THE ART OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE HAS BEEN STUDIED, DEFINED, AND RE-DEFINED FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS. NORMAN T. NEWTON DEFINES IT AS "THE ART, OR SCIENCE IF PREFERRED, OF ARRANGING LAND, TOGETHER WITH THE SPACES AND OBJECTS UPON IT, FOR SAFE, EFFICIENT, HEALTHFUL, PLEASANT HUMAN USE" (DESIGN ON THE LAND). HOW TO ARRANGE THE LAND HOWEVER, HAS TAKEN MANY PHILOSOPHIES OVER THE YEARS. IN THE EARLIEST YEARS OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE, THE LAND WAS ARRANGED ACCORDING TO RELIGIOUS BELIEFS. AS HISTORY PROGRESSED, RELIGION CONTINUED TO BE A LEADING FACTOR IN LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE, BUT OTHER FACTORS SUCH AS ROYAL POWER AND SCIENCE BECAME IMPORTANT. THE FOCUS OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE THEN TURNED TO SOCIETY AND MARKETS, AND THE URBAN COMPOSITION WAS BORN. THIS EVENTUALLY EVOLVED INTO A PERIOD OF INTENSE STUDY OF THE GARDEN. GARDENS WERE THE FOCUS OF LANDSCAPES FROM EARLY ROMAN TIMES THROUGH THE RENAISSANCE.
GARDENS EVEN BECAME SYMBOLS OF NATIONALISM WHEN THE ENGLISH GARDEN STYLE AND THE FRENCH GARDEN STYLE WERE CREATED. MODERN AMERICAN LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE BEGAN WITH FREDERICK LAW OLMSTED AND PROGRESSED AND EVOLVED INTO WHAT IT IS TODAY.
IN ORDER TO BE A SUCCESSFUL LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT, ONE MUST STUDY THE HISTORY OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE AND UTILIZE THAT KNOWLEDGE IN EVERY PROJECT. THOUGH LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS ARE SUBJECT TO THE STYLES AND PHILOSOPHIES OF THEIR TIME, THEY ARE NOT BOUND BY THEM. IN FACT, A LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT HAS THE DUTY TO PURSUE NEW PHILOSOPHIES, NOT ONLY FOR PERSONAL GAIN, BUT TO ADVANCE THE ART AND SCIENCE OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE.
IN THE PURSUIT OF NEW STYLES AND PHILOSOPHIES, EVERY LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT WILL UNDOUBTEDLY REALIZE THAT THEIR STYLE SHARES CERTAIN BASIC TRAITS WITH THE STYLES OF OTHER ARCHITECTS IN HISTORY. HOWEVER, EACH STYLE SPROUTED FROM ONE MAIN TRAIT CAN BRANCH OFF IN COUNTLESS COMBINATIONS OF PHILOSOPHIES TO ULTIMATELY CREATE AN ENTIRELY NEW STYLE OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE.
