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wrested from nature; in them, the artificiality of urban life is
confronted by a piece of nature as its antipode. The space of
the garden is also defined as an outdoor place in contrast to
the interiors of houses. But precisely as a shaped outer space,
once again, it counts as a piece of architecture.
This is true as well for landscape gardens, such as the one
at Stourhead in England, that are designed to generate im-
ages of original bucolic idylls, and where the constant mainte-
nance required to maintain this look of apparent naturalness
are not always evident. Dense, dark vegetation contrasts with
broad, pictorial panoramas, and the > dramaturgy of spatial
> sequences that consist of concealed paths, bodies of water,
small garden temples, and astonishing vistas and view axes
give visitors the feeling of strolling through a painstakingly
composed landscape painting. This is even more the case for
the formal garden. Its ground is formed by the levelled earth,
and it is subdivided into compartments, fragmented into sepa-
rate > levels by gentle disjunctions of elevation that are sepa-
rated and connected by small numbers of steps. Along slopes,
gradations into terraced levels are dramatized by grand stair-
cases. The topography of the > landscape forms the basis for
modelling the terrain in ways that correspond to the original
character of the place.
In gardens, it is the vegetation that is primarily respon-
sible for the further shaping of space. An individual tree is
capable of concentrating space around it, and of spanning
it with its broad canopy. In pairs, trees create gateways, in
groups of four, they form the > gestalt of a carré. In > rows,
trees guide movement, and along an avenue, correspond to a
colonnade, or combine with the leaf canopy to form a pas-
sageway. At narrow intervals, they are perceived collectively
as a wall, although such effects depend upon the species and
its treatment, for example pruned lime trees or espaliers. In
gardens, the function of walls is assumed by hedges, fences or
walls; steps, edgings or streams provide weaker contours. The
ha-ha, a longitudinal ditch that is invisible from a distance,