In this paper I consider the extent to which the formal gardens of the Country Place Era (c.1880 to 1929), created principally for the display of economic and social status, may have also contributed to the conservation of native American plants, a subject that has received little attention to date. I discuss the threat to American plants from industrialisation, the rise of the conservation movement, the design of naturalistic gardens, and Italian, French and English influences on the design and planting of formal gardens. I consider the influence of Reginald Blomfield's book, The Formal Garden in England, with its emphasis on restraint in garden decoration and ornament, and William Robinson's book, The English Flower Garden, and his other publications in which he recommended the use of American plants. Throughout the paper I refer to the example of Beatrix Farrand who combined an early interest in conservation with a professional practice as a landscape gardener, mostly in the North-eastern United States. I discuss the social and economic background to her early practice to provide a new perspective on plant conservation in the gardens of the period.
