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READING THE LANDSCAPE

A noted geographer stated, "The attempt to derive alignments. This knowledge can prove beneficial before
meaning from landscapes possesses overwhelming an on-site visit.
virtue. It keeps us constantly alert to the world around Aerial photographs provide clues that can help orient the
us, demanding that we pay attention not just to some of viewer to the landscape. The next step may be to view
the things around us but to all of them-the whole visible the landscape from a high point such as a knoll or an
world in all of its rich, glorious, messy, confusing, ugly, upper floor window. Such a vantage point may provide
and beautiful complexity.,,4 an excellent transition before physically entering the
Landscapes can be read on many levels-landscape as cultural landscape.
nature, habitat, artifact, system, problem, wealth, On ground, evidence should then be studied, including
s
ideology, history, place and aesthetic. When developing character-defining features, visual and spatial
a strategy to document a cultural landscape, it is relationships. By reviewing supporting materials from
important to attempt to read the landscape in its context historic research, individual features can be understood
of place and time. (See Figures 16-17, page 8)
in a systematic fashion that show the continuum that
Reading the landscape, like engaging in archival research, exists on the ground today. By classifying these features
requires a knowledge of the resource and subject area as and relationships, the landscape can be understood as an
well as a willingness to be skeptical. As with archival artifact, possessing evidence of evolving natural systems
research, it may involve serendipitous discoveries. and human interventions over time.
Evidence gained from reading the landscape may confirm For example, the on-site investigation of an abandoned
or contradict other findings and may encourage the turn-of-the-century farm complex reveals the remnant of
observer and the historian to revisit both primary and a native oak and pine forest which was cut and burned in
secondary sources with a fresh outlook. Landscape the mid-nineteenth century. This previous use is
investigation may also stimulate other forms of research
confirmed by a small stand of mature oaks and the
and survey, such as oral histories or archeological
presence of these plants in the emerging secondary
investigations, to supplement what appeared on-site.
woodland growth that is overtaking this farm complex in
There are many ways to read a landscape-whatever decline. A ring count of the trees can establish a more
approach is taken should provide a broad overview. This accurate age. By reading other character-defining
may be achieved by combining on-the-ground features-such as the traces of old roads, remnant
observations with a bird's-eye perspective. To begin this hedgerows, ornamental trees along boundary roads,
process, aerial photographs should be reviewed to gain foundation plantings, the terraCing of grades and
an orientation to the landscape and its setting. Aerial remnant fences -the visual, spatial and contextual
photographs come in different sizes and scales, and can relationships of the property as it existed a century ago
thus portray different levels of detail in the landscape. may be understood and its present condition and
Aerial photographs taken at a high altitude, for example, integrity evaluated.
may help to reveal remnant field patterns or -traces of an
The findings of on-site reconnaissance, such as materials
abandoned circulation system; or, portions of axial
uncovered during archival research, may be considered
relationships that were part of the original design, since
primary data. These findings make it possible to inventory
obscured by encroaching woodland areas. Low altitude
and evaluate the landscape's features in the context of the
aerial photographs can point out individual features such
property's current condition. Character-defining features
as the arrangement of shrub and herbaceous borders, and
are located in situ, in relationship to each other and the
the exact locations of furnishings, lighting, and fence greater cultural and geographic contexts.
Figure 22, page 11 for an example.) The points may also Treating living plant materials as a curatorial collection has
correspond to historic views to illustrate the change in the also been undertaken at some cultural landscapes. This
landscape to date. These locations may also be used as a process, either done manually or by computer, can track the
management tool to document the landscape's evolution, condition and maintenance operations on individual plants.
and to ensure that its character-defining features are Some sites, such as the Frederick Law Olmsted National
preserved over time through informed maintenance Historic Site, in Brookline, Massachusetts have developed a
operations and later treatment and management decisions. field investigation numbering system to track all woody
plants. (See Table, page 9) Due to concern for the
All features that contribute to the landscape's historic
preservation of genetic diversity and the need to replace
character should be recorded. These include the physical
significant plant materials, a number of properties are
features described on page 1 (e.g. topography, circulation), beginning to propagate historically important rare plants that
and the visual and spatial relationships that are character- are no longer commercially available, unique, or possess
defining. The identification of existing plants, should be significant historic associations. Such herbarium collections
specific, including genus, species, common name, age (if
known) and size. The woody, and if appropriate, become a part of a site's natural history collection.
herbaceous plant material should be accurately located on Once the research and the documentation of existing
the existing conditions map. To ensure full representation conditions have been completed, a foundation is in place to
of successional herbaceous plants, care should be taken to analyze the landscape's continuity and change, determine
document the landscape in different seasons, if possible. its significance, assess its integrity, and place it within the
historic context of similar landscapes.
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