restoration Applied to Farmstead and City Lot EVEN WHEN LITTLE MONEY AND SPACE ARE AVAILABLE, EVERYONE CAN APPLY THE PRINCIPLE OF RESTORATION HE aim of restoration is to re-create as much of the local scenery or vegetation as is practical. Like every other great idea, restoration can be expressed in some way by everyone. No matter how humble the individ- ual or how crude the expression, the effort is worth while because it is one’s own experience and not another’s. On one square foot of ground a child expresses his love of country in a map of sand, epitomizing the whole United States by using pebbles for mountains, maple seedlings for forests, and a little real water for the Great Lakes and the Mississippi. This effort means more to the child than a bet- ter map made or bought for him by others. So, too, every “grown-up” in Illinois can apply the principles of landscape gardening. The popular notion that landscape gardening is only for city parks and the wealthy few is a great mistake. Of course, the grandest pub- lic examples involve much space and cost, but so far as self-expression goes, landscape gar- dening offers as great an opportunity to every living soul as music does, or any other fine art. The one principle that everyone can apply is restoration. For example, take the two extreme cases of the people who have no money and those who have no land. The farm laborer goes to the woods, digs up an unknown bush or vine and plants it beside his tenant cottage. To him it may suggest the fatherland from which he has just come, or the child on whose birth- day it was planted, or the place he likes to go on Sunday afternoons. It is a crude ex- pression of the manifold charms of Illinois woodland, but to this immigrant it is a step toward naturalization, perhaps even the begin- ning of wisdom. Moreover, real beauty is there for everyone to see and enjoy. The country folk pause and think: “Life is not all corn and hogs—to him.” On the other hand, the city merchant may have plenty of money, but not one foot of earth in front of his store. Let us assume that he is tired of the artificial surroundings and goes to the country for a day’s rest and change. And, while there, an idea comes to him—he will have something more permanent and natural than window boxes. He will have vines—the kind he used to like as a boy on the farm, the narrow-leaved ‘“‘woodbine,” a 37-38. now restocking this grove. TG g out shrubs and letting animals destroy the flowers. variety of Virginia creeper so common in IIli- nois that, for purposes of sentiment, we may call it the “Illinois creeper.” He has two holes cut in the concrete sidewalk, and plants his souvenirs of Illinois. To him they may recall the parents that are gone, or they may remind him of “the day” when he is to shut up shop for good and retire to a country home. The passers-by know nothing of all this, but they are glad to see some sign of country beauty in the city. They say, “Life is not all dollars to that man.” Can such simple plantings be called “‘resto- rations” in any important sense? Certainly, if they honestly express the individual’s love of the local scenery, combined with his love of home, and town, and state. Restora- tion is fundamentally an act of the spirit; the scale of operations is incidental. If there is space or money available only for a pair of Illinois roses beside the front door, anything more is pretense. The essential thing is to plant some permanent reminder of the native beauty, and the cost should always be well within one’s means. A person may Scene of a Woodlot Restoration in Vermilion County, where the Aim is Typified by these Illinois Bluebells “Like many other farmers, I must plead guilty to harming the beauty of woodlots by cuttin This process costs a good deal re thyn saving the origingl ground-covg Since I have no business but farming and live on ee the year round, I feel that my family is entitled to some of ne SOMO 6 CHOSOF HRD ty.” —Harvey J. Sconce, Sidell, Illinois, THE PRAIRIE SPIRIT IN prefer to have foreign plants in his garden but he must care enough about the native kinds to plant some of them in the public part of his property. For restoration means more than mere gardening—more than the planting of double roses and lilacs, the beauty of which everyone can see. The “restorer” must prove that he wants to be surrounded by common, native things, rather than by rare and costly foreigners. Is such restoration of any value to the public? Undoubtedly. Even if the results were wholly subjective and individual they would be worth while because everyone is better for making some harmless expres- sion of an unselfish ideal. But the results are evident to all! The Illinois rose beside the door is beautiful in itself and every year it will come to mean more to every passer- by because it will suggest pleasant thoughts of Illinois. Everyone will know that it is put there not to display wealth, but in the pure spirit of restoration. Everyone will know that it is not intended to deceive, for no bush can imitate the prairie, and no per- son can ever mistake a tree for a forest. But, é€very year, more people accept the stratified bush or flat-topped flower as a symbol of the prairie and therefore of peace, freedom, and plenty. Every year more people accept the prairie rose as a symbol of the “Prairie State” of Illinois. When people see that rose in your yard, their eyes brighten and their manner says, “It is for Illinois. You have restored something of her native beauty.” What the Average Farmer Can Restore HE ordinary farmer has little time, labor, or knowledge of design and ornamental plants, but he has two immense advantages— plenty of room (often 160 acres), and a chance to collect wild shrubs and flowers. Starting with no cash outlay and a day’s work in the fall, he can accomplish eventually ten things. 1. Foundation planting. He can make the house look like a home by moving some shrubs from the woods. 2. Screens. He can hide part of the barnyard and out-buildings, at least from his windows. . 3. Views. He can frame the view of his house from the road and the best view of his farm from the house by transplanting a pair of red haws. See Fig. 7. 4. The border. He can enclose the farm- stead with an irregular border of shrubbery that will give more year-round beauty than a hedge, trimmed or untrimmed. 5. The farmstead. whole farmstead to meet the above-named needs of the family, as well as shade, play- ground, laundry yard, etc. He can plant the 6. The creek. He can restore some of the marginal vegetation. See Figs. 35, 36. %. The woodlot. He can restore many wild flowers simply by fencing a piece of woods. See Figs. 37, 38. 8. Edges of fields. He can attract the song birds that are friendly to his crops by planting at the edges or corners of one or more fields some native shrubs, especially the kinds that do not breed pests or rob the soil too much. 9. Roadside. He can plant beside the public road a few trees and some harmless shrubs and flowers, and he can often per- suade the commissioner not to cut them down. See Figs. 51, 52. 10. The whole farm. By “planting the waste land to scenery” he can create a private park—not as showy as the million- aire’s, but beautiful and appropriate. Mr. Farmer, can you not take all or most of these steps in about five years? It may cost a good deal, but it will be worth while. You cannot transplant everything from the wild without expense. Surely you can see the wisdom of buying your Illinois species whenever nursery stock is better or cheaper than collected stock. You should also see the wisdom of getting the best advice and designs that you can afford—especially at the outset. All or most of these plantings may be acts of restoration, instead of copy work. If you use only foreign and artificial varieties your place will make a gaudy con- trast with the country scenery. If you re- store a high percentage of Illinois trees and shrubs your home will fit the landscape. What the City Lot Owner Can Restore TH renter in a city cannot afford to make costly permanent improvements, but the average owner of a city lot is justi- fied in doing so. His great trouble is not about money (for we are assuming that everyone keeps within his means and takes his time to do these things), but he has less space than the farmer. On the other hand, he can give more time per year to orna- mental gardening than the farmer, because he needs outdoor exercise after his day’s work. Starting with no knowledge of horticulture, and with whatever leisure the gardening members of the family may have, the average lot owner can accomplish eventually about seven things. 1. Foundation planting. He can restore something of the Illinois vegetation, even in this exacting location, for example, by viburnum (Fig. 40), fragrant sumac, or prairie rose (Fig. 39). 2. Screens. He can hide some of the un- sightly surroundings, such as high fence or LANDSCAPE GARDENING Il outhouse, by wild grape, trumpet creeper, common sumac, elder, and other Illinois plants that are sometimes considered rather coarse for the front of the house. See contents page and Figs. 4, 5. : 3. Views. He can frame the view of his home, for example, by a pair of elms, haws, or prairie crab apples, or if he considers his house ugly, he can transform it by hiding much of it with vines. 4. Boundaries. He can enclose the back yard with an irregular border of native shrubs in variety, instead of with an artificial and monotonous privet hedge. 5. Front yard. He can help tie the whole street into a park by persuading the neighbors to plant “connecting shrubbery” from the front of one house to another. 6. Parking. He can restore old trees to good health thru tree surgeons; he can combine with his neighbors to get a uni- form street tree at uniform distances, or plant low shrubbery. See back cover. % Entire lot. He can have a plan made for the whole property, arranging in good order all features. He can restore the birds, with the aid of shrubbery, especially the Illinois dogwoods and viburnums. Every one of these acts can, and usually should be, an act of restoration in some de- gree. Every list of the most efficient plants may include some IIlinois materials—a low per- centage near the house, and a higher one at the boundaries. . There is little danger of carrying resto- ration too far in cities. The great danger is that all front yards will look too gaudy, be- cause beginners tend to buy the showiest varieties, like blue Colorado spruce and golden elder. Consequently they often plant 90 to 100 percent of foreign varieties. The same percentage of native plants would be more restful. We do not ask anyone to deny himself any flower he likes—only to move to the back yard the things that rarely fit the front yard, for example, cut- leaved, weeping, variegated, and tropical plants. Everyone has a place of unques- tioned privilege in the back yard, provided it is shut off from the public gaze, but the front yard is public. And the real question is, “Shall we have 90 to 100 percent for- eigners, or shall we have a clear suggestion of Illinois such as a majority of native plants may give?” WE WILL O Restore native scenery or vegetation to our farm at some of the ten places mentioned above. O Restore native vegetation to our city lot, at some of the seven places mentioned above. 39. Every Illinoisan can Restore some Prairie Roses Literal restoration of scenery is, of course, impo artificial surroundings, but each year more people acce symbol of the Prairie State. 40. Every I!linoisan can Restore some Illinois Viburnums Aa edie a i flat- d PHO PIZETEDY: MichOS GTB. TE BVRutam pubescens, "One of the best tor founda: One of the best for founda- tion planting is Viburnum dentatum. * 12 THE PRAIRIE SPIRIT IN LANDSCAPE GARDENING / This picture was taken only a few feet away from the next and shows that the ravine was nearly dry, as are most of the ravines along Lake Michigan, owing, as some assert, to drainage caused by dense population. flowers had been destroyed by picnic parties. from three Also the wild wild flowers. hree-quarter-inch pipes. evaporate rapidly, owing to the shade. 1 Home of Mr, and Mrs, Julius DONEIN] ILLINOIS} The Sane have restored canoeing for about 1,000 feet, using cit: water oes not racy have planted many_nursery-grown osenwald, Ravinia, Illinois. A dam retains the water, which V—Restoring the Romantic Types of Illinois Scenery EIGHT TYPES OF PICTURESQUE SCENERY DIFFERENT FROM THE PRAIRIE, WITH EXAMPLES OF THEIR RESTORATION At varieties of Illinois scenery can, for practical purposes, be resolved into nine types, of which the prairie is most im- portant, since it probably affects the great- est number of homes. The eight other types may be regarded as foils to the prairie. They are the lake bluffs, ravines, river-banks, ponds, rocks, dunes, woods, and roadsides. The roadside, of course, is not a natural unit, but it is an asylum for the wild flowers, and it has immense possibil- ities for beauty thru planting. The beauty of the eight minor types is of the ob- vious and popular sort, because of their romantic or picturesque character. But the beauty of the prairie is harder to under- stand. It may be well for us to consider the eight minor types of scenery before we try to restore the prairie. Restoration of the Lake Bluffs QUTSIDE the great cities of Illinois the most valuable residential property, from the assessor’s standpoint, is the shore of Lake Michigan—a- great underlying cause of this value being scenery, especially the lake and the wooded ravines. The whole shore from Chicago to Wisconsin is, broadly speaking, a steep, high, clay-bank that is continually being eaten away by the water. See Fig. 43. Fortunes have been spent to save these bluffs from further de- struction, and tens of thousands of dollars have been spent on restoration schemes of every sort—the bluffs being generally thickly planted with trees and shrubs in great va- riety .by dozens of private owners. “Un- fortunately,” writes E. L. Millard of High- land Park, “practically all places are still in the ‘locust stage’ of development, the locust being the best soil-binder at the start, but an unsightly tree owing to the attacks of borers. The highest type of beauty worked out by nature along this shore can be inferred from five priceless fragments at and near Lake Forest that should be preserved with reverential care forever. The supreme’ plants, in my opinion, are the white pine, red cedar, arborvitz, and canoe birch. At my own place (see Fig. 65) I am beginning to destroy the locusts and all other plants foreign to the locality, as I believe the highest possible aim is to re- store and intensify the peculiar beauty which nature adapted to the lake bluff by experiments on a scale so colossal that those which the ordinary multimillionaire can encompass during a single lifetime sink into insignificance.” Restoration of the Ravines HE immense popular appeal of the ravines has been fatal to their highest beauty. First, the ravines attracted many home-builders, who soon demanded storm sewers, and these, according to some au- thorities, carried away much of the water that formerly gave the effect of charming” creeks. Second, the ravines attract great Sunday crowds from Chicago, and these have despoiled the ravines of wild flowers. Under such conditions, restoration may be impossible. unless private places are closed to the public, except during certain hours when supervision can be provided. Perhaps the largest and most consistent restoration is that made by Mr. and Mrs. Julius Rosen- wald of Ravinia. See Figs. 41, 42. Most of the communities between Evanston and Wisconsin aim to attract high-grade residents and to discourage factories. Obviously the ravines form one of the greatest natural assets, and the communities that formerly treated them as dumping grounds are gradu- ally transforming them into public parks and Let the good work go on! reservations. 43-44. Many Restorations of the Lake B luffs have been made North of Chicago ives, clothe the banks. 3» This wide beach has been created by ction. Warren H. Manning, landscape designer. . At the right is the Cyrus H. McCormick place, hin Each where t 15 ecies, mos means of jetties and the willows in the foreground, which Cpr ieinaly aRtey af RAR SOE THE PRAIRIE SPIRIT IN LANDSCAPE GARDENING i 45. “Away with Gaudy Foreigners and Artificial Varieties!” “This overgrown nursery in Humboldt Park,’ says the designer, “was full of brilliant ‘best-sellers,’ such as cut-leaved, weeping, and variegated shrubs. These may be jewels in themselycs, but superb specimens of them can be seen every- where and forever, Restoration of the River Banks VERY Illinoisan knows about the three great rivers in which we have a share, the Mississippi, Wabash, and Illinois, but to realize the wonderful possibilities of our water system for use, recreation, and beauty one must see a map devoted entirely to our watercourses, showing how few and small are the areas which the people cannot reach by means of a ten-cent fare or an hour’s ride in an automobile or a farm buggy. Many of these watercourses have been denuded or desecrated and all sorts of restorations have been made in various parts of the state. Perhaps the largest and most consistent restoration is the “Prairie River” in Humboldt Park, Chicago, which aims to epitomize or suggest the characteristic beauty of the Illinois rivers asa whole. See Fig. 2. The “river,” which is man-made, is 1,650 feet long, and varies in width from 52 to 108 feet. It has several branches and some cascades, with rock- Shall we turn the whole outdoor world into a muscuin?” work modeled after that of the Rock river. See Circular 170, Fig. 105. The de- signer deliberately discarded all foreign materials (see Figs. 45, 46) because he was attempting to re- create a pure Illinois landscape. By so do- ing he denied him- self many showy flowers which he be- lieves are among the finest that can be used in ordinary landscape gardening. For ex- ample, he would not use pink or yellow water lilies in Fig. 2, because they would not be true to nature. Fortunately, we can sce these beauti- ful foreign plants in every park, but faithful restorations of by-gone scenery are rare. Every property owner along a watercourse or drainage ditch may restore some trees, shrubs, 46. thoughtlessly destroy. 47-48. “T shall not allow any showy geraniums or other f he oreign flo wers to spoil th g mposition made aim was to re-create an Illinois water system in miniacurel ree (elope, IGQSO F @® The Japanese iris and geraniums were stop-gaps ni ral By planted. for the _previous owner of my place—Mr. Harry Rubens. ese pictures were taken before all the Illinois species ‘tablished.’.—James Simpson, Glencoe. “Restore the Native Vegetation!” _“Mr. Corngrower, can you see beauty in your creek, even when there is not a single flower or strikin the showier vegetation_o 8 form? If so, you understand why we swept away Fig. 45 and restored the simple beauty you often If you destroy it, will your children stay on the farm?” or flowers. Every citizen has a chance to work and vote for restoration of water- courses in park and community plans. Restoration of Ponds, Pools, and Lakes HILE Illinois is not as rich in small lakes as the states to her north, the total amount of still or slowly-moving wa- ters is respectable. Moreover, many city Restoration vs. Show, or Inspiration vs. Desecration The were ‘ 14 THE PRAIRIE SPIRIT IN LANDSCAPE GARDENING 49-50. This Formal Garden was Destroyed by the Owner in favor of a Restoration of the Rocks W. A Simms of Spring Station, Kentucky, has taken the rocks beneath his lawn and, with the aid of an Illinois designer, built a miniature water system to Kk. epitomize the beauty of the ravines. erated. residents are glad to consider a small water garden, provided the expense for water can be kept well within their means. Per- haps the most consistent restoration of the Illinois water scenery on any private place is the one at Glencoe, at the home of Mr. James Simpson. See Fig. 48. The designer of this garden says, “I aimed to reproduce in miniature the atmosphere and characteristic vegetation of Illinois rivers as a whole, especially the watercourses of the ravine country, when the ravines were young.” This has been done on a piece of land 240 feet long, and from 30 to 60 feet wide, or about one-fourth of an acre. Most of the large trees in Figs. 47 and 48 were there, but everything else has been planted, in- cluding the red cedars. Numerous restored ponds of the type shown in Fig. 48 have been made, for example, such as at River Forest by Henry Babson, and at Bloomington by Spencer Ewing. Restoration of Rocks OCKS are so rare in Illinois that every visible ledge is likely to have decided value. F. O. Lowden, on his place near Oregon, Illinois, has some land bordering Rock river which makes rather tame scenery, in spite of noble woods, until you come to a bold headland about thirty feet high, the beauty of which is doubled by reflection in the water. A good landscape gardener will sacrifice a good many bushes or trees to expose a 51-52. Scene of a Restoration of Roadside Shrubbery by Illinoi “We farmers have sometimes saved trees along the roadside, but do trees ’ D. Alexander has restored to a natural ravine the rock-loving flowers of his own county. The same stratified rocks are found in Illinois and the same methods are practical where rocks and ravines occur. rugged and picturesque ledge. Such an act may be called restoration, even if the vegeta- tion be destroyed, because it restores to the scenery a dramatic element that has been hidden. Many property owners along the Rock and IlIlinois rivers can apply this prin- ciple, especially at river bends. Most Illinoisans have just the opposite prob- lem, because of the scarcity of rocks. New- comers from the East often get so homesick for the sight of a stone that they import or dig up boulders, at considerable expense, and these are often displayed in the front yard or parking as curiosities. Such features are more appropriate in back yards. The common rock garden of the East, which is copied from the Alps via England, may be justifiable in a few Illinois back yards, but mountain flowers are hardly appropriate to prairie scenery, and the plants of cool, moist climates do not thrive in our hot, dry summers. A new type of rock garden aiming to fit our scenery and climate is being evolved. One step is the stratified rockwork in the Prairie River. (Circular 170, Fig. 106.) This had to be executed in tufa, the conventional material of the trade, as there was then no Illinois quarry where suitable stone could be had at a fair price in a region devoid of all stone. The next step is exempli- fied by Fig. 50, where the only plants used are the simple rock-loving flowers of the neigh- borhood instead of those exquisite gems from the alpine regions of the world which are dear to the hearts of all good rock-gardeners. Evi- 2 Da Farmers, and Wild Crab Apples Suggesting the Aim “So we planted half a mile of highway in October, 1913, with crabs, haws, No foreign flowers are tol- dently the owner regards quiet scenery as a more refined type of beauty than floral dis- play, and such is the sober judgment of most authors of books on landscape gardening. Lately a Wisconsin limestone has become popular in northern Illinois for stepping stones, ledges, dancing springs, cascades, and other naturalistic rockwork. Restoration of the Dunes "THE reader probably fancies that dunes and sandy soil are of little interest or im- portance to Illinoisans. On the contrary, a large part of Chicago is so sandy that many thousand lot owners are having great trouble and expense in growing trees and shrubs, while the key to the whole problem is at the dunes, just beyond the state line, near Gary, Indiana. A popular complaint today in a large part of Chicago is “We can’t grow anything in pure sand.” After failure along conventional lines, a few members of the Prairie Club be- gan to bring back from walks to the dunes some of the celebrated beauties of that region, among which are red cedar, juniper, witch hazel, june-berry, bittersweet, wafer ash, and sumac. To their surprise the dune materials throve wonderfully without good soil, fertil- izers, or continual watering. Now the mem- bers of the Prairie Club are eagerly discussing “dune borders” and “dune gardens,” and a strong sentiment has developed for buying the dune species from nurserymen instead of rob- bing the dunes. alone give all the beauty we ought to have as a foil to the rich, but mongtonous ogwoods, etc is is the first piece of road designed and planted according t farm land? Are not shrubs needed? Our neighbors th igi IZe Y We Fes EB(R) Harvey J. Sconce, Sidell, Vermilion county, Illinois. ae THE PRAIRIE SPIRIT IN “Unwittingly,” says a former president of the club, “the members have hit upon the solution of the home-grounds question for the sandy parts of Illinois and the discovery may eventually save $500,000 to the citizens of Chi- cago, or more than it will cost them to buy the dunes and keep them forever for the people. About 100 kinds of these trees, shrubs, and perennials are suitable for home grounds and obtainable from nurserymen.” “Millions of dollars can eventually be saved,” says one park designer, “by applying the lesson of the dunes to Illinois city parks. For ex- ample, the park boards commonly buy whole farms at $200 an acre or thereabouts in order to skim off the top soil and move it to the Chicago parks. Some of this expense may be necessary, because it is hard to maintain a good lawn on ptn= sand. Much of this effort, however, is a vain attempt to maintain fer- tility enough to grow foreign shrubs, and that is pouring money thru a sieve of sand, for the ‘best sellers’ of the nurseries are mostly of the swamp type, i. e, they have been adapted by nature to moist soil and cannot make long tap-roots like the drought-resisting species. To grow swamp plants in sand is to fight nature; to grow dune plants in sand is to harness nature. The highest type of beauty Chicago parks can ever have, in my opinion, is a dune restoration. Instead of leveling the sandhills and filling the valleys, why not run the drives thru the valleys, and plant the hills with sand-loving trees? Some day we shall have a Dune Park that will give Illinois international fame. Home gardeners who have little space and money may apply the lesson of the dunes by planting some of the sand-loving materials enumerated on page 26, under Dry Soil. Restoration of the Woods \ TH following tale is perhaps one of the forty root-stories from which, according to Mark Twain, all jokes can be derived. A newly rich Chicagoan bought and built on the “North Shore” because of a piece of woods which he considered beautiful. “Why don’t you get a landscape gardener?” his neighbors asked. “I will as soon as I clean up a little,” he replied. So he cut out the shrubbery, and the landscape gardener made him put it all back at a cost of $2,000. He bought the same species from nurserymen and had to wait four or five years before he got as good an effect as the one he had destroyed. Every town in Illinois that has a wooded park generally has some variant of this story, because it is the regular thing for newly elected park boards to clean out the buck-brush, and then hire an expert who opens their eyes to the beauty of buck-brush and makes them plant it. The first thing the landscape gardener makes the millionaire do to the old cow pasture is to fringe it with wild bushes, “so as to restore privacy and charm,” as the expert says. (What he means is that woods do not amount to much if you can see right thru them; they are more interesting and beautiful if some- thing is left to the imagination.) The next step is to restore the wild flowers, and the whole family soon catches the spirit of the thing. On their drives and walks they bring home plants and set them beside the trails, or gather seeds of wild flowers and sow them broadcast. One of the best restorations of this sort made by Illinois people is described in “Our Country Home,” and “Our Country Life,” by Frances Kinsley Hutchinson. These simple riethods of restoration can be used by Illinois farmers, especially when the woodlot is near the house. There may be no inducement for the farm renter to make any permanent improvements, but the average farm owner ought to care enough for his chil- dren’s education in nature-lore and beauty to fence a portion of the woodlot, and let them restore the wild flowers that have been de- stroyed by cattle. Perhaps the first woodlot restoration made by a real farmer from a landscape gardener’s design is the one made in 1915 at Sidell, by H. J. Sconce. See Figs. 37, 38. The farmers near Palestine, Illinois, also have a design for restoring shrubs and wild flowers to a piece of woodland in their country park. Henry Ford is making a wood- land restoration of over 300 acres at Dearborn, Michigan. Eighty acres have already been thickly planted with trees and shrubs large enough to give in one year the effect of a for- est thirty years old.. The city lot owner can, perhaps, ask his park board for a small woodland restoration, or vote for “outer park belts,” and can apply the principle to his home grounds by making a “woodland border” in the shady corner. Restoration of Roadside Beauty Mest of the planting along the public roads of Illinois has been done by sub- urbanites or country gentlemen. In the wooded region north of Chicago it is not unusual to see shrubbery planted almost continuously in the parkings, or spaces a between sidewalk and ty curb, especially in Winnetka‘ and High- land Park, where all styles may be easily compared. Some of this has been inspired by Wildwood avenue in Graceland Ceme- tery. See Fig. 54. The pure spirit of restoration appears in Lake Forest, where E. L. Ryerson has planted haws, crabs, and plums, while on the prairie J. M. Cud- ahy has planted the same materials with red oak, hard maple, an undergrowth of common hazel, and such familiar prairie flowers as brown- eyed susan, butterfly weed, Aster laevis (the best blue aster), and the ‘Philadel- phia lily.” One of the first ao os 53. Should Every Mile of Illinois Road be like This? Some farmers believe that bare roads, decorated only with poles, wires, fences, and weeds have a depressing or deadening influence upon Psi Eze d b re not in mi ue th are willing to wae trace along, the routed ier that p the insects in_ check. ildwood avenue, Graceland - igitized by Vierose eee nd shrubs planted here are native. 54. Or would you Like some of This Occasionally? Some farmers can see beauty in ordinary “brush,” even when the bushes bite eer (a LANDSCAPE GARDENING 15 restorations made on the prairie by a large owner of farm land is near Monticello, in Piatt county. This has changed the opinion of several influential farmers about roadside planting. Some are willing to plant trees along the roadside, but more prefer shrubs because they do less harm to crops. In the wooded parts of Illinois, a mile of roadside may be planted solidly with shrubs, but on the prairie, open ‘spaces are necessary for breezeways and to give enough sun and air to keep the road in good condition. Incidentally, these open spaces great- ly improve the prairie views, because they are enframed by planting. In this and other ways all the practical difficulties commonly made by farmers, engineers, and officials can be solved to the satisfaction of all classes of road+ users on at least enough of the roadside to transform,it from ugliness to beauty at a cost that property owners can afford. Perhaps the first roadside planting done in the Illinois way is that described under Figs. 51, 52. Another leader is Spencer Otis, who has planted trees and shrubs on a mile near Barrington. Both cases are pure restorations, made by men who farm at a profit, in the open country, on rich corn land; and they are not on private drives, but on public roads. The possibilities of roadside planting are enormous, for about two and one-half per- cent of the state’s area is in roads, and if they are all planted, Illinois may have the largest state park system in the world—larger than ‘the whole state of Rhode Island—without the cost of buying the land. WE WILL O Help our community to re-create in park, playground, cemetery, or roadside, one or more of these eight scenic units. & 16 TLE PRAIRIE. SPIRIT IN LAS DSCAPE GARDENING 55-56. _ “Here was a case of too much useless water and no chance for exercise. This shallow lake in Douglas Park had been made for show, and could not be The neighborhood was densel Fortunately, there were two better lakes near by.” used for canoeing or bathing. was no place to play ball, of Before and after Restoring the Prairie Feeling to a Park; the Broad View Conventionalized “So we developed those for yse and beauty, and changed this to a ball field. We tried to restore the broad prairie view. settled and there would spoil a ball field. It is conventionalized, for long grass But we planted thousands of stratified Illinois shrubs. Anyone who skirts the field can get a suggestion of the prairie.’”’—Jens Jensen. VI—Can the Prairie be Restored? BEFORE we can do any constructive think- ing about prairie scenery, we must define “prairie.” By this we mean land that was treeless when the white man came to Illinois. It may be wild or cultivated, flat or rolling. The first big fact to notice is that the sen- timental appeal of the wild prairie is vastly greater than that of the cultivated prairie. A popular notion about the prairie is that its wonder and beauty have gone forever, and that there is nothing to do but mourn about it. Historians, travelers, novelists, poets, and musicians have tried to express the grandeur, loneliness, and beauty of the wild prairie, but they rarely say a kind word for the beauty of cultivated prairie. And, apparently, it never occurs to them that any restoration of wild prairie is possible. The one overwhelming im- pression that all travelers got from the wild prairie was the infinite extent of it. Nowadays people do not see how the idea of infinity can be brought home with the old-time power without the use of a tract of land so large that no individual can afford to pay taxes on it and let it lie idle. To re-create a big, wild prairie is a state-park proposition. Wanted—a Prairie Park 6©Q@OME day,” says one far-seeing citizen, “every middle-western state will make one prairie reservation before it is too late or re-create one wild prairie for the people to enjoy forever. It would take less land than is popularly supposed. For the main purpose is to get out of sight of trees and away from every suggestion of man’s work. This can perhaps be done on 1,000 acres, if the land rolls enough. A dozen parties could then be in as many different valleys, yet each could enjoy without interruption for short periods 57. The Broad View For constructive purposes all prairie scenery may be finite extent, and is the more inspiring for occasional visits. ee 1 of the Prairie, Framed by St Bs Honey Locust = tigedebyoMiGrosnt - long vicw. The broad view is the one that suggests in- the apparent infinity of green grass and blue sky which impressed the Pioneers as power- fully as the ocean. For contrast, the big open space could be skirted by the other great ele- ment of Illinois scenery—the irregular border of woodland, which originally defined the typi- cal Illinois prairie, with its pleasant suggestion of a river hidden within the forest. Such a Prairie park seems necessary to “recharge the batteries” of those who do the world’s work. The millions who toil in great cities ordinarily have but two weeks’ vacation. Several states now provide a chance to camp in the wilds at the least expense. Possibly prairie schooners could be used. The educational value of the park would be increased by combining with it an arboretum or botanical garden large enough to teach the people the names of the most interesting trees and wild flowers which they find in the adjacent woodland and prairie. I believe this dream can be realized at a cost which many a private citizen can afford as a gift to the people. Universities and libraries are doubtless more important to humanity, but a prairie park might touch a very responsive chord in the popular heart and ought to win the everlasting gratitude of mankind.” Miniature Prairies CAN a bit of wild prairie be restored for the sake of beauty, even if it lacks the sugges- tion of infinity? Certainly. Occasionally, one hears of some old settler who, in some waste corner of the farm, saved a bit of prairie sod to remind him of old times. Or a plainsman, like Bishop Quayle’s father, willed that his last resting place should be beneath a strip of Buffalo grass, and enjoined his son to see that the wild grass is never run out by the domesti- cated. One may respect such sentiments, but the results can hardly be called beautiful. The beauty of the wild prairie can be restored in an impressive way to one park in every IIli- nois city by means of a “miniature prairie” of the kind described by William Trelease. “T wish a plan for a ten-acre prairie restora- tion, surrounded by trees and shrubbery, in the borders of which perennial flowers may be grown in beds for botanical students. The center is to be thickly planted with blue- stem and other wild grasses, amid which the characteristic prairie flowers, like sunflowers, gaillardia, compass plant, and blazing star, are to fight for existence. How long it will take to restore anything like the thick sod of the wild prairie, no one knows. But in two or three years there should be a strong suggestion of prairie wildness, because the flowers will seemn to float on a sea of grasses. This effect can hardly be produced in the ordinary hardy border, but it seems practical in any city park that can afford from two to five acres or more for such a feature.” Prairie Gardens and Prairie Borders [ELINOISANS are now experimenting with “prairie gardens” of many kinds. The most promising type is a protest against the conventional shrubbery border which has be- come effeminate thru over-refinement. In order to carry the eye easily from trees to lawn and vice versa, the gardener often makes many gradations. First, he puts a row of tall shrubs, next a row of medium bushes, then low shrubs, and finally a continuous edging of perennial flowers, which may. be similarly graduated. In seeking for a more virile kind of border the leader of the prairie school went for inspiration to the place where wood and prairie meet. “There,” he says, “T found the strongest and most satisfactory border that nature has ever given maf, so far as my observations go. The full-grown border of haws and crabs has been likened by some to mosaic, by others to lace work, while some declare it is a tone poem. By comparison the conventional shrubbery border, full of gaudy THE PRAIRIE SPIRIT IN LANDSCAPE ‘best sellers,’ seems a kalei- doscope or crazy — quilt. Stand off and view the ordi- nary border of shrubs, and you will see how poor a job it makes of unit- ing lawn and woods. It needs smail trees to bind together forest and meadow. The bold leap that nature often makes from haws and crabs down to the prairie flowers reminds me of some power- ful and beautiful animal, slipping silently from forest shade into a sea of grasses. Therefore, in my new prairie gardens I make no transi- tion between small trees and lawn, except that I have extra-wide, irreg- ular colonies of phlox, using the wild phlox, or a _ variety with flattish clusters, like Rynstrom.” Those who find the preceding para- graph too poetic may at least have a practical border of prairie flowers —say 3x25 feet, choosing from Nos. 1 to 21, and 88 to 106, on page 24. Every Illinois city should have in at least one park a “prairie border’— with the grasses, composites, and other flowers labeled. It will not be like the prairie, but it will serve to teach the rising generation about the famous prairie flowers of which they read in novels and histories. The Scenic Value of Cultivated Prairie S° much for the wild prairie and its restora- tion. As to cultivated prairie, trav- elers generally admit that the feeling of infinity can still be had from the high spots, and they also admit that a sea of corn is beautiful. Easterners com- monly acknowledge that rolling prairie is full of inspiration, but they usually say that flat prairie is not attractive. Foreign eyes are not educated to see the slight undula- tions in “flat” prairie that give so much quiet enjoyment every day to those who live on the land. Many plain farmers feel this beauty so deeply that they do not like to talk about it, but is repression the best attitude? Can we take any honest pride in prairie beauty if we never spend an hour or a dollar to save any of it? Is it not better to dis- cuss and practice restoration? -Whether the prairie is a higher order of beauty than that of moun- tainous country we leave to popu- lar disputation. Those who have been reared amid one type often feel uneasy in the other. But it is not safe to tell an Illinois man that flat land is unattractive and has no possibility of making one of the most beautiful regions of the world. One resident of Lake Forest is re- ported to have said, “The beauty of ordinary, flat, cultivated prairie is so clear to me that I was one of the first to turn away from the more obvious beauty of Lake Mich- igan and the wooded ravines to build on the prairie, where I run a farm that aims to make money. To unsympathetic eastern eyes our prairie view may look tame and new, 59. Long View of Prairie Conventionalized “Instead of putting a single row_of trees down the center GARDENING 58. The Long View of the Prairie The long, narrow glimpses are more human and intimate than the broad views, like Fig. 57. and to the left is framed by cottonwood. The small picture above Restoring the Broad View FOR constructive purposes all prairie scen- ery may here be reduced to two. units, the broad view and the long view. See Figs. 57, 58. The broad view is the one that sug-. gests infinity and power, and is the more in- be) stg bay FOSOAT RR ris Perinat ay the esiene® “T left the enter open and ‘ i W 1 i A del lat avait r fs ELQ native shrubbery at the sides to suggest the long view of the prairie or the arm lane at its best.”” See page 18. : 18 THE 'PRAIRIE SPIRIT IN LANDSCAPE GARDENING spiring for occasional visits; the long view is more human and intimate, and often more satisfactory to live with. One of the first attempts to restore the broad view is the playground in Garfield Park. See Figs. 55, 56. Another may be summarized as follows: “I have a ten-acre pasture on which I am trying to restore as much of the wild-prairie beauty as the average farmer can afford—and no more, for I am much opposed to display. I am not prepared to advocate surrounding every field with a solid border of shrubbery, altho some authorities believe that such borders will keep down insects by attracting birds. But I do believe that the average Illinois farmer can enrich his family life greatly by bordering one field near the house with native shrubs. The financial loss is more than offset by the pleasure of seeing the flowers, berries, and birds, and above all by the chance to idealize his broad view. For example, we built in the open because we pre- fer farm life to lake and woods, but the ordi- nary broad view on Illinois farms is certainly commonplace for a good part of the year. To idealize it we have planted several elms near the door to enframe the prairie, and one big one near the middle of the pasture to suggest the solitary giants that occasionally enlivened the wild prairie. At the edge of the pasture are planted some hard maples and other trees to remind us of the distant woodlands which formerly bounded the typical prairie view in Illinois. The shrubbery surrounding the pas- ture consists of common wild crabs, plums, haws, sumac, hazel, sheepberry, chokecherry, witch hazel, smooth rose, etc., which will ideal- ize the flat prairie by restoring some of the wild beauty. For this reason I would much rather have these native shrubs than miles of Japanese barberry hedges, or the showier beauty of foreign spireas, hydran- geas, and crimson ramblers, which seem to me quite out of harmony with Illinois farm scenery.” What else can the farmer do with a broad view? Luckily he does not have to own all the land and keep it idle. The important thing is to control the high place. Sometimes he may build on it, sometimes locate a drive along the top of a ridge, sometimes put a seat at the best spot. Often he can enframe the best view by pairs of trees in front of the house, beside the dining room, or along the road, as has been done near Sidell and Barrington. Restoring the Long View B*Y “long view” is meant the narrow open- ing between farmsteads and woodlots which often extends for several miles. See Fig. 58. It does not need to go off to infinity. Indeed, many persons prefer to have it stopped by a hazy ridge or misty piece of woods.: They believe that a finite view is easier to under- stand and love than an infinite one. The long view is the home-like and friendly side of the prairie. Farmers have noticed the long view less, but when their attention is called to it they are often quick to see its practical advantages. For a person can often frame a long view from a home window at less cost and in less time than a broad view. One of the most inspiring long views in America was made by Mr. Simonds in Grace- land Cemetery. See Fig. 60. The famous English authority, William Robinson, greatly admired this vista. It lies within a city, of two million inhabitants, yet it occupies only about 10x400 feet, or say one-tenth of an acre. One critic has called Fig. 60 “the straight way to the great hope,” because it points to Na- ture’s annual resurrection as a seeming prom- ise of the resurrection of the soul. The next picture (Fig. 61) he calls “the straight way to bad taste,” because it shows one of the many ways in which fine artworks are desecrated by a display of wealth. Can we not have in every Illinois community one cemetery of the highest type? The farmer has a fine chance to idealize the long view. “I never frame a long prairie view with spectacular trees, like Lombardy poplar, as the eastern men do,” says an Illinois land- scape gardener. Even red cedars do not look right on the Illinois farm. Nature left the exclamation point out of the prairie scenery. The kind of accent she 60. This vista has been so called because it poms to N € resur: See under “Restoring the Long View. annual resurrection as a seeming promise o of the soul, “The Straight Way to the Great Hope” 61. made for the prairie is not vertical, but horizontal. Let the farmer frame his long view with a pair of vase- formed elms or cottonwoods.” See Fig. 58. In the city the long view of the prairie can be symbolized. For ex- ample, Graceland Cemetery was not consciously modeled on the prairie, but Fig. 60 suggests how it can be done in a park or cemetery on 4,000 square feet. Has the long prairie view been conventionalized? “Yes,” says one Illinois landscape gardener, “I deliberately aimed at this on Logan boulevard, Chicago, along the half-mile between Milwaukee and California avenues, and also on Humboldt boulevard. See Fig. 59. Formerly gardeners used to put a line of tall trees at uniform distances thru the middle of a parkway, or scatter shrubs for show. Nowadays, to prevent holdups and disorderly conduct, it is necessary to keep the center open, light it, and avoid all places of concealment, such as pockets of shrubbery. These conditions give a fine chance fo con- ventionalize the long view of the prairie by planting at either side of the parking haws, crabs, and gray dogwood, which becomes strat- ified when old. Of course, in all conventional work, Nature’s original suggestion must be hidden from the crowd, or it will be misunder- stood and ridiculed. But the discerning few who look down the center of the parking will feel the long view of the prairie.” Methods of Restoration N° methods absolutely new to the art of landscape gardening are practiced by re- storers, but in the most elaborate restorations, four sciences are pursued farther than usual along the lines indicated below. Some investi- gation is necessary or the product cannot be called a restoration. 1. Systematic botany. The first step is to make a botanical survey, or list of all plant materials now growing wild on the property, or at least the most important ones. Since some desirable species are missing, the next step is to consult a county flora to find whether they grew in the vicinity originally arid whether they were common and characteristic or rare and untypical. Unfortunately there is no state flora, but see page 27. 2. State and local history. The main types of scenery in nearly all parts of the state have been described at length by travelers or pioneers. For samples see page 27. The county courthouse should be searched for the oldest records, especially the original survey, which sometimes names and locates the finest trees that served as landmarks. 3. Ecology. This is a new and fascinating branch of botany that deals with plant so- cieties. It gives combinations of plants that are far more effective in restorations than any which can be invented by man, because Nature has evolved them by ages of experiment. As an introduction to this science, see books listed on page 27. 4. Ornithology. Restoration of the birds should be an organic part of every scheme for reproducing Illinois scenery or vegetation. The means of attracting birds are described in an immense number of bulletins and catalogs. A letter to the U. S. Department of Agricul- ture or to the National Association of Audu- bon Societies, 1974 Broad- way, New York, will put ner fe nois communi ee above. “The Straight Way to Bad Taste” Bi tines Pee Ni eh GSR ey of wealth, ith high ideals in every Illi- one in touch. WE WILL O Restore some feeling of the prairie to our home grounds by hav- ing an open, central lawn flanked by some stratified bushes and prairie wild flowers. O Have a prairie garden, miniature prairie, or prairie border. Oo Help. Illinois create a prairie park as de- scribed on pages 16, 17. O Ask our park board to frame a prairie view, like Figs. 57 to 59. O Help our community secure or restore a bit of wild prairie. Can _we THE PRAIRIE SPIRIT IN LANDSCAPE GARDENING 19 Ks 62. Repetition of the Prairie Line on a Golf Green by Cutting Out Borde The golf club at Winnetka tired of hard, straight lines thru the woods, so they employed Mr. Simonds to secure more natural vistas. i Haws Vil—Everyone Can Apply the Principle of Repetition HOW THE “PRAIRIE SPIRIT” HAS BEEN BROUGHT INTO THE DAILY LIVES OF RICH AND POOR, IN CITY, SUBURBS, AND COUNTRY, IN ALL PARTS OF THE PRAIRIE STATE ANYONE can discover the magical part played by repetition in the Illinois land- scape simply by walking or driving to the near- est high spot that commands a broad view of the prairie. How eagerly does the stranger look forward to his first glimpse of the prairie and what an unforgetable experience it is ! The first thing that strikes everyone is the bigness of it, for it seems infinite, as the ocean does. But as your glance instinctively fol- lows the gentle, wave-like roll of the land, it comes to the place where land and sky meet and there it stops. See Fig. 57. The prairie horizon has been called “the strongest line in the western hemisphere.” You may try to look at something else, but your eyes will keep coming back to the horizon until you follow it around the circle. No wider view is pos- sible on earth, when you can see all the Jand-circle and half of the sky-circle simply by turning on your heel. To get an expe- rience like this people often climb high moun- tains, sometimes with danger, always with difficulty and expense. But the Illinois farmer can get his broad view with little effort and no expense, simply by mounting a land-wave twelve or fifteen feet high. Do we Illinoisans appreciate our privileges and enjoy to the ut- most the inspirational value of these high places? If not, we are lucky when our memory is jogged by some traveler who says he has come 5,000 miles just to see the prairie; that Europe has nothing like it; and that the prairie is the most characteristic scenery on the American continent. But, however we Illinoisans may differ in our appreciation of scenery, we generally agree that the greatest prairie view is the one that enables you to follow the line of the horizon “clear round the world.” After discovering the overwhelming im- portance of the horizontal line comes the sec- ond revelation. You notice an absence of spectacular forms; there are no steep hills, pointed rocks, or spiry trees; all vertical lines are obscured. At ‘first you are a little dis- appointed, because you are used to picturesque or romantic scenery, and here is something very different. Then your curiosity is aroused as to what can be the secret of the prairie’s beauty. For the prairie is obviously beautiful, but its beauty is hard to define. You begin to study the main features of the scenery and find that there are usually five—land, sky, woods, crops, and water. Next you notice that the distant woodlands have level or gently rounded tops; that the corn crop is level, as well as the ground; and if there be a lake or river, that, too, is level. If the prairie looks its best there will be fleecy clouds in the sky, sailing toward the horizon like fleets of flat- bottomed ships. Then it gradually dawns upon you that the essence of the prairie’s beauty lies in all these horizontal lines, no two of which are of the same length or at the same elevation, but all of which repeat in soft and gentle ways the great story of the horizon. Thus, you have learned straight from nature the great law of repetition, the importance of which can be quickly verified when you get back to your library. For Ruskin, in his “Ele- ments of Drawing,” explains that repetition is one of the nine laws of composition that are fundamental to all the fine arts. After describ- ing the law of principality (by which he means making one feature more important than all the rest), he says, “Another important means of expressing unity is to mark some kind of sympathy among the different objects, and perhaps the pleasantest, because most surpris- ing, kind of sympathy is when one group imi- tates or repeats another; not in the way of balance or symmetry, but subordinately, like a faraway and broken echo of it.” Ke ith ie 63-64. Before and afte “The people of Highland Park planted about $700 believe in planting the parkings in order to intensify the foil, so we have some open spaces and many haws and c worth of Illinois shrubs in aly eee Lee: ublic places in 1914. feereassianls r Repeating the Prairie on the Parking of a City Street Our environment is woodland and therefore many of us ate places with the town ideal. i Everett L. Millard, Highland Park, Illinois. But woodland beauty needs a 20 e THE PRAIRIE SPIRIT IN LANDSCAPE GARDENING Pid with horizontal branches or flower clusters. see page 12, column 2. How far nature has carried the principle of repetition in Illinois you can easily discover on your next Jong drive to the country, unless you are so unfortunate as to live in one of those sections where nearly all native vegeta- tion has been swept away by men whose souls have not yet been opened to the refining influ- ences of beauty. In the latter case you may get some light by analyzing the list of mate- rials on pages 24, 25. Of the 200 species of Illinois materials listed, eighty-seven are strati- fied in branch or flower. This is about forty- three percent, or, say, two-fifths of the native species that are in cultivation. ‘ Has your discovery any practical value to every Illinois citizen? Certainly, provided refining influences of any kind are worth while. Of course, if life is only for dollars, we should steel our hearts against any softening influ- ences, But if we believe in home and chil- dren and the higher life, it will be an im- mense help to have beautiful home grounds. Your discovery means that you can reproduce some of the effects illustrated on pages 19 to 67. Horizontal Branches of Swamp White Oak This circular bed of foreign flowers may be allow- able in this case, but, it belongs to the gardenesque style. The prairie spirit suggests American bluebells or Canada lily fringing the shrubbery. (Graceland.) -65. Repetition of Horizon and Whitecaps by Elders The horizon is, perhaps, the strongest line in the prairie states. beautifully repeated on the prairie or beside the lake by puccee trees and shrubs For E. L. It can be Millard’s explanation, in winter. 23. It means that no two places in Illinois need look just alike, for everyone can make a different combination of the stratified ma- terials enumerated on page 24. It means that all places can be part of one great scheme to make Illinois beautiful. It means that we Illinoisans need try no longer to imitate the East, which can always excel us in evergreens, especially rhododendrons and mountain laurel. For we have discovered a type of beauty in which the prairie states naturally excel. By working out the principle of repetition in all sorts of ways we can restore and intensify a type of beauty which mountainous, hilly, and. arid regions cannot duplicate. The full beauty of your discovery comes only when you have committed yourself to it by planting on your home grounds a consider-. able quantity of stratified material. Then every day brings some fresh revelation of the law of repetition. You see it in every house and statue that you admire, and hear it in every piece-of music. You begin to search for the subtler forms of it in poetry, painting, and 66. Repetition of Prairie by Stratified Haws in Summer Hawthorns are still abundant along many toads in Illinois and are much admired for their deep, mysterious shadows, thei: a cluste u autumn colors, and the stratified branching of some species, which is most obvious They help to restore the song birds. r flat flower clusters, red fruits, the drama. Every book you pick up seems to have some bearing on it, and if you are tempted to exaggerate its importance Ruskin restores your perspective by telling the other laws of composition, viz. principality, con- tinuity, curvature, radiation, contrast, inter- change, consistency, and harmony. All these laws are merely devices for securing unity, and the supreme pleasure connected with repetition comes when we ask, “What is the unity that underlies prairie scenery?” When you stand upon a high place over- looking the prairie, what seems to you its deepest meaning? Some say the dominant note is peacefulness—that this middle-western country will never be invaded by a foreign foe, and the landscape expresses this sense of security. Others declare that it is an ex- pression of God’s bounty. The horizon is but a symbol of a religious idea which each per- son may express in his own way, just as every- one may make his own interpretation of a piece of music. Every great style in art, it is said, is based upon some religious idea. The 68. Repetition of Water Line by Tupelo The tupelo or pepperidge is famed for its early red autumn color, and is even more valued for its Tere ep een aioe Aone MRLTT ‘3 fir NX ‘ AN 69. At Wood-Edges Nature Suggests Pr: “I would have planted composite flowers here to repeat the prairie, but nature restores them abun- dantly in the form of brown-eyed susans and asters,’”” —A resident of Ravinia, Illinois, airie ® THE PRAIRIE SPIRIT IN LANDSCAPE 70. A Subtle Case of Repetition—American Hornbeam This small tree has slender branches, which are conspicuously horizontal only in winter, especially after rain, snow, or an ice storm. soul of Gothic architecture is its symbol of aspiration—the spire, which the pointed arch repeats in outline, while both forms can be reduced to a single line, the vertical. This line is repeated by the spiry evergreen trees of Europe. The ascending line characterizes the Chinese temple, and is repeated by many of the Chinese evergreens, The horizontal line characterizes the prairie style of architecture and landscape gardening, and this line is re- peated by stratified hawthorns and crab apples. The necessity of softening a dominant line by repetition is illustrated by the awe-inspiring loneliness of the wild prairie. Pioneers and travelers were at times afraid to be alone with such an infinite thing, as their records testify. Perhaps the frankest utterance of the old at- titude occurs in a French traveler’s account of the Russian steppes. Speaking of the eternal sameness among the people, in dress, speech, and houses, he attempts to explain their melancholy by the endless breadth of the land, and ends by exclaiming, “It is impossible to live with the Infinite and be happy.” Is there any minister today who would agree to such an assertion, especially the author of “The Great Companion?” Does not every religion today emphasize love of the Infinite, rather than fear? And is not the prairie less fear- _ ful and more lovable since its sea of hissing grasses has changed to fields of corn? The 72, The Prairie Spirit in the Shady fais : The most beautiful repeater of the prairie among wo blue phlox (Phlox divaricata), here planted under shrubs at Gfaceland. GARDENING aI (Carpinus.) modified prairie may be less beautiful now than the wild prairie, but it is pleasanter to live with, and it may become one of the most beautiful regions in the world if we take on a missionary zeal for building houses and gardens that repeat the prairie line. For repetition translates the fearful Infinite into the friendly finite. Our stratified materials break up the horizon into bits that we can grasp and understand. They will enable IIli- nois to idealize the scenery of an entire state. So, every Illinois citizen, no matter what his religion, can express the modern, intimate, and joyful relation with the Infinite by planting some stratified trees or bushes that symbolize the great horizon which in turn is but a symbol of the great reality that underlies all religions. Symbolism always has been and ever will be natural and necessary to mankind. ‘We need something to express the infinite peace, plenty, and happiness of the prairie country. What better symbol can we have on the lawn than the stratified hawthorn, loaded in the spring with flowers and in the autumn filled with bril- liant red fruits on which the birds feast? Inthe flower garden the first aim, of course, is flowers or color, but there may be a deeper, hidden meaning also. Gaillardias may stand for the prairie spirit and larkspurs for the Gothic. The aspiring and the stratified flowers may be regarded as religious symbols. Some Repeat the Horizontal Above is a thorn (Crataegus mollis) which does not have horizontal branches. The same is true of the viburnums, elders, and most shrubby dogwoods. Each is a good foil for the other. (Fig. 73.) Granting that repetition is an important principle, can it not be overdone or poorly done? Certainly. It is conceivable that some sentimentalist might plant only stratified ma- terial and make a mess of it, but there are too many other attractive plants to make this a serious matter. A joke may stand only one repetition, but the prairie’s story will bear re- telling many times. And the stratified mate- tials of Illinois are never loud or coarse story- tellers. The danger of overplanting them is practically nothing compared with the uni- versal tendency to overdo the formal and gardenesque styles. Nature often suggests symmetry, but never pushes it to the extreme of a formal garden, in which everything is balanced. The prairie furnishes haws and crabs to accentuate her idea, but they are mod- erate and peaceful compared with the garden- esque style, which kills peace in home grounds because it is all accent and that of the flashiest kind, like cannas and coleus, Put your trust in the prairie. The danger of overdoing her type of beauty is remote. WE WILL O Repeat the strongest line in the prairie states by planting some of the stratified ma- terials enumerated on page 24. dneeG mW : +f aes Prairie Spirit in the Sunny Garden [ChOSOd (R) a flower garden or hardy border is flowers and color, but there may also be a deeper, hidden meaning, as explained above. e 22 THE PRAIRIE SPIRIT IN LANDSCAPE GARDENING a pe » 4 v ve ree Ceo aS 74-75. The First Principle in Adapting the Prairie Style is to Intensify each Peculiar Type of Scenery Looking down from this bridge the ravine seems very deep, when measured Among the strongest features of woodland are the arbors of wild grape. by this wild grape, which has climbed from the bottom up a tall tree. E. L. They furnish shade, protection from rain, food for the birds, and beauty. The Millard, Highland Park, Illinois, vines are rampant and often need restraint, Glencoe, Illinois. ViIll—Adapting the Prairie Style to Other Kinds of Scenery HOW TO INTENSIFY THE PECULIAR BEAUTY OF EACH TYPE AND HOW TO BLEND ALL IN ONE GREAT. SCHEME FOR BEAUTIFYING ILLINOIS HOSE Illinoisans who live amid scenery that is different from the prairie will naturally ask, “Is the prairie style only for the prairie, or can it be adapted to our con- ditions?” The answer is that it has already been adapted to all types of Illinois scenery and by methods that can be easily illustrated. For example, consider the wooded parts of Illinois, which comprise about fifteen to eight- een percent of the state’s area, and are very attractive to home-builders. Do you think the “prairie house” shown in Fig. 76 fits the wood- land? Evidently the architect did not try to make. his house as conspicuous as possible —quite the opposite—for he has put the house not outside the woods but inside, and taken great pains to save the trees closest the house. For the same reason he has made the house long and lov instead of tall and nar- row. Also he has used more wood and less stucco than for a house in the open. Finally he has stained the siding brown and the roof green to harmonize with tree trunks and fol- fage. The landscape gardener can carry the i 76. How “Prairie Architecture” has b House put inside the woods—not outside; saved; house made long and roof green, like foliage. een Adapted to Woodland trees nearest house carefully rown_ like tree trunks, and Needs shrubb foundation tdé 9 " and prairie. (Frank Cloyd Wright, conic ann 1) f Of nized py Maree; low; woodwork painted b adaptation one degree farther by planting near the house those shrubs that are so dependent upon woodland shade that they rarely thrive without it, for example, red elder, maple-leaved arrow-wood, and round-leaved dogwood. We now perceive that in woodland, and in all other kinds of Illinois scenery, adaptation con- sists largely in intensifying the peculiarities of each scenic type. How to Intensify Each Scenic Type IF you build on the lake bluffs you will naturally plant red cedar, Canadian juni- per, white pine, red oak, gray poplar, hop hornbeam, Buffalo berry, red-twigged dog- wood, Aster laevis, and wild grape. (Fig. 74.) If your garden is a ravine you will naturally plant the great specialties of the ravines, namely, American linden, sugar maple, witch hazel, hepatica, bloodroot, meadow rue, tril- lium, and wild grape. See Fig. 75. f you are so fortunate as to own a Dit of river bottom, you will naturally plant more of the wonderful trees that reach their great- est development on the flood plain, namely, American elm, buttonball, cottonwood, ash, walnut, butternut, tulip tree, hackberry, coffee tree, mulberry, redbud, and buckeye. Other plants that intensify the feeling of nearness to a river are the riverbank grape, wild goose- berry, American bluebell, wild blue phlox, western adder’s tongue (Erythronium al- bidum), Jacob’s ladder, and Collinsia verna. If you live on drained land that was for- merly a swamp or bog, you may be able to grow some of the finest products of that scenic type, namely, the bur, scarlet, and swamp white oaks, red maple, arborvitae, American larch, Nyssa sylvatica (Fig. 68), winterberry, red and black chokeberry, flowering currant, but- tonbush, wint:rgreen, Rubus hispidus, cinna- mon fern, royal fern, and marsh marigold. If you live on a sandhill or dune, you can make it a beauty spot instead of a desert by planting the white pines (Fig. 77), gray pine, red cedar, bur oak, frost grape (Vitis cordi- folia), chokecherry, and sand cherry. If. you live on a clay hill you may have lived than the Scotch or land. 77. White Pine is Adapted to Dunes, Bluffs, and Rocks ypes, with the prairie by repeating the horizon. Longer- 7 autre pine, and looks more at home about the farm- woodlot. It also connects these t: Must have drainage. Thrives better on rolling THE PRAIRIE SPIRIT IN LANDSCAPE GARDENING 23 June-berry, when old, becomes stratified, thus giving the sug- gestion of prairie which nature has put into the heart of every type of Illinois scenery. the good fortune to preserve the original white and red oak, shell-bark hickory, sugar maple, and even the beech. If the undergrowth has been destroyed, the proper-companions for the above are the dotted and scarlet haws, hazel, viburnums, yellow violet, and wood anemone. If you live on a rocky hill you may ac- centuate its original picturesqueness by plant- ing the dwarf rose (Rosa humilis), ninebark, chokeberry, staghorn sumac, and wafer ash. If you own a bit of pond you can make a water garden containing water lily and per- haps American lotus, wild rice, pickerel weed, arrowhead, bur reed, and cat-tail. It will be hard for man to improve on the above combinations, for they have been adapted to these scenic units thru ages of experi- mentation by nature. All-of them are gen- uine Illinois examples and are reported by Henry C. Cowles in “The Plant Societies of Chicago and Vicinity.” Now, if the essence of adaptation in land- scape gardening is intensification of the native ‘flora instead of importing foreign beauty, it is obvious that the most important methods must be conservation and restoration. But these are about two-thirds of the prairie style. Therefore, the prairie style can, to this extent at least, be adapted to all parts of Illinois. In fact, it has been, as shown by Figs. 41 to 48. How to Blend All Types of Scenery UT this is not all of the story, for if each scenic type were emphasized to the utmost and nothing done to connect one type with another, the contrasts would be too strong. Now comes to our assistance the law of interchange, which is explained by Ruskin as follows: “Closely connected with the law of contrast is a law which enforces the unity of opposite things, by giving to each a portion of the character of the other. a aE The typical purpose of the law of interchange is, of course, to teach us how opposite natures may be helped and strengthened by receiving each, as far as they can, some impress, or imparted power, from the other.” ; Let us now apply the principle of inter- change to those who live amid woodland, For example, the house in Fig. 76 is not wholly of the woods, like a log cabin; it has a de- cided stiggestion of the sunny prairie out- side, owing to its style of design. Only one more touch is needed to unite the home grounds with the outside world, viz. a group of the round-leaved dogwood next to the house. For this species (Cornus circinata) clearly unites in itself two opposite types of scenery. It belongs to the woods, because it will not thrive in full sunshine, and yet its horizontal branches clearly suggest the pleas- ant prairie outside. Other plants that can 78-79. The Second Principle in Adapting the Prairie Style—Connect the Other Types of Scenery with the Prairie The rounded tops of haws repeat the rolling land, while the species with stratified branches “The haws are the most significant feature in our landscape.”’—Mrs. suggest the level prairie. Lew Wallace, Gale Farm, Galesburg, Illinois. be used to connect woods and prairie are maple-leaved arrow-wood, witch hazel, and wild blue phlox. The two last named will grow in full sun as well as shade. One of the most delightful themes for a walk in the country is to discover how far nature has worked out this law of inter- change. At the edge of every minor type of scenery she has generally interwoven some plants that suggest the dominant type of Illinois scenery—the prairie. She has even carried the prairie spirit into the heart of the most contrasting scenery by means of stratified plants. For example, at the edge of a clearing, nature restores the brown- eyed susans and other composite flowers, as explained under Fig. 69, while in the inmost recesses of the woods she expresses the prairie spirit by red elder, maidenhair fern, meadow rue, wild spikenard (Aralia race- mosa), wood aster, and wild blue phlox (Fig. 72). At Starved Rock her crowning feature is the dramatic group of white pines, thru whose stratified branches she shows you the stratified rock, while both features grandly echo the noble valley of the Illinois and the distant prairie. At the dunes near Chicago she brings another type of wild beauty to the climax shown in Fig. 77, where white pine repeats the strongest line in the Mid- dle ‘West. At the waterside she will teach you the prairie spirit thru tupelo (Fig. 68), swamp white oak (Fig. 67), red-twigged dog- wood, blue ash, and in favored localities, thru red maple and red elder. In the exclusive precincts of the ravines she will gently suggest the democracy of the prairie thru witch hazel, round-leaved dogwood, mea- dow rue, spikenard, sarsaparilla, maidenhair, Aster laevis, and even by the june-berry, which becomes stratified when old, as shown in Fig. 78. But on the aristocratic bluffs poor Nature may be forced to trepan the obstinate skull and insert the prairie idea thru white pine (as she clearly does at White Pine Grove in Ogle county and at Sinnissippi Farm near Ore- gon, Illinois), or else by elder as in Fig. 65. Has nature put stratified material into ev- ery kind of scenery in the world and can the prairie style be adapted to every country? No. The prairie style ought not to be copied by people who live among the mountains or in the arid regions, simply because their friends in Illinois may have something beau- tiful in that style. The essence of landscape gardening is the accentuation of native scen- ery, and the strong feature in mountainous countries is the vertical line, which mountain- eers should repeat by planting their own aspir- ing evergreens, such as Le hemlock and: balsam. & ¢ ar’ oO them Pidilitediby Maeiaso eigh- boring plain. Indeed, there are enough strati- fied materials in the mountains to give the hint. But in no type of scenery that differs from the prairie should people plant more stratified than unstratified materials. The law of principality requires that one thing shall be dominant, and on the prairie strati- fied plants should probably be more in evi- dence than anywhere else in the world. The law of contrast shows how the true char- acter of a dominant idea can be brought out by contrast, provided the opposing idea is subservient. Therefore, on the prairie it is right to plant a few reminders of the woods and waterside. Conversely, if you live amid different scenery from the prairie, emphasize that difference all you can, but do not forget to have some suggestion of the prairie also. Is there any other way by which all types of Illinois scenery and all home grounds can be blended in one great scheme for beautify- ing the state? Obviously, we could plant our state tree, which is simply called the “native oak.” (The “Act in Relation to a State Tree and a State Flower,” approved February 21, 1908, appears as Chapter 57A, Sec. 16, on page 1320 of Hurd’s Revised Statutes of 1913.) We are richer in oaks than in any other kind of trees, since we have eighteen species, but the most characteristic of all is the bur or mossy-cup oak, which is as rugged in appearance as Lincoln. It should be planted in every part of Illinois where it is likely to thrive. Unfortunately the state flower will not help us much, for by “prairie violet” people commonly mean the large-flowered, long-stemmed Viola cucullata, which is not peculiar to the prairie, being common in the woods and in the East. Moreover, this violet is disappointing in cultivation, making its response to rich soil by producing more leaves than flowers. Of all the plants popularly named after the prairie, the prairie rose is the most satisfactory for general cultivation thruout the state. And since Illinois is the Prairie State, we may be justified in calling it the Illinois rose, and making it a symbol of the “Illinois way of planting.” But to symbolize the prairie style that is to fit the Middle West, shall we not choose that quin- tessence of the prairie spirit—the hawthorn? WE WILL 0 Intensify the peculiar scenery amid which we live by planting strong masses of the materials native to our type. O Plant a few stratified materials to remind us of the bountiful prairie on which the prosperity of Illinois largely depends, and to show others that we wish to cooperate with any scheme for beautifying Illinois. 24 able e , THE PRAIRIE’ SPIRIT IN LANDSCAPE GARDENING [X—Materials Used in the Prairie Style PERMANENT ORNAMENTAL PLANTS NATIVE TO ILLI- NOIS WHICH CAN BE OBTAINED FROM NURSERYMEN “le HIS list is not complete, but it contains nearly all native plants that are advis- for small places, as well as a good many that are suitable only for parks and large estates. It is impractical to give full descriptions of all the plants mentioned, and the garden-lover must look to horticul- tural local publications, nursery catalogs, and authorities for detailed information. Class I. Nurserymen. Most good nurserymen offer some of the species mentioned in this circular. Those named below offer a considerable va- riety of trees, shrubs, and perennials native to Illinois. Ill.; Geo. Wm. Bassett, Hammonton, mal, Ne Je Augustine Nursery Co., Nor- Biltmore Nursery Co., Biltmore, N. C.; H. A. Dreer, 714 Chestnut St., Philadelphia; * Edward Gillett, Southwick, Mass.; F. H. Stratified Materials or Symbols of the (The practical uses to which these are best suited are indicated in the article on page 26. Horsford, Charlotte, Vt.; Harlan P. Kelsey, Salem, Mass.; Klehm’s Nurseries, Arlington Heights, Ill; Henry Kohankie and Son, Painesville, Ohio; Leesley Bros., N. Crawford and Peterson Aves., Chicago; Naperville Nurs- eries, Naperville, Ill.; Swain Nelson and Sons Co., Marquette Bldg., Chicago; Peterson Nurs- ery, 30 N. LaSalle St., Chicago; the Storrs and Harrison Co., Painesville, Ohio. P rairie (All native to Illinois) Incidentally they may symbolize or idealize prairie scenery or Illinois surroundings. Those marked * have strong horizontal branches; the others have flat flower clusters.) GROUP 1. PERENNIALS AND NEAR PERENNIALS. a. F 1 2 3 4. 5 sows.) 18. 6. Echinacea purpurea (Rudbeckia pur- purea). Purple coneflower. 19. 7. Eupatorium ccelestinum (Conoclinium coelestinum). Mist flower. 8. Euphorbia corollata. Flowering spurge. 20. 9. Gaillardia aristata(G. grandiflora), Per- 21, ennial gaillardia. See Fig. 73. 10. Galium boreale. Northern bedstraw. 11. Helenium autumnale. Sneezeweed. 12. Helianthus giganteus. Giant sunflower. 13. Helianthus letiflorus. Showy — sun- 22. flower. 23. a. Low shrubs, ordinarily 4 ft. or less in cult. 42, 35. Ceanothus americanus. New Jersey tea. 36. Ceanothus ovatus. Illinois redroot. 43. 37. Hydrangea arborescens. Wild hydran- gea. 38. Viburnum acerifolium. Maple-leaved 44 arrow-wood. Circular 170, Figs. 39, 40. ; 39. Viburnum pubescens. Downy-leaved 45 arrow-wood. See Fig. 40 and Circular : 170, Figs. 37, 38. ; b. Medium-high shrubs, ordinarily 5 to 6 ft. bie 40. Cornus Amomum (C. sericea). Silky 47. dogwood. Circular 170, Figs. 79, 80. 48, 41. Cornus racemosa (C. paniculata) .* Gray dogwood. Branches stratified on 49. old plants. 57. Aesculus glabra.* Ohio or fetid buck- 61. eye. 58. Amelanchier canadensis* (4, Botrya- 62. pium). June-berry. (Stratified when 63 old.) See Fig. 78. i 59. Amelanchier levis (A. canadensis of some nurserymen).* Smooth june-berry. 64. 60. Carpinus caroliniana.* American horn- beam. Blue beech. Fig. 70. 65. GROUP 4. 69. Acer rubrum.* (Thrives in some parts 73. of Illinois, but rarely colors highly, and needs moist soil.) 74, 70. Acer saccharum.* Sugar maple. 5 71, Aesculus octandra.* Sweet buckeye. : 72. Fagus grandifolia (F. americana).* 76, American beech. Generally fails on 77. prairie and near Chicago, but thrives 78, 86. or garden cultivation in full sun. . Asclepias tuberosa. Butterfly weed. . Aster levis. Smooth aster. . Boltonia asteroides. Aster-like boltonia. . Coreopsis lanceolata. Lance-leaved tickseed. . Coreopsis tinctoria (Calliopsis elegans). Golden coreopsis. (Annual, but self- in some parts of Illinois.) Juniperus communis, var. depressa CJ. canadensis).* Canadian juniper. 14. 15. 16. Helianthus mollis. Hairy sunflower. Circular 170, Fig. 62. . Heliopsis levis. Pitcher’s ox-eye. Phlox divaricata. Wild blue phlox. See Fig. 72 and Circular 170, Fig. 69. Rudbeckia purpurea. See Echinacea. 17. Rudbeckia speciosa (R. Newmanni). Showy coneflower. Rudbeckia subtomentosa. flower. Similar to Fig. 69. Rudbeckia triloba. Thin-leaved cone- flower. (Biennial, but self-sows.) Sim- ilar to Circular 170, Figs. 81, 82. : Sedum ternatum. Wild stonecrop. Solidago Riddelli. Riddell’s goldenrod. (Collect.) Sweet cone- 21a. Solidago Virgaurea, var. nana. Dwarf goldenrod. b. For shady places. 87, Needs Dightowe Be Riicrosont® | Adiantum pedatum.* Maidenhair fern. Aralia racemosa.* Wild spikenard. GROUP 2. SHRUBS. Cornus stolonifera. Red-osier wood. Sambucus canadensis, dog- American black elder. Inside front cover and Figs. 4, 5, 65. Sambucus canadensis, var. ‘acutiloba. Illinois cut-leaved elder. Figs. 2, 46. Sambucus pubens (S. racemosa of some nurseries). American red elder. Viburnum cassinoides. Appalachian tea. Viburnum dentatum. Arrow-wood. Viburnum molle. Soft-leaved vibur- num. Viburnum Opulus. High-bush cranber- ry. (The GROUP 3. SMALL TREES. Cornus florida.* Flowering dogwood. Not hardy north. Circular 170, Fig. 110. Crataegus Crus-galli.* Cockspur thorn. Crataegus mollis, Red-fruited thorn. Red haw. Fig. 71. : Crataegus Phaenopyrum (C. cordata). Washington thorn. Crataegus punctata.* Dotted haw. native form, known as V. 24. Thalictrum polygainum* (T. Cornuti). Fall meadow rue. 25. Thalictrum dioicum.* rue. c. For water gardens or wet soil. 26. Asclepias incarnata. Swamp milkweed. 2%. Eupatorium perfoliatum. Boneset. 28. Eupatorium purpureum. Joe-Pye weed. 29. Eupatorium urticefolium (FE. agera- toides). White snakeroot. . 30. Nelumbo lutea (Nelumbium luteum). American lotus. 31. Nymphaea __ odorata. water lily. Figs. 2, 48. d. For very dry soil, for example, roadsides. 32. Monarda fistulosa. Wild bergamot. 33. Silphium integrifolium. Entire-leaved rosin-weed. 34. Silphium lacinatum. Compass plant. (Often native to moist meadows.) Early meadow Sweet-scented americanum, is said to be freer from plant lice than the European). Circular 170, Figs. 77, 78. c. Tall shrubs, ordinarily 7 to Io ft. in cult. 50. Aralia spinosa.* Hercules’ club. 51. Cornus alternifolia.* Alternate-leaved dogwood. 52. Cornus rugosa (C. circinata).* Round- leaved dogwood. — 53. Hamamelis virginiana.* Witch hazel. 54. Physocarpus opulifolius (Spiraea opul- ifolia. Opulaster opulifolia). Ninebark. 55. Viburnum Lentago. Sheepberry. Cir- cular 170, Figs. 55, 56. 56. Viburnum prunifolium. Black haw. 66. Crataegus tomentosa.* Pear thorn. (Branches sometimes stratified.) Hawthorns. See Figs. 1, 3, 7, 12, 62, 64, 66, 71, 79, 91. 67. Pyrus ioensis* (Malus ioensis). Prairie or western crab apple. Fig. 52. Some- times cataloged as P. coronaria. 68. Sorbus americana (Pyrus americans). American mountain ash. TALL AND MEDIUM-HIGH TREES. Ee americana (F. alba).* White ash, Fraxinus lanceolata.* Green ash. Fraxinus quadrangulata.* Blue ash. Gleditsia triacanthos,* Honey locust. Liquidambar styraciflua.* Sweet gum. Nyssa sylvatica.* Tupelo, pepperidge, or black gum. Fig. 68. GROUP 5. EVERGREENS. Pinus Strobus.* White pine. . Quercus alba.* White oak. Circular 170, Figs. 23, 58, 60. Quercus coccinea.* Scarlet oak. Quercus imbricaria.* Shingle oak. Quercus palustris.** Pin oak. Quercus bicolor (Q. platanoides)* Swamp white oak. See Fig. 67. Quercus rubra.* Red oak. Sassafras officinale.* Sassafras. 80. 81. 82. 83. 84, 85. THE PRAIRIE Class II. SPIRIT IN LANDSCAPE GARDENING 25 Non-Stratified Materials that are Reminders of Illinois (For their practical uses see page 26. Incidentally they may remind one of Illinois, because they are native to the state.) GROUP 1. a. For garden cultivation in full sun. 88. Anemone canadensis (A. pennsylvan- ica). Round-leaved anemone. 89. Baptisia australis. Blue wild indigo. 90. Baptisia tinctoria. Yellow indigo. 91. Camassia esculenta (C. Fraseri). Prai- rie hyacinth. 92. Cassia marylandica. American senna. 180. Betula papyrifera. Canoe birch. 181. Catalpa speciosa. Western catalpa. 182. Celtis occidentalis. Hackberry. Fig. 24. 183. Gymnocladus dioica (G. canadensis). Kentucky coffee tree. 184, Juglans nigra. Walnut. 185. Liriodendron Tulipifera. Circular 170, Fig. 110. 186. Magnolia acuminata. Fig. 17. Tulip tree. Cucumber tree. 198, Juniperus virginiana. Red cedar. Fig. 47. Circular 170, Figs. 9, 30. 101. Phlox maculata. Early phlox. (Miss Lingard the favorite variety.) 102. Phlox paniculata. Garden or perennial phlox. 103. Physostegia virginiana. Obedient plant. 104. Sanguinaria canadensis. Bloodroot. 105. Tradescantia virginiana. Spiderwort. 106. Ulmaria rubra (Spiraea lobata, S. pal- mata). Queen-of-the-prairie. 187. 188. Morus rubra. Red mulberry. Platanus occidentalis. Buttonball. Syc- amore, ‘ Populus grandidentata. Gray poplar. Populus deltoides. Cottonwood. Prunus serotina. Wild black cherry. Prunus pennsylvanica. (Cerasus penn- sylvanica). Wild red cherry. GROUP 6. EVERGREENS. DightZecrint Miaigsone” 189. 190. 191. 192. S PERENNIALS AND NEAR-PERENNIALS. 116. Mertensia pulmonarioides (M. virgin- ica). American bluebell. Fig. 38, Circu- lar 170, Fig. 67. 117. Silene virginica. Fire pink. 118. Trillium grandiflorum. Large-flowered trillium. . For water gardens or moist places. 119. Acorus Calamus. Sweet flag. (Collect.) Fig. 36, 120. Arisaema triphyllum. Jack-in-the-pul- pit. 121. Calamagrostis canadensis. Blue-joint. (Collect.) Fig. 48. 122. Caltha palustris. Marsh marigold. 123. Iris versicolor. Larger blue-flag. 124, Lobelia cardinalis. Cardinal flower. 125. Sagittaria latifolia (S. variabilis). Ar- rowhead. (Collect.) Fig. 46. 126. Sparganium eurycarpum. Broad-fruited bur reed. (Collect.) 127, Typha angustifolia. Narrow-leaved cat- tail. (Collect.) Fig. 2. 150. Spiraea alba (S. lanceolata). Western meadow-sweet. 151. Symphoricarpos racemosus. Snowber- ry. | 152. Xanthoxylum americanum. Prickly ash. See No, 159. . Tall shrubs, ordinarily 7 to to ft. in cult. 153. Aronia arbutifolia (Pyrus arbutifolia, Sorbus arbutifolia). Red chokeberry. 154. Aronia melanocarpa (Pyrus nigra, Sor- bus melanocarpa). Black chokeberry. 155. Benzoin aestivale (B. odoriferum, Lin- dera Benzoin). Spicebush. 156. Cephalanthus occidentalis. 157. Rhus typhina (R. hirta). sumac. Fig, 22. 158. Staphylea trifolia. nut. 159. Xanthoxylum americanum (Zanthosry- lum). Prickly ash. For screens and barriers. See No. 152. Buttonbush. Staghorn American bladder- See Fig. 39 and Circular 170, Figs. 14, 42, 43, 71. 169. Rubus hispidus. Running swamp black- berry. 170. Tecoma radicans. Trumpet Circular 170, Fig. 66. 171, Vitis aestivalis. Summer grape. 172, Vitis bicolor. Northern fox grape. 173. Vitis cinerea. Sweet winter grape. 174, Vitis cordifolia. Winter or frost grape. creeper. 175. Vitis vulpina (V. riparia). Riverbank grape. 179. Pyrus coronaria. Narrow-leaved or eastern crab apple. 93, Dodecatheon Meadia. Shooting star. b. For shady places. 94, Erysimum asperum, var. arkansanum 107. Aquilegia canadensis. Wild columbine. (E. arkansanum). Prairie wallflower. 108. Asarum canadense. Wild ginger. 95. Hibiscus Moscheutos. Swamp rose mal- 109. Campanula rotundifolia. Harebell. : P anes low. Circular 170, Fig. 108. 110, Cimicifuga racemosa, Black snakeroot. 96. Liatris pycnostachya. Prairie button. iit. elas eae as ed Mary. (Bi- 97. Liatri eee . ennial but self-sows. : oe mis scariosa. Large button snake 112, Erythronium albidum. White adder’s ie ‘ ‘ 4 . tongue. (Bulb.) 98. an philadelphicum. Wild red lily, 113. Hepatica triloba. Hepatica. = = a Sige j 114. Lili an ild ily. 99. Lobelia cardinalis. Cardinal flower. (Bulb) Sean area ae 100. Pentstemon laevigatus, var. Digitalis 115. Lilium superbum. American turk’s cap (P. Digitalis), Foxglove beard-tongue. lily. (Bulb.) GROUP 2. SHRUBS. a. Low shrubs, ordinarily 4 ft. or less in cult. Figs. 14, 39. Circular 170, Figs. 44, 76, 128. Amelanchier alnifolia. Northwestern 83. Deon . june-berry. 140. Rubus hispidus. Running swamp black- Dwarf june-berry. berry. : ; i 129. Amelanchier alnifolia, var. pumila. 141. Symphoricarpos occidentalis. | Wolf- 130. Diervilla Lonicera (D. trifida). North- berry. } . ern bush honeysuckle. 142, Seve vulgaris. Indian cur- c 131. Evonymus obovatus. Runni traw- Tes Ta : ee A ia. mee Ten a b. Medium-high shrubs, ordinarily 5 to 6 ft. in 182, Prunus pumila, Sand cherry. 143 Si eee American hazel 183. pa coogi (R. aromatica). Fra- 144. Evonymus americana (Evonymus), 134. Ribes americanum (I. foridum). Amer- 145. Sew ey buat Winterberry. ae Te ae bowdas. Stawoek 146. Rhus copallina. Black sumac. ee OS@ VARIAN. eke WONG)... STOO 147. Rhus glabra. Common sumac. TOSEs ‘ 148. Ribes aureum (R. odoratum). Flower- 136. Rosa carolina. Swamp rose. ing currant. 137. Rosa humilis. Low rose. 149. Ribes Cynosbati. Wild gooseberry. 138. Rosa lucida. Glossy rose. at 149%. Salix interior (S. longifolia). Sun- 139. Rosa setigera. Illinois or prairie rose. set willow. (Collect.) GROUP 3. VINES. 160. Ampelopsis cordata (Vitis indivisa). eysuckle. (Southern and central IIli- Simple-leaved ampelopsis. nois.) Ampelopsis Engelmanni and quingue- 165. Lonicera Sullivantii. Minnesota honey- folia. See Parthenocissus. suckle, 161. oe Bittersweet. Circu- 166. Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Ampelop- i ets A A \ | lia). ircular 170, Fig. 45. 162. Clematis virginiana. Wild clematis. ee Deng i ta Oise eS oe 163. Evonymus obovatus. Running straw- 167. Parthenocissus quinquefolia, var. Eng- berry bush. See No. 131. elmanni (Ampelopsis Engelmanni). Hli- Grape, wild. Figs. 74, 75. nois creeper or Engelmann’s ivy. 164. Lonicera sempervirens. Trumpet hon- 168. Rosa setigera. Illinois or prairie rose. GROUP 4. SMALL TREES. 176. Cercis canadensis. Redbud. 178. Ptelea trifoliata. Wafer ash. Hop 177. Prunus americana. Wild plum. tree. GROUP 5. TALL AND MEDIUM-HIGH TREES. 193. Quercus macrocarpa. cup oak. 19314. Salix vitellina. Yellow willow. 194. Taxodium distichum. Bald cypress. 195. Tilia americana. American linden or basswood. Fig. 3. ‘ 196. Tilia heterophylla. White basswood. 197, Ulmus americana. American elm. Fig. 3. Circular 170, Fig. 59. Bur or mossy- 26 THE PRAIRIE SPIRIT IN LANDSCAPE GARDENING X—Some Uses for Illinois Materials I. THE COMMON PROBLEMS OF SMALL HOME GROUNDS 1. Foundation Planting HE nearer the house the more exacting are the conditions and the more con- ventional must be the planting materials. A higher percentage of foreign and horticultural varieties is permissible here than anywhere, save in the garden. Unfortunately, the favor- ites are grossly overplanted, especially the “inevitable three’—Japanese barberry, Van Houtte’s spirea, and Hydrangea paniculata, var. grandiflora, all of which are foreign. Their brilliancy soon becomes commonplace, or tire- some, especially when a house is surrounded by barberry or spirea alone. It is better to have variety enough to furnish some flowers or color for every month. Try to have half the materials or more native to Illinois. In arranging the materials leave one or more attractive parts of the foundation unplanted. Put the tallest shrubs at the corners, angles, and against high foundations. In front of windows a carpet of trailing juniper may be suitable. The plants marked { are often called “coarse” by some landscape gardeners, who consider them unsuitable for the most refined surroundings. Others declare that ordinary foundation planting is pitifully weak, thru over-refinement, and that large buildings re- quire large shrubs with large leaves for proper proportion. They prefer more virility and therefore believe in using hawthorns and even sumacs against some foundations, especially farmhouses and tall buildings. If more flowers are desired than bushes furnish, the shrubbery can be edged or carpeted in places with trailing myrtle and daffodils or Darwin tulips. Arbors and Pergolas Hawthorns (62-66) make natural arbors of great beauty in Illinois. Climbers for arbors and pergolas 160-162, 164, 166-168, 170-175. Banks Shrubs and creepers are cheaper to main- tain than grass, for banks are hard to mow. To hide useless terraces and bad grading, arching shrubs like 139 and 142, and rampant vines like 166 and 168, and 170-175, are useful. Bird Gardens Elders attract and feed with their berries sixty-seven species of birds; shrubby dog- woods, forty-seven; sumacs, forty-four; june- berries, twenty; and hawthorns, twelve. Other important groups are Juniperus, Ribes, Rosa, Viburnum, and Vitis. See Farmers’ Bulle- tin 621, U. S. Department of Agriculture. Bluffs For permanent effect 87, 195, 196,198. For immediate effect, plant thickly cheap native stock in variety, especially suckering plants like locust, 42, 43, 142, 148, 157, 159, and rampant vines like 161-162, 166, 171-175. Plants that lean over the top of bluffs are 57-61, and 176, while 149 and 166 hang far down. Clay Soils (Heavy) Trees: 70, 84. Shrubs: 46-49, 135, 137-139. Color Middle-western perennials are classified by color and season of bloom in Bailey’s “Stand- ard Cyclopedia of Horticulture,” vol. 3, pp. 1469, 1470. Cut Flowers Perennials: 4, 9-20, 96-97, 101-102. For lightening bouquets of sweet peas, 10 is a good FOR THE SUNNY SIDE OF THE HOUSE Low Shrubs— (About 3 to 4 feet high.) Native: Rosa setigera, Rosa nitida, Rhus aro- matica, Rosa lucida,f Diervilla Loniceraf and sessilifolia,t Hydrangea arborescens and var. grandiflora. Foreign: Berberis Thunbergii, Spiraea japonica, var. alba, Taxus cuspidata and var. brevifolia. Medium shrubs—(About 5 to 6 feet high.) Native: Viburnum dentatum, Rhus copallina. Foreign: Berberis vulgaris, Forsythia inter- media, Ligustrum Ibota, var. Regelianum, Lon- icera Morrowi, Rosa rugosa, Spiraea arguta, Magnolia stellata. High shrubs—(About 8 to 10 feet high.) Native: Viburnum prunifolium, Lentago, and Opulus.t Foreign: Forsythia intermedia, var. Fortunei, Lonicera_ tatarica, Philadelphus coronarius, Syringa vulgaris} Viburnum to- mentosum, Viburnum Lantana. FOR, THE SHADY SIDE OF THE HOUSE Low shrubs—(About 3 to 4 feet high.) Native: Rhus aromatica, Hydrangea arbores- cens, Symphoricarpus vulgaris, Ceanothus americanus, Taxus canadensis. Foreign: Spiraea japonica, var. alba. Medium shrubs—(About 5 to 6 feet high.) Native: Cornus racemosa, Viburnum _cas- sinoides, Symphoricarpus racemosus, Ribes aureum.t Foreign: Aralia pentaphylla, *For- sythia intermedia, Ligustrum Ibota, var. Regel- ianum. High shrubs—(About 8 to 10 feet high.) Native: Viburnum Opulus,f Physocarpus opul- ifolia.t Foreign: Forsythia intermedia, var. Fortunei, Ligustrum Ibota, Ligustrum amur- ense, Cornus alba, var. sibirica.t II. SPECIAL PROBLEMS (Numbers refer to species on pages 24, 25.) substitute for Gypsophila paniculata, which fails in Illinois, according to Augustine. Dry Soil The following are great drought-resisters, most of them growing wild in sandy soil. Perennials: 2, 8, 20, 21, 32-34, 89. Shrubs: 35, 132, 133, 137, 143, 146-147, 157. Vines: 161, 166, 174. Trees: 58, 76, 79, 84-85, 178, 180. Evergreens: 86, 198. Edging Flower beds: 104. Shrubbery beds: 133, 142, Meadows Bulbs for naturalizing in meadows: 91, 93, 98, 114-115. Poor Soil See Dry Soil for many that will grow in sand. Juniper dislikes rich soil. Screens Morus rubra. Shade Perennials: 22-25, 107-118. Shrubs for shady side of house, see above under Foundation Planting. The following rarely thrive without shade: 38, 45, 52. Street Trees No species comes near perfection, but a sat- isfactory tree can generally be found in this short list: Red oak, American elm, Norway maple, oriental plane, sugar maple, pin oak, white ash, American linden, European small- leaved linden, horse chestnut. Avoid the short-lived box elder, soft maple, and poplars. “Green ash is better than white ash.”—Burrill. Trees for Northern Illinois Lis itfctionipen yes iitereharesretic of Rhus typhina. 2. Vines for Porches and House Walls For full lists of native vines, see page 25, Nos. 160-175. 3 On brick, stone, or rough concrete, use the self-supporting kinds, like Ampelopsis Engel- manni, which is hardier than A. Veitchii. On a wooden house avoid the above and use a trellis or strong wire fastened with hooks so that vines can be laid down when the house is painted. Ampelopsis quinquefolia, Celas- trus scandens, Clematis virginiana, Rosa seti- gera. For front porch or refined surroundings, Akebia quinata, Clematis paniculata, Rambler and Memorial rose hybrids (not very hardy in northern Illinois), Rosa setigera, Wistaria chinensis. On back porch. The following may be too coarse for the front of a fine house. Celastrus scandens,t Tecoma radicans,t wild grapes,f and Lonicera japonica, var. Halliana.t On the shady side. Ampelopsis Engelmanni and quinquefolia, Lonicera Halliana, Vitis Labrusca, Vinca minor. 8. To Frame the View of the House For small houses, hawthorns and Cornus florida. For large houses, Ulmus americana, Quercus rubra, Acer saccharum, Tilia amer- icana, ; 4. Borders (Numbers refer to species on pages 24, 25.) Perennials for sunny borders: 1-21, 88-106. ~ Perennials for shade: 22-25, 107-118. Low shrubs: 35-39, 128-142. Medium shrubs: 40- 49, 143-159. Tall shrubs: 50-56, 153-159. Small trees: 57-68, 176-179, northern Illinois, but not of the central and. southern parts, according to Burrill, and there- fore should be planted freely in northern IIli- nois to intensify the natural beauty of that region: White pine, arborvitae, canoe birch, black ash, mountain ash, wild red cherry. Trees for Central Illinois The following trees are characteristic of central Illinois, but not of northern, according to Burrill, and may be planted to intensify the natural character of central Illinois: flow-- ering dogwood, pin oak, shingle oak, sassafras... Trees for Southern Illinois The following trees are characteristic of southern Illinois, according to Burrill, and therefore, they may be planted to intensify the natural beauty of this section. American beech, sweet gum, bald cypress, western catal- pa, silver-bell tree, basket oak, willow oak, cucumber tree, tulip tree. Water Gardens and Water-Loving Plants. Perennials: 26-31, 119-127. Shrubs: 40-42, 136, 140, 145, 14914, 150. Vines: 169, 175. Trees: 69, 76-78, 19314, 194. Evergreens: 199.. Windbreaks Instead of short-lived evergreens, like Nor- way spruce, Scotch pine, and Austrian pine,. plant long-lived evergreens like white pine and hemlock. Instead of short-lived deciduous: trees, like willows, soft maple, box elder, and: poplars, plant long-lived trees like sugar maple,. red oak, scarlet oak, or pin oak. “Tt may often be best to plant quick-growing trees, but if so, put them in separate rows so that they can be removed easily without destroying the more permanent trees.”—Burrill. THE PRAIRIE SPIRIT IN LANDSCAPE GARDENING 27 X|—Literature of the Prairie Style of Landscape Gardening : ] ‘HE following list makes no pretense of completeness. The subject is so new that the literature is fragmentary. The relation of each item to the prairie style or Illinois way is indicated. Where no name is given the author is the writer of this circular. Agriculture The Illinois System of Permanent Fertility. Cyril G. Hopkins. Circular 167, Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station. The Illi- nols system of permanent agriculture, when fully developed, will include permanent farm buildings and permanent planting materials, as well as permanent fertility of the soil. Often the orchards and the layout of the farm will be permanent. The Illinois way of planting is part of this larger scheme, since it uses permanent ornamental plants. The Development of American Agriculture, what it is and what it means. Eugene Day- enport in Report of the Illinois Farmers’ In- stitute, 1909, pages 101-121. Contains on pages 108 and 109 a plea for the country beautiful, including a suitable country architecture and long-lived trees. The Prairie Farmer’s Creed. Clifford V. Gregory. Prairie Farmer Publishing Com- pany, Chicago, 1912. Inspirational matter on a 9x12-inch poster. Botany An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States. Britton and Brown. Scribner, 1913. Three volumes. Describes and illustrates all plants native to Illinois. Catalog of the Flowering and Higher Flowerless Plants of Illinois. T. J. Burrill, in Ninth Report of the Board of Trustees of the Illinois Industrial University, 1878. The nearest approach to a Flora of Illinois. Though out of date, it is still helpful. A flora of the state is greatly needed. The Flora of Cook County, Illinois. Higley and Raddin. Bulletin of the Chicago Academy of Sciences, 1891. Has been much used for restoration work in northern Illinois. Flora Peoriana. Frederick Brendel. Valu- able for restoration work in central Illinois. Illinois As It Is. Frederick Gerhard, 1857. Chapter on climate, soil, plants, and animals by Frederick Brendel, pages 230 to 258. De- scribes plant societies of central Illinois. Climate Life Zones and Crop Zones. C. Hart Mer- riam, Bulletin 10, Division of Biological Sur- vey, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1898. Gives a scientific classification of American climates, including the three zones in Illinois, and names characteristic trees and crops of each zone. Conservation Report of the Illinois Park Commission for 1912, Springfield. Describes Starved Rock, White Pine Forest, and Cahokia Mound. The White Pine Forest of Ogle County, IIli- nois. Free booklet published by the White Pine Forest Association, Mrs. J. C. Seyster, Secretary, Oregon, Illinois. Ecology The Plant Societies of Chicago and Vicinity. Henry C. Cowles. Bulletin 2, Geographic So- ciety of Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1901. Names the characteristic plants of four- teen environments, such as the ravine, river bluff, flood plain, prairie, etc. : The Prairies. B. Shimek in Bulletin of State University of Iowa, vol. 6, pages 169-240 (1911). Gives in tabular form over two hun- dred typical prairie plants of Iowa, and indi- ‘cates the frequency with which they are found on flat and rolling prairie, ridges, openings, alluvial soil, and sand dunes. Explains tree- less character by exposure to evaporation. Bibliography on origin of prairie. General How the Middle West Can Come Into Its Own. Country Life in America, September 15, 1912, pages 11-14. Mentions about fiity characteristic plants of the region from the Alleghenies to Omaha and from the Great Lakes to the Ohio river. How to Heighten Western Color. Country Life in America, April, 1913, pages 80, 82, 84. Names twenty-seven species of permanent plants native to Illinois and the Middle West. Mentions twelve motives for unique gardens and cites western examples. The Illinois Way of Beautifying the Farm. Wilhelm Miller. Circular 170, Illinois Agricul- tural Experiment Station, 1913. Names and illustrates many permanent planting materials native to Illinois, suitable for country and city planting. Has 112 illustrations. The Illinois Way of Roadside Planting. Wilhelm Miller in Fourth Report of the Illi- nois Highway Commission, 1913, pages 334- 345. Two illustrations, The Illinois Way of Foundation Planting. Wilhelm Miller and F. A. Aust in Arbor and Bird Days, 1914. Department of Public In- struction, Springfield, Illinois, pages 7 to 19. Advocates foundation planting for school grounds and describes in tabular form twenty- six Illinois shrubs, giving season of flowers and berries, together with autumn or winter colors. Six illustrations. Billerica. The North Shore Illinois Edition, issued monthly, beginning April, 1915, contains climatic charts, maps, and tables prepared under the direction of ‘Warren H. Manning, Tremont building, Boston, and articles by W. C. Egan, E. O. Orpet, Emil Bollinger, Stephen F. Hamblin, and others. Concerns the region from Evanston to Waukegan. Landscape Extension. Bailey’s Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, vol. 4, 1915, pages 1813 to 1814. States aims, methods, and re- sults in university extension work in land- scape gardening, and cites several plans and plantings done by the Division of Landscape Extension, University of Illinois. Illinois Examples of Landscape Gardening An American Idea in Landscape Art. Coun- try Life in America, vol. 4, 1903, pages 349-350. Describes and illustrates Graceland Cemetery, Chicago. Reports of the West Chicago Park Com- missioners, 1905 to 1908. Early illustrations of the Prairie River restoration and Rose Gar- den in Humboldt Park, and of the Conserva- tories in Garfield Park. Lists of materials planted and quantities used. Landscape Gardening under Glass. Country Life in America, December 15, 1911, pages 10-11 and 50-51. Describes and illustrates Con- servatories at Garfield Park, Chicago. What Is the Matter With Our Water Gar- dens? Country Life in America, June 15, 1912, pages 23-26. Describes and illustrates the Rubens garden, Glencoe, Illinois, which is a spring, brook, and lake modeled on a prairie water system. This is also a restoration of vegetation native to the “North Shore” of Illinois. A New Kind of Western Home. Country Life in America, April, 1913, pages 39-42. This article describes farm of F. O. Lowden, PO HIRE tii OSON ES Bird Gardens in the City. Country Life in America. October, 1914, pages 58-59. De- scribes gardens of Albert H. Loeb and Julius Rosenwald in Chicago. The former is a restoration of plants native to Cook county. Gartenkunst in Stadtebau. Hugo Koch. Berlin, Wasmuth, 1914. Describes and illus- trates work in Humboldt and Garfield Parks, Chicago. Planting Materials List of Perennials and Shrubs for Planting in Illinois. A. M. Augustine in Transactions Illinois Horticultural Society, 1913, vol. 47, pages 22-34. Gives in tabular form hardiness, method of propagation, value for cut flowers, etc. Western Perennials for Western Gardens. Miller, Foglesong, and Aust, in Bailey’s Stand- ard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, 1915, vol. 3, pages 1469-1471. Forest Planting in Illinois. R. S. Kellogg. Circular 81, Forest Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1910. Describes the Urbana plantation and names, on page 30, the long- lived species for shelter belts. Poetry William Cullen Bryant. The Plains. Lawrence Hope in “India’s Love Lyrics.” John Lane, 1908. The Proud Farmer, The Illinois Village, and On the Building of Springfield. Nicholas Vachel Lindsay in “General William Booth,” Kennerley, New York, 1913, pages 111-119. Prairie Songs, especially The Call of the Wind, by Joseph Mills Hanson in Frontier Ballads. McClurg, 1910. The Prairies. Scenery Many contemporaneous descriptions of the wild prairie may be found with the aid of Buck’s Travel and Description, 1765-1865, pub- lished by the Illinois State Historical Library. Springfield. The Middle West—Heart of the Country. Hamlin Garland in Country Life in America, September 15, 1912, pages 19 to 24, 44, and 46. Popular account of the geologic origin of the Middle West and brief but comprehensive de- scription of the following regions: Rolling prairie, Great Lakes, lake region, Dells, and coulees of Wisconsin and Mississippi river. _ The Plains and Prairies. Emerson Hough in Country Life in America, October 1, 1912, pages 27 to 32, 50, 52, 54, and 56. Contrasts the humid and arid regions, describes some of the chief floral effects on the wild prairie, and declares that the landscape has had an im- portant influence on human character. Illinois Fifty Years ago. William Cullen Bryant, Prose Writings, Appleton, 1901, vol. 21, pages 13-22. Describes prairie near Jackson- ville in 1832. The Far West. Edmund Flagg, 1838. Re- printed in Thwaites’ “Early Western Travels,” vol. 26, pages 340-342. The Homes of the New World, Fredrika Bremer, 1853, vol. 1, pages 601-603. Illinois As It Is. Fred Gerhard, 1857. Chapter on “The Prairies.” Boy Life on the Prairie. Hamlin Garland. Macmillan, 1899. Describes Iowa scenes, but is largely applicable to Illinois. The Prairie and the Sea. Wm. A. Quayle. Eaton and Mains, New York, 1905. ® 28 THE PRAIRIE SPIRIT IN LANDSCAPE GARDENING Xll—The Showiest Plants in the World GARDENESQUE MATERIALS ARE APPROPRIATE FOR GARDENS BE USED SPARINGLY, IF AT ALL, ON LAWNS BUT SHOULD M°st people are eager to avoid serious mistakes in landscape gardening, because no one likes to be. accused of bad taste, and it is not pleasant to have one’s home ridiculed. Singularly eriough, most of the adverse. criticism of home grounds comes from using the very plants that are generally considered to be most attractive in the world. People sometimes go so far as to impugn the’ motive of a lady whose home grounds are exceedingly brilliant. “She wants to appear richer than she is,” they say. But is this fair and friendly? We doubt whether most people are really “guilty of insincerity,” or. “deliberately try to deceive,” or “wish to make a vulgar display of wealth.” On the contrary, we believe all their motives can generally be reduced to four innocent desires that may be grounded in in- stinct. For everybody loves flowers and color; everyone likes to have shade and beauty as quickly as possible; everybody likes a little variety or spice in life; and everyone has at least a rudimentary respect for neatness and order. Is it not possible that most of the alleged vulgarity is simply an excess of these virtues? At least the heart often tempts us to overdo a good thing. Suppose, then, we make the charitable assumption. Let us say that the motives are honorable, and the plants are at- tractive, and the whole question of good taste is simply one of self-restraint or of fitness. Figs. 82, 92. It may help us to understand why experienced gardeners sometimes abuse the very plants that seemed best to them as beginners, and it may be interesting to dis- cover what plants these knowing ones now prefer. First, then, let us see how an inno- cent love of color leads beginners to buy the five classes of plants which commonly pro- voke the charge of bad taste or insincerity. 1. Bedding Plants S UPPOSE you are an inexperienced home- maker—one of the thousands who are be- ginning family life every year in Illinois. You are afraid the place will not look well the first year. Even if you set out trees and shrubs it is obvious that the place lacks flowers. The florist tells you that tender plants will give more color than hardy ones. So you buy cannas, geraniums, begonias, or coleus, and in the kindness of your heart you put them in the middle of the front lawn so that every passer-by may enjoy them. How _ for the money! ' plain to a beginner that tropical plants do not cruel, then, for more experienced gardeners to say that you are trying to get the biggest show The kindlier thing is ‘to ex- harmonize with a northern landscape, as hardy plants do (see Figs. 80, '81), and therefore it is more fitting to put tender plants in a gar- den and hardy plants on the lawn; for the garden or back yard is private, while the lawn or front yard is public. The showier the plants, the less’ we should expose them. to every passer-by.. It is a generous impulse that prompts us to share our greatest joys with everybody, but experience teaches that it is better to reserve them for family and friends. than to force them on the public. It saves re- buffs. The quieter thing is in better taste. 2. Annual Flowers A SECOND excess into which we are led by our innocent desire for color is to put too many annual flowers into the front yard. People who regard everything that is cheap and popular as “vulgar” sometimes speak slightingly of annuals, as if they represented a low degree of taste. Surely there is nothing inherently bad about the famous annual flowers, such as China asters, cornflowers, cal- liopsis, cosmos, pinks, pansies, poppies, stocks, and zinnias. On the contrary, refined people consider them quite appropriate to gardens. They are invaluable because they are the cheap- est flowers of all and give results the first sea-~ son. Every child should have a chance to grow the flowers that have charmed humanity for centuries, but the place to do it is in the flower garden, not in the front yard. Pure pink petunias may look very well when edging a garden path, but do they on a front walk? A straight line of scarlet sage may fit a. gar- den, but does it look right when stretched across the front of a house? A bed of an- nuals may look very well at the edge of the lawn, but how about the middle? 3. Flowers of the Brightest Colors THIRD excess to which we are often im- pelled by this same innocent love of color, is the use of too many plants that have the strongest colors. One of the common- est complaints that ladies make is that “magenta flowers won’t harmonize with any- thing in the house or outdoors, and we can’t wear them.” Gardening writers often express - the utmost animosity against magenta, as if it were-a bad color in-itself. Is any color inherently bad, or is it largely a question of combination? Most of the color discords in gardens are caused ‘by the near-magenta colors, such as purple, crimson, and crimson-pink. So notorious are these “troublesome colors” that careful gardeners have a rule not to buy a phlox, peony, iris, or chrysanthemum from a catalog, even when: they are advertised as being delicate colors like pink and lavender. Sad experience teaches that it is safer to select such varieties when they are in flower. If there is-some plant ‘of this color-group which you love: very much, can you not har- monize it by surrounding it with a white- flowered variety, since white is the peace-mak- ing color among flowers? If not, it is easy to refine any near-magenta flowers simply by putting them in deep shade. But would the world come to an end if these “dangerous colors” were omitted altogether? What if a certain garden contained no cockscomb, Joseph’s coat, spider flower, blue hydrangea, purple althea, Douglas spirea, Eva Rathke weigelia, Anthony Waterer spirea, or kochia? Would it be forever ugly, or are there enough other flowers in the world? A FOURTH excess to which many people are led by the desire for color is the use of too many plants that have extremely showy foliage, like the golden-leaved elder, golden mock orange, golden ninebark, and golden privet. Why do people who once grew these plants call them “yellow journalists?” Is there anything essentially criminal or low in them? On: the contrary, they will produce more color at less expense than flowers, and at a distance they look like flowers. The first time we track down one of these gorgeous color masses and discover it is a showy-leaved variety of some familiar shrub, we are greatly interested. The next time there is a little disappointment to find that the wonderful new “flowers” are only leaves. After half a dozen experiences of the kind people begin to feel tricked, and some are so unkind as to call it a cheap way of mak- ing a big show of color. Flowers are finer products of nature than abnormally colored leaves. For example, coleus is probably the most efficient colorist the poor man can buy, and crotons are perhaps the most brilliant foliage plants that the wealthy put in their 4. Showy Foliage Plants 80-81. Beddin Biggest Show the First Wear, but does Dropit The bedding system gives more color than shrubbery during summer, but has no winter beds in the middle of a lawn make a home stand out in by" PO. fired oe ‘getation Harmonize with a Northern Landscape? and the expense must be renewed every year. b sencipesscagsiye trees and shrubs blend it with the landscape. Fancy flower , THE PRAIRIE SPIRIT IN 82-83. ,These flowers are good, but are they not more appropriate in the back yard? One’s taste cannot be questioned if the private part of the lot is screened. lawns, but their flowers are inconspicuous or lacking, and so refined people say that coleus and crotons are like showily dressed people who are deficient in character. So, too, with variegated plants, which have the leaves striped, barred, or spotted with white or yellow, like the famous little white- edged geranium we see in every park, which devotes itself so conscientiously to showy leaves that it hardly ever produces a flower. Why does the author of “The English Flower Garden” stigmatize them all as “variegated rubbish?” Because they are cheap? No, be- cause rich people are much given to planting golden evergreens. Is it because variegation is often considered a sort of disease, since variegated plants are often less robust than their original forms? Not altogether. The real objection is that plants with abnor- mally colored foliage often make a place too stimulating, the weight of authority being in favor of a restful place rather than an excit- ing one. Clear proof of this is furnished by places that are rich in magnificent specimens of copper beech, purple maple, and golden oak. Even the worst scolds among the critics con- cede that such plants are absolutely perfect of their kind. Yet the lawns of the newly rich are often overpowered by these superb trees —so much so that some unkind persons call them “purple cow places.” One of the most refined shrubs is the red- leaved rose (Rosa rubrifolia), a single bush er, | y ii Ty Wy of which makes an exquisite accent, while twelve in a mass are merely showy. Almost as charming is a single purple-leaved barberry in the border, but what about a hedge of it across the front of the average city lot? And how would you like to have a nursery- man scatter over your lawn six or eight speci- mens of the purple-leaved plum which he calls Prunus Pissardi? Probably the hardest plant for beginners to resist is the blue Colorado spruce, which is undoubtedly the showiest and most popular evergreen in the world. It is said that one eastern millionaire has planted $50,000 worth of it on his place. But in the communities that have had the longest experience with showy plants there is a quiet reaction against Colorado spruce, because so many places have been overdressed with it, just as some people have overloaded their persons with faultless jewelry. Around Boston, which is very rich in fine old examples of landscape gardening, thz leaders declare that a single blue spruce is enough for a large estate and too much for the average city lot. 5. Everblooming Flowers HE fifth excess into which we are be- trayed by our natural love of color is the use of too many everblooming plants. Yet some of these often seem absolutely necessary for certain spots which ought to look neat and attractive all summer. That is why every formal garden is likely to contain a bed of 84-85, “Like most people who move from a great city to * Keister by Mi iz u rees, and shrubs.” t Il the crooked, diseased, and short-lived trees. r our thant down and filled the lawn with showy flower beds, Before and after. Learning how to Arrange Sho wy Plants ized that ar open, central lawn, flanked by masses of native bite a museum of costly curiosities. LANDSCAPE GARDENING 29 Good Taste in Landscape Gardening is largely a Matter of Fitness In front yards, neighbors can cooperate to get long views, like the one at the right, by keeping them free from flower beds and by foundation planting. cannas, geraniums, or begonias. People who want a change from these sometimes use hardy plants that bloom two months or more, e. g., the Belladonna larkspur, Miss Lingard phlox, Napoleon III pink, Stokesia, Veronica subsessilis, or everblooming Lychnis. Those who like to have the prairie suggestion for a long time can get it from phlox, gaillarJias, and mist flower (Eupatorium ccelestinum). This is quite right, but should it be carried to the point of having more everblooming flowers than short-lived ones? If so, we have a show garden instead of a garden of senti- ment. Which is better for the average family? Have you ever seen a rich man’s show gar- den dominated by everbloomers, such as cannas, geraniums, and begonias? It is cer- tainly more gorgeous in summer than the ordi- nary hardy garden. And the longer the flor- ists’ creations bloom the more we admire their efficiency. But do they stir the imagination or touch the heart like the first glimpse of “daffodils that come before the swallow dares, and take the winds of March with beauty?” “Fair daffodils, ye haste away too soon,” mourns Herrick, and this is true of nearly every hardy flower, from spring crocus to au- tumn thrysanthemum. The very fact that they are short-lived is a part of their charm. The pang of parting with one favorite soon gives way to the pleasure of greeting the next friend in the procession. The garden of sen- timent is dominated by hardy perennials like I now grow showy plants at the edge of the lawn only.”—Wm. C: Egan, Highland Park, Illinois. & THE’ PRAIRIE SPIRIT IN LANDSCAPE GARDENING 86. Mr. Farmer, why don’t you Restore Illinois Trees to your Farmstead instead of Spoiling Iilinois Scenery with Foreign Trees? The settlers were excusable for planting the “cheapest evergreens” like Norway spruce, but can’t you see how these spiry trees fail to harmonize with the characteristic beauty of middle-western woodlots and the dignity of your own pasture oaks? If you need evergreens, why not plant white pine? See Figs. 87, 88. tulips, iris, peonies, phlox, pinks, foxgloves, Canterbury bells, sweet william, oriental pop- pies, larkspurs, and chrysanthemums. The flowers are all short-lived, but the succession is generally satisfactory. If not, perhaps it can be supplemented from the lists of peren- nials on pages 24, 25. The great thing for the millions is not the showy garden of temporary plants, which must be renewed every year. The great thing is the hardy garden of per- manent plants. The fleeting flowers make less display than the everbloomers, but are they not in better taste? If restraint be desirable in a private flower garden, how about the front yard? The be- ginner’s ideal is to have a big show of flowers from spring to frost in both places. But is this either practical or desirable? If you go away for a summer vacation, what be- comes of flowers in the front yard? Beginners commonly put an everblooming bed in front of the house, but it is generally more practical and in better taste to place it at the rear or side. The commonest mistake we make in America with everbloomers, especially near the front door, is to overdo the shrub that gives the most bloom for the money, viz., Hydrangea paniculata, var. grandiflora, a name which is contemptuously shortened by some to “p. g.” But there is nothing to sneer at in a hydrangea, especially if it be put in a garden and allowed to assume its natural form of a small tree. Unfortunately, most be- ginners prefer to make a bigger show, and by following the florists’ advice to prune heavily, they get a small bush that is covered with enormous, topheavy bunches of bloom. Look along an average American street next Sep- tember and consider how much restraint has been used in planting the showiest shrub in cultivation. What about the walks, drives, and boundaries double-lined with hydrangea and nothing else? How about the front of a house planted with hydrangea and nothing else? Can you not make the front door suf- ficiently attractive and more dignified by plant- ing near it shrubs and vines that are present- able longer than flowers, such as the Illinois creeper or Engelmann’s ivy and others rec- ommended for foundation planting on page 26? So, too, with the shrubbery border. There are comparatively few summer-blooming shrubs, but it is possible to keep up a show by using Hydrangea arborescens, var. grandi- flora. The newly rich often try to beat nature in this way, but older families generally acquiesce in nature’s suggestion that a place which is green in summer is more restful than one which strains to keep up a display of flowers. A famous example is the place which is often said to be the best example.of land- scape gardening in America, the Sargent home at Brookline, Massachusetts. It is natural for the beginner to think that flowers are more important than foliage, and to the heart they are. Consequently people often plant only golden bells, spirea, mock orange, lilac, and hydrangea, all of which are lovely in flower, - but have little autumn color, and are devoid of color all winter. A week or two of bloom is about all you get from the ordinary shrub, and what you live with for six months is foliage. Consequently, landscape gardeners have a saying that “foliage is more important than flowers.” The people are right in feeling that the average home place does not have color enough. Right here is where the expert planner does better than the beginner. He gives you more color thruout the year, but distributes it more evenly by using shrubs that have the triple attractions of flower, autumn color, and brightly colored berries or branches. Thus, on a well-planned place every- one’s taste in color naturally becomes refined, and the eyes are opened to the quieter delights of form and texture in foliage. HD uy 87-88. Which Looks Better on Prairie, Long-Lived White Pine or— Short-Lived Norway Spruce Consider the value of these pines for windbreaks a nd_winter beauty on, this . Cheap, s and quick Iowa farm. There is enough roll here for drainage, wit Nop aepniyy/ |VPRe pees enh and brown. Quick Growers UITE as laudable as the universal love of color is the universal desire for quick re- sults, since speed has something to do with efficiency. Moreover, the quickest-growing plants generally cost the least, and are there- fore doubly attractive to-beginners. Unfor- tunately, the speediest plants are generally of short-lived efficiency or beauty. For example, the farmers must protect house and stock from the winter wind as soon as possible, so they commonly plant Norway spruce, Austrian pine, and Scotch pine, which generally lose their most valuable branches (the lower ones) be- fore they are twenty years old, and turn a dingy brown or look unhappy. See Fig. 88. Granting that some of these temporary ever- greens may be necessary, why not also plant some permanent evergreens, like white pine and hemlock? With these evergreens the old-time farmer commonly planted box elder, soft maple, or willows to shelter house or cattle from the winter winds. The new-time farmer will avoid these temporary trees, if he can, and if not he will plant near them some long-lived trees such as sugar maple, and pin, red, or scarlet oaks. City people want shady spots in their yards for rest and play, so they often plant soft maple or box elder or Carolina poplar, which are soft-wooded, like all quick growers, and therefore likely to be ruined by ice or wind storms soon after they attain a good size. Can they not get the shade they require in some other way, e. g., by means of a screened porch or summer house, or a large permanent tree? Home-makers like to get rid of the bare look as soon as possible, 30 they often put a California privet hedge next to the side- walk or at the sides of the lot, or they sur- round the house with privet. Unfortunately the California privet often dies to the ground in Illinois, and even where it is hardy it has little flowering, autumnal, or winter beauty. It is better to put the same money into three- to four-foot plants of Japanese barberry, Van Houtte’s spirea, and golden bells, and set them against foundations. Those who like to reap the rewards of foresight may congratulate themselves if they resist the allurements of quick- growers. And they will not have to wait twenty years to get satisfaction. Every day they see a town full of soft maple or box elder they will be glad they planted sugar maples or oaks. Spectacular Forms UITE as natural as the love of color and speed is the craving for that variety which jis the spice of life. Any- one who wishes to attract the attention of every passer-by to his place can easily do so by planting in his front yard one or more trees that stand up like flag poles. The most celebrated of these col- umnar trees is the Roman cypress, which is the spectacular feature of the famous old Italian gardens. The spectacular THE PRAIRIE SPIRIT IN tree of eastern formal gardens is the red cedar. The cheap substitute for these evergreens is the Lombardy poplar, which will shoot up faster, probably, than any other ornamental tree in the temperate zone. It will screen unsightly objects at the least cost and in double-quick time. It will grow on a city lot that is too small for an ordinary tree. More- over, it often gives a pleasing note of uplift, which is a refreshing change in a monotonous environment. Even its short term of life can often be ignored, because the tree can be re- placed cheaply and quickly. Any plant with such extraordinary virtues will always be a leading favorite, and, of course, it has been grossly overplanted. People naturally sup- pose that if one poplar makes a good accent, a dozen will look better, but is it so? One exclamation point may look well, but are not twelve in a row ridiculous? What about the ordinary city lot outlined with twelve to thirty Lombardy poplars? See Fig. 90. Too much accent is no accent, as the real estate dealer quickly discovers when he plants half a mile of street with nothing but Lombardy poplars. Overplanting of the Lombardy and Bolles’ poplar is a city man’s vice. : The corresponding vice of the country man is overplanting of Norway spruce. One of the leading landscape gardeners in the Middle West says, “The Illinois farmers often spoil the beauty of their farms by planting Norway spruce around their houses. See Figs. 86, 88, I call it the ‘rip saw’ because the ascending branches of this evergreen tear thru the sky-line of the deciduous trees in his grove or woodlot. I like evergreens and have planted thousands in Illinois, but the only one that harmonizes with the prairie is white pine, and that does not thrive everywhere. See Fig. 87. The crowning glory of the eastern scenery may be the army of evergreen spears that pierce the roof of the forest. Every land- scape gardener who has come to Illinois has tried to reproduce that effect and failed, for Illinois cannot grow evergreens as well as the East. But this limitation is a blessing in dis- guise, for it gives us a chance to discover the peculiar beauty of western woodlands, which is the comparatively level sky-line and soft, billowy texture of our deciduous woods. This type of beauty is less spectacular, and may be poorer in species of trees, but it is ex- quisitely appropriate to so rich and peaceful a land as the prairie. To city people from the East it may be an acquired taste, but the farmers feel it. It‘is part of their faith that Illinois will become one of the most beautiful ‘they can spare them, LANDSCAPE GARDENING 31 regions in the world. And that is why I wish the farmers would chop down, as soon as the Norway spruces that murder our II- linois scenery.” “Another assassin is the Lombardy poplar (Fig. 90), which I call the ‘butcher knife,’ and I beg our wealthy ™ people who plant it 89. on their country estates to kill it without delay. It is impossible to find any plants that will make a more violent contrast with prairie scenery than the Norway spruce and Lombardy poplar. They are like the clash of drum and cymbals, for they demand instant attention from every- body. What they give to the prairie landscape is not accent, but shock. Accent is, or should be, intensification of the original note—not something surprisingly different. The accent- marks designed for the prairie by nature are horizontal haws and crabs, not spectacular poplars. (Figs. 90, 91.) It almost seems as if the great artist, Nature, purposely omitted plants with strong upright lines when putting the finishing touches on her most exquisite creation, the prairie. Even the red cedar, which is native to Illinois, hugs the lake shore or hides in wooded river bottoms; it will not thrive in the open, as it does in the East. My advice to clients is usually to kill Lombardy and Norway and plant prairie haws and crabs!” Is it not barely possible that there are other ways of getting variety in home grounds than by planting Lombardy poplars? Two hundred kinds of permanent plants native to Illinois are mentioned on pages 24 and 25, about four times as many as a landscape gardener usually considers enough for the average city lot. Can- not those who want a change from the prairie get it by making their home grounds a snug harbor or retreat, instead of a museum? ‘Why not surround farmstead or back yard with trees and shrubs, mostly native, and have a private outdoor living-room where one may entertain friends? Will not the prairie seem more beautiful to the city man by contrast with his home grounds? And will not home look twice as good to the farmer after a day outdoors? Order is a Virtue, but Artificiality an Excess Is not Catalpa Bungei overdone here and in many front yards, especiall when double-lining walks and drives? Is : trees of one kind, set at equal distances in straight rows? Is it well to surround a house or lot wit! (See Fig. 90.) Weeping Trees and Shrubs OXE degree less spectacular than sky-rocket trees are plants that seem to grow up- side down, like the Camperdown elm or Teas’ weeping mulberry. These are certainly legiti- mate in back yards, especially when trained for children’s play houses, but are they usually appropriate in front yards? No doubt they attract more attention there, but they also pro- voke more ridicule. There is nothing essentially ridiculous in a weeping willow, for a single specimen of the Babylonian or Napoleon beside the water may have considerable dignity, but a row of them has been compared to “hired mourners.” Prob- ably the most efficient of these professionals is the Kilmarnock weeping willow, which is the poor man’s favorite, but equally absurd is the rich man’s lawn if overdressed with costly specimens of weeping spruce, dogwood, and Japanese maples and cherries. Such forms originated in the garden, as Manning says, and they belong there, not on the lawn. The weeping, cut-leaved, and spec- tacular plants are mostly horticultural va- rieties rather than natural species, and they are generally perpetuated by artificial means, such as grafting. They are one degree re- moved from nature, and to that extent may be considered artificial, For this reason, people prefer plants that are naturally pendulous, rather than artificially so. For example, they like the Wisconsin willow better than the Kilmarnock willow, which is so radically dif- ferent from the normal willow. On the other hand, the cut-leaved weeping birch seems merely to intensify the peculiar grace of its prototype, the European birch. It is prob- ably the most popular of all weeping plants and deservedly so, in spite of its rather short 90-91. A little accent is a good thing, but how about thirty. Lombardy poplars sur- rounding a city lot? “All accent is no accent.” point out of Illinois scenery. Which is the Better kind of Accent for the Prairie, Vertical or Horizontal—Foreign Some landscape gardeners will never plant the Lombardy poplar on the Nature, left. the excl tion rairie. They.say it makes too strong a contrast, while the haw and crab delicately Digitized DY IViRsroscaepestty the’ scenes. Poplars or Native Haws? (A hawthorn in bloom. 32 THM PRAIRIE SPIRIT IN LANDSCAPE 92-93. “We made the usual mistake of planting too many rare, costly, foreign trees. When we learned better, two weeping trees equal to the above hid a view.” life. No wonder we see six trees of it in a city yard where one would be better, for it is easy to overplant the exquisite thing. How many weeping plants can the average city lot contain with good effect? Some critics say “none at all.” Others say ‘“‘one— and that in the back yard.” Cut-Leaved Plants LESS spectacular, perhaps, than columnar or weeping trees are cut-leaved plants. Certainly they are not so liable to criticism, and they are supposed to give refinement or elegance to a place. The standard of. beauty in this group is the fern-leaved beech. East- ern people often are exceedingly proud of their fancy beeches, as if they had done a great deal to make them perfect specimens, whereas it is hard to fail with them. Unfor-. tunately, beech rarely thrives in Illinois. The excessive use of finely cut foliage often tends to make a-place look effeminate, weak, over-refined. This is especially true of the front yard that contains half a dozen Wier’ cut-leaved maple or cut-leaved birch. : . The first time one meets a refined stranger. on the lawn, it is pleasant to discover that he. belongs to a respectable family, like the syca-: mores, lindens, alders, or hawthorns. But go; to any big nursery and you will see that these supposed rarities are -rather. common, for most trees and shrubs of importance have. their cut-leaved editions. Then comes a re- vulsion of feeling against reducing all of nature’s distinct leaf forms to a mass of shredded vegetable matter. The reaction against “horticulturals” brings people back to nature with the question, “Ts there not some simpler way of getting refine- ment in foliage?” Nature replies that she has adapted to Illinois the following trees with pinnate or feathery foliage: walnut, ash, Kentucky coffee, mountain ash, honey locust, and bald cypress. With shrubs of this sort she has not been so generous, but a variety of cut-leaved elder originating in Illinois is becoming a special favorite of our people. See Figs. 2 and 10. This plant is Sambucus canadensis, var. acutiloba. Formal or Geometrical Plants UITE as natural as the love of color, speed, and variety is the love of order. A certain amount of formality is necessary, especially amid conventional stirroundings. Unfortunately, this love of order runs to great excesses of artificiality, especially in the East, where rich men’s gardens are often loaded with globes, cones, pyramids, cubes, and columns of evergreen foliage. The time- honored way of relieving flatness in formal gardens is to use bay trees in tubs. A cheap Good Taste in Landscape Gardening consists largely in Self-Restraint “Finally we cut them out. hydrangeas: and single white altheas. ES substitute for these is California privet trained like a bay tree, and another is Catalpa Bungei, sometimes derisively called the “lolli- pop” or “all-day sucker.” This has a legiti- mate use in formal gardens, but does it fit the front yards of Illinois? What about drives and walks planted with Catalpa Bungei and noth- ing else? See Fig. 89. Double Flowers SUBTLER case of formalism which jis overdone in many front yards in Illinois is the use of double flowers, such as flower- ing almond, flowering peach, Bechtel’s crab, double lilacs, Paul’s scarlet hawthorn, snow- balls, altheas, and hydrangeas. Double flowers bloom longer than single ones and are, therefore, invaluable in formal gardens, espe- cially in beds where a continual show of color must be maintained, but professionals gen- erally agree that they are “too gardenesque for the lawn.” Their single-flowered forms seem more appropriate to nature-like surroundings. Double flowers are artificial in the sense that their fullness is dependent upon man, for they go back to single forms if planted in the wild. Moreover,- they generally tend toward one form—that of the ball—thus obliterating the individuality of the original flower. Con- sequently, many who retain the doublé flowers in the garden. make it a point to’ have only single flowers onthe lawn, e. g., -single Instead of the common and Japanese snowballs they plant the single-flowered originals of these, iburnum Opulus and V. tomentosum. In some cases, however, everybody acknowl- edges that the double flowers make a stronger human appeal, especially the “queen of flow- ers.” It is the most natural thing in the world to put the common double roses in the front yard, but practical conditions are against that location. : Garden roses have to be heavily fer- tilized and one does not like to have manure ' under the parlor window. The bushes must be pruned so severely that they are not presentable near the front door. Many begin- ners line their front walks with double roses, but is that the place to wage war on aphids, thrips, and rose-bugs? If we put double roses in the shrubbery, they will not hold. their own against the bushes. Most people, after trying every location in the front, have taken their double roses to the back, but they pre- serve the rose sentiment in the front yard by planting the wild or single roses, of which a list is given on page 25 (Nos. 135-139). The Evolution of Taste N short, the whole story of good taste in landscape gardening is chiefly one of fitness ‘Digitized’ by Microsoh® "* GARDENING about the Showiest Plants in the World ee The finest specimens in the world are less important than good views.”—Wm. C. Egan. (The ring in the grass shows one scar.) terials—plenty of them in the garden, but less on the lawn. It would be easy for us to betray the people’s interests by encouraging beginners to plant anything they fancy in any way they like. But there is a chance to save the people of Illinois much money and time by pointing out the evolution of taste which communities and individuals commonly experience. To summarize it all, people generally pass in their appreciation from the temporary to the per- manent, from the spectacular to the restful, from the showy to the quiet, from the artificial to the natural, from rare to common, from for- eign to native. See Figs, 84, 85, 92, 93. What can be done with costly specimens that are out of place? This is a painful question to those who have just learned that natural- istic surroundings are in better taste than the gardenesque. Three courses are possible: (1) remove them to the garden or back yard; (2) sell them or give them away; (3) use the axe. As an older editor once told an eager re- cruit, “The public may object to what you leave in, but they never miss what you cut out.” WE WILL O Try not to overplant the things we love most, especially in the front yard. O Plant our home grounds in the naturalistic style—not in the gardenesque. O Move gardenesque materials from lawn to garden. ee ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Landscape Gardeners. The work of Jens Jensen is shown in Figs. 1, 2, 8, 10, 25 to 34, 36, 39, 42, 46 48, 50, 56, 59, 69. "The work of O. C. Simonds ig shown in Figs, .3, 54, 60, 62, 67, 68, 71, 72, 94, 98. The work of W.’H. Manning is shown in Fig. 44. Architects. The house in Fig. 1 is by Louis H. Sullivan, who is generally romederad the founder of the middle-western school of architects. Fig. 76 is by Frank, Lloyd Wright, who first developed the type of domestic architecture which is called in these pages the “prairie style.” (Mr. Wright declines to 8ive or recognize any name for this work.) For the werk oF sober Soames, see tena gover. Eee an are illiam Drummond. ig. i Hoe & Brown, in pe encase Photographers. he front cover, frontispiece, and Figs. 2, 8, 5, 6, 7, 10, 12, 17, 18, 24, 26 to 34, 36 38, 39, 46, 52, 54, 57, 58, 60, 61, 62, 65, 67, 68, 69, TL, 2, Td, 75, 76, 88, 90, 94, 97 are by ALG. EL: dredge. Figs. 9, 35, 41, 42, 45, 50, 63, 55, 56, 66, 86 ar2 by or from Jens Jensen. Figs. 4, 13, 14. 73, 87, 84, 92 are by the J. Horace McFarland Co. Figs. 1, 8, 47, 48, 59 are by Henry Fuermann & Sons. Figs, 16, 82, 83, 95, 96 by B. A. Strauch. Figs. 15, 37 by H. Sconce, — Figs. 19, 20 by fs D. Seass. Fig. 21 by L. E. Foglesong. Fig. 22 by C. Brown. Fig. 28 by A. G, Eldredge and F. A. Aust. Fig. 40 by Alfre _Rehder. Figs. 48, 44 from Warren Manning. Fig. 49 from W. A. Simms. Figs. 63, 64 by O,. B. Brand. Figs. 61, 70 by F. A. Aust. Fig. 77 by A. E. Ormes. Fig. 78. by Carl Krebs. Fig. 79 by Mrs, Lew Wallace. Figs. 84, 85, 93 from W. C. E Fig. 91 by B. S. Pickett. Fig. Egan. we by Wasson. rawings on pages 4, 5 and “D i inois” LEE pag an one in Illinois” by C1 A Suggested by the Famous Athenian Oath Which Was Taken by Every Young Man When He Came of Age and Received the Suffrage It has been proposed that graft can be largely prevented and the best citizenship promoted by a dramatic ceremony connected with the bestowal of political power. Every large park has some broad lawn suitable for public gather- ings, such as ball games, folk dances, pageants, and political meetings. The youths and maidens, clad in flowing robes, may assemble in such a spot and make their vows of good citizenship according to the form in which each city chooses to express its ideals. At least one Illinois city is consider- ing the best possible setting for great “public gathérings where the city’s aims may be expressed in dramatic ways upon occasion. Some of the sentiments expressed below have little to do with home gardening, but they have much to do with park design, which used to be the most important part of a landscape gardener’s practice, and all must be con- sidered in city planning, which is commonly regarded as the most. important branch of landscape gardening ‘today. The following is not recommended for any particular locality, but merely suggests some of the civic ideals that are commonly proposed by city clubs, chambers of commerce, and other bodies that usually attempt to express the aims of a community. Each town, of course, will wish to formulate its aims in its own way. I will receive the right to vote as a sacred trust and always use it for the good of the whole community, instead of my own selfish interest. I will vote for the liberty, health, and happiness of all my fellow citizens, not for the privilege of any class. I will separate local issues from national ones and vote for the best man for each job, regardless of party politics. I will assume all men to be honest and try to cooperate with public servants be- fore criticizing them adversely. I will strive unceasingly against graft, corruption, and inefficiency. I will work for peace and try to prevent war—military, economic, and social. I will practice moderation in speech and will urge toleration in matters of con- science. I will help Illinois enlarge and improve her cities by promoting cooperation or emulation among neighboring communities, and I will not work against nearby towns. I will help Illinois preserve and restore her sacred shrines of native beauty by ex- tending the state and local park system for the recreation of soul and body. I will do what I can to develop a living civic art, as the Athenians did. he 4 I will endeavor to make my community so comfortable and beautiful that her chil- dren will always wish to live here and share in the perfecting of our civilization. I will try to build a permanent home sur- rounded by many permanent plants native to Illinois. As a public token of my loyalty I will plant beside the foundation of my home some Illinois roses to remind me and others of the “Illinois spirit.” I will work persistently to express the highest ideals of all citizens in a compre- hensive city plan for extending, developing, and beautifying the city. The Illinois Spirit in Landscape Ga PRAT ZS pie Hidosn, ty instead of Copying a Foreign Type ‘the Ea as” Her™ mousitain laufel, “an inois has her hawthorns, crab apples, bur oaks, and prairie rose. Italy has her cypresses, Scotland has her’ pines, Does your community own a spot like this, which can be used for pageants, folk dances, readings, religious meetings, and the citizen’s oath? (A scene in Graceland.) Rogers & Hall Co., Printers, Chicago, Illinois I Defy Anyone to Sell These Houses at a Profit ~ All Houses on This Street are Readily Salable _ “This block of ‘stickers’ is the despair of every real-estate dealer. Not a tree “People are eager to live under these elms. I have gold these four properties or shrub. Telephone poles in the parking instead of in the back yards. You a total of thirteen times. Each sale was at an increase price. It ps to_plant cannot expect to sell a bare property without serious loss.”-F. M. Vanneman, permanent trees and shrubs according to a well-considered plan.”—F. M. Vanine- real-estate dealer, Urbana. man, real-estate dealer, Urbana. rit I BELIEVE that one of the greatest races of men in the world will be developed in the region of the prairies. I will help to prove that _vast plains need not level down humanity to a dead monotony in appearance, conduct, and ideals, “I feel the uplifting influence of the rich, rolling praifie and will bring its spirit into-my daily life. If my home surroundings are monotonous and ugly, I will make them varied and beautiful. I will’emulate the independence and progressiveness of the pioneer. I will do what I can to promote the prosperity, happiness, and beauty of all prairie states and communities. I will try to open the eyes of those who can see no beatity in the common “brush” and wild flowers beside the country roads. If any souls havé been deadened by sordid materialism I will stand with these people on the highest spot that overlooks a sea of rolling land, where they can drink-in the spirit of the prairies. I will fight to the last the greed that would destroy all native beauty. I will help my state establish and maintain a prairie park, which will restore for the delight of future generations some fragment of the wild prairie—the source of our wealth and civilization. I will plant against the foundations of my house some bushes that will remind me of the prairie and be to my townsfolk a living symbol of the indomitable prairie spirit. allot” for Illinois Citizens Let each family unite on some of the following propositions and record the resolution here as a reminder of the ideals they wish to . accomplish during the coming year. ; : ; WE WILL ae ‘Keep our home grounds clean, and screen unsightly objects L] Plant shrubs and vines against the foundations of our house. - by planting. ; Plant permanent materials mostly native to Illinois. (See -L1 Save old trees and plant long-lived. species. | pages 24, 25.) ee : cl Have an. informal shrubbery border for year-round beauty in- ~ Design and plant our home grounds or get the best advice stead of a trimmed hedge. we can. _ HOW THE BALLOT-SIGNERS KEPT THEIR PROMISES ’ At the endief the second year the Division.of Landscape Extension had 5,200. pledges “‘to do some permanent ornamental planting within a year.” The signers werg-then asked to tell how they had kept their promises. Replies were received from 991, or 19 percent. of. the signers. Of these, 785 ‘spent a total of $75,117 on materials, plans, grading, lawn tools, etc. The average for the whole group of 991 was nearly $76. The average expenditure of 642 persons who’ spent less than $100 was $22. Let us hope that all readers of this circular will do as well or better. ! ifthe “Houses have Foundation Planting Shrubs are needed to remove the bareness and make a house look like a shrubbery in the parking, as in the next picture. roses. (Moeller and McClelland homes, Decatur.) 2 i Foundation planting gives a park-like appearance, especially when a block home. Sometimes neighbors cooperate and tie a whole street together by low at a time is done. Around these foundations are many Illinois shrubs, especially MMMM MALT A ONAN MON ATMA AONNNGA ANAM NNN AMAA ANON CROOANAANANCTNNATCT OETA NATL AT ln Digitized by Microsoft® Digitized by Microsoft® Digitized by Microsoft®