The Native Landscape Reader

Preface

xiii Preface Assembling this book has given me the opportunity to revisit many of the authors whose writings have helped to shape my views and approaches to landscape design and conservation. One of the writers whose work greatly influenced my initial appreciation of and curiosity about natural and cultural history was May Theilgaard Watts. As a young student in architecture , I was assigned portions of Reading the Landscape of America, originally published in 1957. Watts’s lively text describing the landscape of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan , and the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee and North Carolina inspired me to want to explore and learn the stories behind the landscape patterns I saw. Shortly thereafter, I decided I no longer wanted to be an architect and began the journey that eventually let me to landscape architecture. While a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin, I began researching the work of the landscape architect Jens Jensen . That research grew into the book Jens Jensen: Maker of Natural Parks and Gardens , published in 1992. Through my study of Jensen and mentoring by my professors at Wisconsin, Darrel Morrison, Evelyn Howell, Wayne Tlusty, Arne Alanen, and William Tishler, I was made keenly aware of the work of Jensen’s contemporaries Wilhelm Miller, Elsa Rehmann and Edith Roberts, Ossian Cole Simonds, and Frank A. Waugh, who also advocated for a style of design that celebrated the natural landscape and emphasized the use of regionally native plants. Aided by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1987, I was able to do further research on these designers and writers. I began to realize that there is a long history of individuals who were urging greater attention to native flora and ecological processes and patterns in design. I also began to see a strong interplay between design and conservation efforts. At least some of these landscape architects intended their work to awaken people to the natural beauty of their region and inspire them to become involved in conservation activities. In the years since those initial studies, I xiv PREfaCE have continued to look for articles on these topics. Because I found many of these writings in fairly obscure publications or deeply buried in popular ones, I began thinking about bringing them together in a collective volume. The Native Landscape Reader is the result. As I sorted through my collection of articles to decide what to include here, my goal was not comprehensiveness but rather to showcase the variety of writings advocating for native flora and the native landscape from the early 1800s through the mid-twentieth century. My hope is that the reader will keep in mind the contemporary context of these authors and reflect on what in their work is pertinent to today’s challenges. If you’re like me, you’ll discover much that is as valuable now as when the words were first written. I have many people to thank for their help in producing this book. Robin Karson, executive director of the Library of American Landscape History, provided untiring support for the project from the very beginning and patiently offered advice and suggestions throughout. I am also grateful to the LALH Board of Trustees for their critical support. Daniel Nadenicek and Robert Ryan reviewed draft versions of the manuscript and offered insightful advice for sharpening and reworking my text. I feel honored that Dan has made The Native Landscape Reader the inaugural volume in his Critical Perspectives in the History of Environmental Design series. Carol Betsch and Mary Bellino provided essential editorial help. Many colleagues throughout my career have shared articles and leads on some of the historical figures I have included in the volume. For this I thank in particular Arne Alanen, Julia Bachrach, Ron Block, Alfred Caldwell, Carol Doty, Leonard Eaton, Barbara Geiger, Bruce Johnson, Karen Marzonie, Eric McDonald, Arthur Miller, Darrel Morrison, Jo Ann Nathan, John K. Notz Jr., Emma Pitcher, Dean Sheaffer, RobertSimonds,RobertaSimonds,William Tishler, Christopher Vernon, and Donn Werling. Early conversations with George Thompson helped me think about this collection as a distinct possibility. My students over the past two and a half decades have also inspired me with their endless curiosity and questions. Finally, I thank my wife, Susan, for all her support as I’ve sequestered myself in libraries and archives and worked long hours at home amid my piles of papers to bring this book together. Without her love and patience, I would likely have given up the idea long ago...