ON THE MAKING OF GARDENS

Sir George's essay is introduced by his son, Sir Osbert, who has written much in his family histories of his father's devotion to gardening and landscaping. A period piece, this expounds on the decadence of classicism, the revolt against formalism, and continues with a tour of the great Italian gardens and an examination of the principles of landscaping. The interrelation of the garden and the landscape, of the garden and the house, the purpose of a garden, the romance, permanent delight, and poetry of verdant solace, statues and sculpture and water gardens, etc., are all viewed and declaimed in a stilted but pleasant and orderly manner. The introduction has the charm of the larger portraits, and the book, while not exactly for the small home gardener, should have a special appeal for garden clubs and study groups for its gentlemanly precision and expert knowledge.