Work with nature,
the way the old-timers did, to create a lush, easy-to-maintain
country landscape.
From The American Agriculturist, 1867
Whitewashed or White Painted Garden fences may be neat and
attractive in themselves, but for that reason they are unsuitable.
Any surrounding of this kind, that draws attention from the living
plants, is as impertinent as a gaudy bonnet over a pretty face.
Carpentry and horticulture should not painfully strive for
mastery. Green, drab, or other unattractive color, is suitable,
and not abominable; white not to be mentioned. The same idea
applies to poles, trellises, etc., used for supports, and to the
still greater absurdity of whitewashing the trunks of trees. A
tallow candle is a poor model to follow in trying to improve the
looks of one of the most harmoniously beautiful of nature's
productions.
