In the Far East the garden has been considered as the barometer of a nation's prosperity. Each epoch of peace and abundance in the annals of our country has produced gardens of great scale and beauty. Thus, in a way, it may be looked upon as a product of luxury. However, the material wealth alone, no matter how abundant it may be, cannot produce beautiful gardens. It requires something more. With us it has been a yearning for Nature that has helped to create them, the yearning ever present in the innate character of our people which found expression whenever means and circumstances permitted. It has been so strong that the garden has come to constitute a necessity in life, not so much for the physical as for the mental and spiritual. Our house to live in is not complete without its proper surrounding�without a garden. From the very nature of architecture, it requires a garden for a setting to be looked upon from the rooms, the entire length of which may be thrown open to the outside view, or to have a swaying foliage silhouetted on its paper sliding screens. Our passion for Nature has led us to produce many beautiful gardens in different periods of our history.
