,,some ,,english ,,gardens ,illustration3 ,,phlox ,,from ,,the ,,picture ,,in ,,the ,,possession ,,of ,,mr4 ,,george ,e4 ,b4 ,,wrey ,,some ,,english ,,gardens ,,after ,,drawings ,,by ,,george ,s4 ,,elgood1 ,r4,i4 ,,with ,,notes ,,by ,,gertrude ,,jekyll ,,longmans1 ,,green ,,and ,,co4 #ci ,,paternoster ,,row1 ,,london ,,new ,,york ,,and ,,bombay #aijd ,,preface ,the publication of this collection of reproductions of water-colour drawings would have been impossible without the willing co-operation of the owners of the originals4 ,special acknowledgment is therefore due to them for their kindness and courtesy1 both in consenting to such reproduction and in sparing the pictures from their walls4 ,on pages xi4 and xii4 is given a full list of the pictures1 together with the names of the owners to whom we are so greatly indebted4 ,we have also had the valuable assistance of ,mr4 ,marcus ,b4 ,huish1 of ,the ,fine ,art ,society1 who has taken the greatest interest in the work from its inception4 ,g4 ,s4 ,e4 ,g4 ,j4 ,,contents ,page ,brockenhurst #a ,hollyhocks at ,blyborough #e ,great ,tangley ,manor #h ,bulwick ,hall #aa ,bramham #ae ,melbourne #ah ,berkeley ,castle #bc ,summer ,flowers #bf ,the ,yew ,alley1 ,rockingham #cc ,brympton #cf ,balcaskie #ci ,crathes ,castle #db ,kellie ,castle #dg ,hardwick #eb ,montacute #ee ,ramscliffe #eh ,levens #fc ,campsey ,ashe #fg ,cleeve ,prior #gj ,condover #gd ,speke ,hall #gf ,garden ,roses #gi ,penshurst #hb ,brickwall #hg ,stone ,hall1 ,easton #ij ,the ,deanery ,garden1 ,rochester #ic ,compton ,wynyates #if ,palmerstown #ii ,st4 ,anne's1 ,clontarf #aja ,auchincruive #ajd ,yew ,arbour3 ,lyde #ajg ,autumn ,flowers #aaj ,mynthurst #aae ,abbey ,leix #aah ,michaelmas ,daisies #aba ,arley #abe ,lady ,coventry's ,needlework #abi ,,illustrations ,from ,pictures in the possession of ,to face page ,phlox ,mr4 ,george ,e4 ,b4 ,wrey ,frontispiece ,the ,terrace1 ,brockenhurst ,mr4 ,g4 ,n4 ,stevens #b ,brockenhurst3 ,the ,garden ,gate ,miss ,radcliffe #d ,blyborough3 ,hollyhocks ,mr4 ,c4 ,e4 ,freeling #f ,the ,pergola1 ,great ,tangley ,mr4 ,wickham ,flower #h ,bulwick3 ,autumn ,lord ,henry ,grosvenor #aa ,bulwick3 ,the ,gateway ,lord ,henry ,grosvenor #ab ,the ,pool1 ,bramham ,sir ,james ,whitehead1 ,bart #af ,melbourne ,mr4 ,w4 ,v4 ,r4 ,fane #ah ,melbourne3 ,amorini ,mr4 ,j4 ,w4 ,ford #bj ,the ,lower ,terrace1 ,berkeley ,castle ,mr4 ,albert ,wright #bd ,orange ,lilies and ,larkspur ,mr4 ,george ,c ,bompas #bf ,white ,lilies and ,yellow ,monkshood ,mr4 ,herbert ,d4 ,turner #bh ,purple ,campanula ,miss ,beatrice ,hall #cj ,the ,yew ,alley1 ,rockingham ,miss ,willmott #cd ,the ,gateway1 ,brympton ,mr4 ,edwin ,clephan #cf ,the ,apollo1 ,balcaskie ,miss ,bompas #dj ,the ,yew ,walk1 ,crathes ,mr4 ,charles ,p4 ,rowley #db ,crathes ,mr4 ,george ,c4 ,bompas #dd ,crathes3 ,phlox ,mrs4 ,croft #df ,kellie ,castle ,mr4 ,arthur ,h4 ,longman #dh ,the ,forecourt1 ,hardwick ,mr4 ,aston ,webb #eb ,montacute3 ,sunflowers ,mr4 ,e4 ,c4 ,austen ,leigh #ef ,ramscliffe3 ,orange ,lilies and ,monkshood ,mr4 ,c4 ,e4 ,freeling #eh ,ramscliffe3 ,larkspur ,miss ,kensit #fj ,levens ,major ,longfield #fc ,levens3 ,roses and ,pinks ,mrs4 ,archibald ,parker #fe ,the ,yew ,hedge1 ,campsey ,ashe ,mr4 ,h4 ,w4 ,search #fh ,the ,twelve ,apostles1 ,cleeve ,prior ,sir ,frederick ,wigan #gj ,cleeve ,prior3 ,sunflowers ,mr4 ,james ,crofts ,powell #gb ,condover3 ,the ,terrace ,steps ,miss ,austen ,leigh #gd ,speke ,hall ,mr4 ,george ,s4 ,elgood #gf 8,viscountess ,folkestone0 ,mr4 ,r4 ,clarke ,edwards #hj 8,gloire de ,dijon10 ,penshurst ,sir ,reginald ,hanson1 ,bart4 #hb ,penshurst3 ,the ,terrace ,steps ,mr4 ,frederick ,greene #hd ,brickwall1 ,northiam ,mr4 ,r4 ,a4 ,oswald #hh ,stone ,hall1 ,easton3 ,the ,friendship ,garden ,the ,countess of ,warwick #ij ,the ,deanery ,garden1 ,rochester ,mr4 ,g4 ,a4 ,tonge #id ,compton ,wynyates ,mr4 ,george ,s4 ,elgood #if ,china ,roses and ,lavender1 ,palmerstown ,mrs4 ,kennedy-,erskine #ii ,st4 ,anne's1 ,clontarf ,miss ,mannering #ajb ,auchincruive ,mr4 ,r4 ,a4 ,oswald #ajd ,the ,yew ,arbour1 ,lyde ,mr4 ,george ,e4 ,b4 ,wrey #ajg ,phlox and ,daisy ,lady ,mount-,stephen #aab ,mynthurst ,miss ,radcliffe #aaf ,abbey-,leix ,sir ,james ,whitehead1 ,bart4 #aah ,michaelmas ,daisies1 ,munstead ,wood ,mr4 ,t4 ,norton ,longman #abb ,the ,alcove1 ,arley ,mrs4 ,campbell #abe ,the ,rose ,garden1 ,arley ,mrs4 ,huth #abf ,lady ,coventry's ,needlework ,mrs4 ,appleton #abi ,,brockenhurst ,the ,english gardens in which ,mr4 ,elgood delights to paint are for the most part those that have come to us through the influence of the ,italian ,renaissance2 those that in common speech we call gardens of formal design4 ,the remote forefathers of these gardens of ,italy1 now so well known to travellers1 were the old pleasure-grounds of ,rome and the neighbouring districts1 built and planted some sixteen hundred years ago4 ,though many relics of domestic architecture remain to remind us that ,britain was once a ,roman colony1 and though it is reasonable to suppose that the conquerors brought their ways of gardening with them as well as their ways of building1 yet nothing remains in ,england of any ,roman gardening of any importance1 and we may well conclude that our gardens of formal design came to us from ,italy1 inspired by those of the ,renaissance1 though often modified by ,french influence4 ,very little gardening1 such as we now know it1 was done in ,england earlier than the sixteenth century4 ,before that1 the houses of the better class were places of defence2 castles1 closely encompassed with wall or moat2 the little cultivation within their narrow bounds being only for food--none for the pleasure of garden beauty4 ,but when the country settled down into a peaceful state1 and men could dwell in safety1 the great houses that arose were no longer fortresses1 but beautiful homes both within and without1 inclosing large garden spaces1 walled with brick or stone only for defence from wild animals1 and divided or encompassed with living hedges of yew or holly or hornbeam1 to break wild winds and to gather on their sunny sides the life-giving rays that flowers love4 ,so grew into life and shape some of the great gardens that still remain2 in the best of them1 the old ,italian traditions modified by gradual and insensible evolution into what has become an ,english style4 ,for it is significant to observe that in some cases1 where a classical model has been too rigidly followed1 or its principles too closely adhered to1 that the result is a thing that remains exotic--that will not assimilate with the natural conditions of our climate and landscape4 ,what is right and fitting in ,italy is not necessarily right in ,england4 ,the general principles may be imported1 and may grow into something absolutely right1 but they cannot be compelled or coerced into fitness1 any more than we can take the myrtles and lentisks of the ,mediterranean region and expect them to grow on our middle-,england hill-sides4 ,this is so much the case1 with what one may call the temperament of a region and climate1 that even within the small geographical area of our islands1 the comparative suitability of the more distinctly ,italian style may be clearly perceived1 for on our southern coasts it is much more possible than in the much colder and bleaker midlands4 ,thus we find that one of the best of the rather nearly ,italian gardens is at ,brockenhurst in the ,new ,forest1 not far from the warm waters of the ,solent4 ,the garden1 in its present state1 was laid out by the late ,mr4 ,john ,morant1 one of a long line of the same name owning this forest property4 ,he had absorbed the spirit of the pure ,italian gardens1 and his fine taste knew how to bring it forth again1 and place it with a sure hand on ,english soil4 ,it is none the less beautiful because it is a garden almost without flowers1 so important and satisfying are its permanent forms of living green walls1 with their own proper enrichment of ball and spire1 bracket and buttress1 and so fine is the design of the actual masonry and sculpture4 ,the large rectangular pool1 known as the ,canal1 bordered with a bold kerb1 has at its upper end a double stair-way2 the retaining wall at the head of the basin is cunningly wrought into buttress and niche4 ,every niche has its appropriate sculpture and each buttress-pier its urn-like finial4 ,on the upper level is a circular fountain bordered by the same kerb in lesser proportion1 with stone vases on its circumference4 ,the broad walk on both levels is bounded by close walls of living ,illustration3 ,,the ,,terrace1 ,,brockenhurst ,,from ,,the ,,picture ,,in ,,the ,,possession ,,of ,,mr4 ,g4 ,n4 ,,stevens greenery2 on the upper level swinging round in a half circle1 in which are cut arched niches4 ,in each leafy niche is a bust of a ,csar in marble on a tall term-shaped pedestal4 ,orange trees in tubs stand by the sides of the ,canal4 ,this is the most ornate portion of the garden1 but its whole extent is designed with equal care4 ,there is a wide bowling-green for quiet play2 turf walks within walls of living green2 everywhere that feeling of repose and ease of mind and satisfaction that comes of good balance and proportion4 ,it shows the classical sentiment thoroughly assimilated1 and a judicious interpretation of it brought forth in a form not only possible but eminently successful1 as a garden of ,italy translated into the soil of one of our ,southern ,counties4 ,whether or not it is in itself the kind of gardening best suited for ,england may be open to doubt1 but at least it is the work of a man who knew what he wanted and did it as well as it could possibly be done4 ,throughout it bears evidence of the work of a master4 ,there is no doubt1 no ambiguity as to what is intended4 ,the strong will orders1 the docile stone and vegetation obey4 ,it is full-dress gardening1 stately1 princely1 full of dignity2 gardening that has the courtly sentiment4 ,it seems to demand that the actual working of it should be kept out of sight4 ,whereas in a homely garden it is pleasant to see people at work1 and their tools and implements ready to their hands1 here there must be no visible intrusion of wheelbarrow or shirt-sleeved labour4 ,possibly the sentiment of a garden for state alone was the more gratifying to its owner because of the near neighbourhood of miles upon miles of wild1 free forest2 land of the same character being inclosed within the property2 the tall trees showing above the outer hedges and playing to the lightest airs of wind in an almost strange contrast to the inflexible green boundaries of the ordered garden4 ,the danger that awaits such a garden1 now just coming to its early prime1 is that the careful hand should be relaxed4 ,it is an heritage that carries with it much responsibility2 moreover1 it would be ruined by the addition of any commonplace gardening4 ,winter and summer it is nearly complete in itself2 only in summer flowers show as brilliant jewels in its marble vases and in its one restricted parterre of box-edged beds4 ,it is a place whose design must always dominate the personal wishes1 should they desire other expression1 of the succeeding owners4 ,the borders of hardy and half-hardy plants1 that in nine gardens out of ten present the most obvious ways of enjoying the beauty of flowers1 are here out of place4 ,in some rare cases it might not be impossible to introduce some beautiful climbing plant or plant of other habit1 that would be in right harmony with the design1 but it should only be attempted by an artist who has such knowledge of1 and sympathy with1 refined architecture as will be sure to guide him aright1 and such a consummate knowledge of plants as will at once present to his mind the identity of the only possible plants that could so be used4 ,any mistaken choice or introduction of unsuitable plants would grievously mar the design and would introduce an element of jarring incongruity such as might easily be debased into vulgarity4 ,there is no reason why such other gardening may not be rightly done even at ,brockenhurst1 but it should not encroach upon or be mixed up with an ,italian design4 ,its place would be in quite another portion of the grounds4 ,illustration3 ,,brockenhurst3 ,,the ,,garden ,,gate ,,from ,,the ,,picture ,,in ,,the ,,possession ,,of ,,miss ,,radcliffe ,,hollyhocks ,,at ,,blyborough ,the climate of ,north ,lincolnshire is by no means one of the most favourable of our islands1 but the good gardener accepts the conditions of the place1 faces the obstacles1 fights the difficulties1 and conquers4 ,here is a large walled garden1 originally all kitchen garden2 the length equal to twice the breadth1 divided in the middle to form two squares4 ,it is further subdivided in the usual manner with walks parallel to the walls1 some ten feet away from them1 and other walks across and across each square4 ,the paths are box-edged and bordered on each side with fine groups of hardy flowers1 such as the ,hollyhocks and other flowers in the picture4 ,the time is ,august1 and these grand flowers are at their fullest bloom4 ,they are the best type of ,hollyhock too1 with the wide outer petal1 and the middle of the flower not too tightly packed4 ,hollyhocks have so long been favourite flowers--and1 indeed1 what would our late summer and autumn gardens be without them8--that they are among those that have received the special attention of raisers1 and have become what are known as florists' flowers4 ,but the florists' notions do not always make for the highest kind of beauty4 ,they are apt to favour forms that one cannot but think have for their aim1 in many cases1 an ideal that is a false and unworthy one4 ,in the case of the ,hollyhock1 according to the florist's standard of beauty and correct form1 the wide outer petal is not to be allowed2 the flower must be very tight and very round4 ,happily we need not all be florists of this narrow school1 and we are at liberty to try for the very highest and truest beauty in our flowers1 rather than for set rules and arbitrary points of such extremely doubtful value4 ,the loosely-folded inner petals of the loveliest ,hollyhocks invite a wonderful play and brilliancy of colour4 ,some of the colour is transmitted through the half-transparency of the petal's structure1 some is reflected from the neighbouring folds2 the light striking back and forth with infinitely beautiful trick and playful variation1 so that some inner regions of the heart of a rosy flower1 obeying the mysterious agencies of sunlight1 texture and local colour1 may tell upon the eye as pure scarlet2 while the wide outer petal1 in itself generally rather lighter in colour1 with its slightly waved surface and gently frilled edge1 plays the game of give and take with light and tint in quite other1 but always delightful1 ways4 ,then see how well the groups have been placed2 the rosy group leading to the fuller red1 with a distant sulphur-coloured gathering at the far end2 its tall spires of bloom shooting up and telling well against the distant tree masses above the wall4 ,and how pleasantly the colour of the rosy group is repeated in the ,phlox in the opposite border4 ,and what a capital group that is1 near the ,hollyhocks of that fine summer flower1 the double ,crown ,daisy 7,chrysanthemum coronarium71 with the bright glimpses of some more of it beyond4 ,then the ,pansies and ,erigerons give a mellowing of grey-lilac that helps the brighter colours1 and is not overdone4 ,the large fruit-tree has too spreading a shade to allow of much actual bloom immediately beneath it1 so that here is a patch of ,butcher's ,broom1 a shade-loving plant4 ,beyond1 out in the sunlight again1 is the fine herbaceous ,clematis 7,c4 recta71 whose excellent qualities entitle it to a much more frequent use in gardens4 ,the flower-borders are so full and luxuriant that they completely hide the vegetable quarters within1 for the garden is still a kitchen garden as to its main inner spaces4 ,these masses of good flowers are the work of the ,misses ,freeling2 they are ardent gardeners1 sparing themselves no labour or trouble2 to their care and fine perception of the best use of flowers the beauty and interest of these fine borders are entirely due4 ,indeed1 this garden is a striking instance ,illustration3 ,,blyborough3 ,,hollyhocks ,,from ,,the ,,picture ,,in ,,the ,,possession ,,of ,,mr4 ,c4 ,e4 ,,freeling of the extreme value of personal effort combined with knowledge and good taste4 ,these qualities may operate in different gardens in a hundred varying ways1 but where they exist there will be1 in some form or other1 a delightful garden4 ,endless are the possibilities of beautiful combinations of flowers2 just as endless is their power of giving happiness and the very purest of human delight4 ,so also the special interest of different gardens that are personally directed by owners of knowledge and fine taste would seem to be endless too1 for each will impress upon it some visible issue of his own perception or discernment of beauty4 ,about the house and lawns are other beds and borders of herbaceous flowers of good grouping and fine growth2 conspicuous among them is that excellent flower ,campanula pyramidalis1 splendidly grown4 ,though ,blyborough is in a cold district1 it has the advantage of lying well sheltered below a sharply-rising ridge of higher land4 ,,great ,,tangley ,,manor ,forty years ago1 lying lost up a narrow lane that joined a track across a wide green common1 this ancient timber-built manor-house could scarcely have been found but by some one who knew the country and its by-ways well4 ,even when quite near1 it had to be searched for1 so much was it hidden away behind ricks and farm-buildings2 with the closer overgrowth of old fruit trees1 wild thorns and elders1 and the tangled wastes of vegetation that had invaded the outskirts of the neglected1 or at any rate very roughly-kept1 garden of the farm-house1 which purpose it then served4 ,what had been the moat could hardly be traced as a continuous water-course2 the banks were broken down and over-grown1 water stood in pools here and there2 tall grass1 tussocks of sedge and the rank weeds that thrive in marshy places had it all to themselves4 ,but the place was beautiful1 for all the neglect and disorder1 and to the mind of a young girl that already harboured some appreciative perception of the value of the fine old country buildings1 and whose home lay in a valley only three miles away1 ,tangley was one of the places within an easy ride that could best minister to that vague unreasoning delight1 so gladly absorbed and so keenly enjoyed by an eager and still almost childish imagination4 ,for the mysteries of romantic legend and old tale still clung about the place--stories of an even more ancient dwelling than this one of the sixteenth century4 ,there was always a ready welcome from the kindly farmer's wife1 and complete freedom to roam about2 the pony was accommodated in a cowstall1 and many happy summer hours were spent in the delightful ,illustration3 ,,the ,,pergola1 ,,great ,,tangley ,,from ,,the ,,picture ,,in ,,the ,,possession ,,of ,,mr4 ,,wickham ,,flower wilderness1 with its jewel of a beautifully-wrought timbered dwelling that had already stood for three hundred years4 ,in later days1 when the whole of the ,grantley property in the district was sold1 ,great ,tangley came into the market4 ,happily1 it fell into the best of hands1 those of ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,wickham ,flower1 and could not have been better dealt with in the way of necessary restoration and judicious addition4 ,the moat is now a clear moat again2 and good modern gardening1 that joins hands so happily with such a beautiful old building1 surrounds it on all sides4 ,there was no flower garden when the old place was taken in hand2 the only things worth preserving being some of the old orchard trees within the moat to the west4 ,a space in front of the house1 on its southward face1 inclosed by loop-holed walls of considerable thickness1 was probably the ancient garden1 and has now returned to its former use4 ,the modern garden extends over several acres to the east and south beyond the moat4 ,the moat is fed by a long-shaped pond near its south-eastern angle4 ,the water margin is now a paradise for flower-lovers1 with its masses of water ,irises and many other beautiful aquatic and sub-aquatic plants2 while ,water-,lilies1 and1 surprising to many1 great groups rising strongly from the water of the white ,calla1 commonly called ,arum ,lily1 give the pond a quite unusual interest4 ,to the left is an admirable bog-garden with many a good damp-loving plant1 and1 best of all in their flowering time1 some glorious clumps of the ,moccasin ,flower 7,cypripedium spectabile71 largest1 brightest1 and most beautiful of hardy orchids4 ,those who have had the luck to see this grand plant at ,tangley1 two feet high and a mass of bloom1 can understand the admiration of others who have met with it in its ,north ,american home1 and their description of how surprisingly beautiful it is when seen rising1 with its large rose and white flowers1 and fresh green pleated leaves1 from the pools of black peaty mud of the forest openings4 ,but it seems scarcely possible that it can be finer in its own home than it is in this good garden4 ,beyond the bog-garden1 on drier ground1 is a garden of heaths1 and1 returning by the pathway on the other side of the pond1 is the kitchen garden1 a strip of pleasure-ground being reserved between it and the pond4 ,here is the subject of the picture4 ,the pergola runs parallel with the pond1 which1 with the house and inclosed garden1 are to the spectator's right4 ,to the left1 before the vegetable quarters begin1 is a capital rock-garden of the best and simplest form--just one long dell1 whose sides are set with rocks of the local ,bargate stone and large sheets of creeping and rock-loving plants4 ,taller green growths of shrubby character shut it off from other portions of the grounds4 ,the picture speaks for itself4 ,it tells of the right appreciation of the use of the good autumn flowers1 in masses large enough to show what the flowers will do for us at their best1 but not so large as to become wearisome or monotonous4 ,roses1 ,vines and ,ivies cover the pergola1 making a grateful shade in summer4 ,each open space to the right gives a picture of water and water-plants with garden ground beyond1 and1 looking a little forward1 the picture is varied by the background of roof-mass with a glimpse of the timbered gables of the old house4 ,the new garden is growing mature4 ,the ,yews that stand like gate-towers flanking the entrance of the green covered way1 have grown to their allotted height1 doing their duty also as quiet background to the autumnal flower-masses4 ,in the border to the left are ,michaelmas ,daisies1 ,french ,marigolds1 and a lower growth of ,stocks2 to the right is a dominating mass of the great white ,pyrethrum1 grouped with pink ,japan ,anemone1 ,veronicas and yellow ,snapdragon4 ,japan ,anemones1 both pink and white1 are things of uncertain growth in many gardens of drier soil1 but here1 in the rich alluvial loam of a valley level1 they attain their fullest growth and beauty4 ,illustration3 ,,bulwick3 ,,autumn ,,from ,,the ,,picture ,,in ,,the ,,possession ,,of ,,lord ,,henry ,,grosvenor ,,bulwick ,,hall ,bulwick ,hall1 in ,northamptonshire1 the home of the ,tryon family1 but1 when the pictures were painted1 in the occupation of ,lord and ,lady ,henry ,grosvenor1 is a roomy1 comfortable stone building of the seventeenth century4 ,the long1 low1 rather plain-looking house of two stories only1 is entered in an original manner by a doorway in the middle of a stone passage1 at right angles to the building1 and connecting it with a garden house4 ,the careful classical design and balustraded parapet of the outer wall of this entrance1 and the repetition of the same1 only with arched openings1 to the garden side1 scarcely prepare one for the unadorned house-front2 but the whole is full of a quiet1 simple dignity that is extremely restful and pleasing4 ,other surprises of the same character await one in further portions of the garden4 ,passing straight through the entrance gate there is a quiet space of grass2 a level court with flagged paths1 bounded on the north by the house and on the east and west by the arcade and the wall of the kitchen garden4 ,the ground falls slightly southward1 and the fourth side leads down to the next level by grass slopes and a flight of curved steps widening below4 ,trees and shrubs are against the continuing walls to right and left1 and beds and herbaceous borders are upon the grassy space4 ,the wide green walk1 between long borders of hardy plants1 leading forward from the foot of the steps1 reaches a flower-bordered terrace wall1 and passes through it by a stone landing to steps to right and left on its further side4 ,a few steps descend in twin flights to other landings1 from which a fresh flight on each side reaches the lowest garden level1 some nine feet below the last4 ,the whole of this progression1 with its pleasant variety of surface treatment and means of descent1 is in one direct line from a garden door in the middle of the house front4 ,the lowest flight of steps1 the subject of the first picture1 has a simple but excellent wrought-iron railing1 of that refined character common to the time of its making4 ,it was draped1 perhaps rather over-draped when the picture was painted1 with a glory of ,virginia ,creeper in fullest gorgeousness of autumn colouring4 ,this question of the degree to which it is desirable to allow climbing plants to cover architectural forms1 is one that should be always carefully considered4 ,bad architecture abounds throughout the country1 and free-growing plants often play an entirely beneficent part in concealing its mean or vulgar or otherwise unsightly character4 ,but where architectural design is good and pure1 as it is at ,bulwick1 care should be taken in order to prevent its being unduly covered4 ,old brick chimney-stacks of great beauty are often smothered with ,ivy1 and the same insidious native has obliterated many a beautiful gate-pier and panelled wall4 ,but the worst offender in modern days has been the far-spreading ,ampelopsis ,veitchii1 useful for the covering of mean or featureless buildings1 but grievously and mischievously out of place when1 for instance1 ramping unchecked over the old brickwork of ,wolsey's ,palace at ,hampton ,court4 ,some may say that it is easily pulled off2 but this is not so1 for it leaves behind1 tightly clinging to the old brick surface1 the dried-up sucker and its tentacle1 desiccated to a consistency like iron wire4 ,these are impossible to detach without abrasion of surface1 while1 if left1 they show upon the brick as a scurfy eruption1 as disfiguring to the wall-face as are the scars of smallpox on a human countenance4 ,the iron-railed steps in the picture come down upon a grassy space rather near its end4 ,behind the spectator it stretches away for quite four times the length seen in the picture4 ,it is bounded on the side opposite the steps by a long rectangular fish-pond4 ,the whole length of this is not seen1 for the grass walk narrows and passes between old yew hedges1 one on the side of the pond1 the other backed by some other trees against the kitchen garden wall1 which is a prolongation of the terrace wall in the picture4 ,the garden is still beautifully kept1 but owes much of its wealth of ,illustration3 ,,bulwick3 ,,the ,,gateway ,,from ,,the ,,picture ,,in ,,the ,,possession ,,of ,,lord ,,henry ,,grosvenor hardy flowers to the planting of ,lady ,henry ,grosvenor1 whose fine taste and great love of flowers made it in her day one of the best gardens of hardy plants1 and whose untimely death1 in the very prime of life1 was almost as much deplored by the best of the horticultural amateurs who only knew her by reputation1 but were aware of her good work in gardening1 as by her wide circle of personal friends4 ,she had a special love for the flag-leaved ,irises1 and used them with very fine effect4 ,the borders that show to right and left of the steps had them in large groups1 and were masses of bloom in ,june2 other plants1 placed behind and between1 succeeding them later4 ,lady ,henry was one of the first amateurs to perceive the value of planting in this large way1 and1 as she had ample spaces to deal with1 the effects she produced were very fine1 and must have been helpful in influencing horticultural taste in a right direction4 ,another important portion of the garden at ,bulwick is a long double flower-border backed by holly hedges1 that runs through the whole middle length of the kitchen garden4 ,it is in a straight line with the flagged walk that passes westward across the green court next to the house1 and parallel with its garden front4 ,the flagged path stops at the gate-piers in the second picture1 a grass path following upon the same line and passing just behind the shaded seat4 ,the holly hedges that back the borders are old and solid4 ,their top line1 shaped like a flat-pitched roof1 is ornamented at intervals with mushroom-shaped finials1 each upon its stalk of holly stem4 ,the grass walk and double border pass right across the kitchen garden in the line of its longest axis4 ,at the furthest end there is another pair of the same handsome gate-piers with a beautiful wrought-iron gate1 leading into the park4 ,the park is handsomely timbered1 and in early summer is especially delightful from the great number of fine old hawthorns4 ,in ,lady ,henry's time several borders in the kitchen garden were made bright with annuals and other flowers4 ,such borders are very commonly used for reserve purposes1 such as the provision of flowers for cutting1 with one main double border for ornament alone4 ,but where gardens are being laid out from the beginning1 such a plan as this at ,bulwick1 of a grass path with flower borders and a screening hedge at the back1 passing through a kitchen garden1 is an excellent one1 greatly enlarging the length of view of the pleasure garden1 while occupying only a relatively small area4 ,it is also well in planning a garden to provide a reserve space for cutting alone1 of beds four feet1 and paths two feet wide1 and of any length suitable for the supply required4 ,this has the advantage of leaving the kitchen garden unencumbered with any flower-gardening1 and therefore more easy to work4 ,such a long-shaped garden is also capable of various ways of treatment as to its edge1 which need not necessarily be an unbroken line4 ,the length of the border in question is perhaps a little too great4 ,it might be better1 while keeping the effect of a quiet line1 looking from end to end1 to have swung the edge of the border back in a segment of a circle to a little more than half its depth1 every few yards1 in such a proportion as a plan to scale would show to be right2 or to have treated it in some one of the many possible ways of accentuation where the cross paths occur that divide it into three lengths4 ,the thinking out of these details according to the conditions of the site1 the combining of them into designs that shall add to its beauty1 and the actual working of them1 the mind meanwhile picturing the effect in advance--these are some of the most interesting and enlivening of the many kinds of happiness that a garden gives4 ,be it large or small there is always scope for inventive ability2 either for the bettering of something or for the casting of some detail into a more desirable form4 ,every year brings some new need2 in supplying it fresh experience is gained1 and with this an increasing power of adapting simple means to such ends as may be easily devised to the advancement of the garden's beauty4 ,,bramham ,the gardens at ,bramham in ,yorkshire1 laid out and built near the end of the seventeenth century1 are probably the best preserved in ,england or the grounds that were designed at that time under ,french influence4 ,wrest in ,bedfordshire1 and ,melbourne in ,derbyshire of which some pictures will follow1 are also gardens of purely ,french character4 ,it is extremely interesting to compare these gardens with those of a more distinctly ,italian feeling4 ,many features they have in common2 architectural structure and ornament1 close-clipped evergreen hedges inclosing groves of free-growing trees2 parterres1 pools and fountains4 ,yet the treatment was distinctly different1 and1 though not easy to define in words1 is at once recognised by the eye4 ,for one thing the ,french school1 shown in its extremest form by the gardens of ,versailles1 dealt with much larger and more level spaces4 ,the gardens of ,italian villas1 whether of the ,roman ,empire or of the ,renaissance1 were for the most part in hilly places2 pleasant for summer coolness4 ,this naturally led to much building of balustraded terraces and flights of steps1 and of parterres whose width was limited to that of the level that could conveniently be obtained4 ,whereas in ,france1 and in ,england especially1 where the country house is the home for all the year1 the greater number of large places have land about them that is more or less level and that can be taken in to any extent4 ,at ,bramham the changes of level are not considerable1 but enough to furnish the designer with motives for the details of his plan4 ,the house1 of about the same date as the garden1 was internally destroyed by fire in the last century4 ,the well-built stone walls still stand1 but the building has never been restored4 ,the stables and kennels are still in use1 but the owner1 ,captain ,lane-,fox1 lives in another house on the outskirts of the park4 ,the design of the gardens has often been attributed to ,le ,ntre1 and is undoubtedly the work of his school1 but there is nothing to prove that the great ,french master was ever in ,england4 ,the way to the house is through a large1 well-timbered park4 ,handsome gate-piers with stone-wrought armorial ornament lead into a forecourt stretching wide to right and left4 ,a double curved stairway ascends to the main door4 ,to the left of the house is an entrance to the garden through a colonnade4 ,next to the garden front of the house1 which faces south-west1 is a broad gravelled terrace4 ,the ground rises away from the house by a gently sloping lawn1 but in the midmost space is a feature that is frequent in the ,french gardening of the time1 though unusual in ,england3 a long theatre-shaped extent of grass4 ,there is a stone sundial standing on two wide steps near the house1 and a gradually heightened retaining wall following the rise of the ground4 ,not more than two feet high where it begins below1 and there accentuated on either side by a noble stone plinth and massive urn1 the retaining wall1 itself a handsome object of bold masonry1 follows a straight line for some distance1 and then swings round in a segmental curve to meet the equal wall on the further side2 thus inclosing a space of level sward4 ,midway in the curve1 where the wall is some twelve feet high1 there appear to have been niches in the masonry1 possibly for fountains4 ,the wide gravel walk next the house-front falls a little as it passes to the left1 divides in two and continues by an upward slope on either side of a wall-fountain in a small inclosure formed by the retaining walls of the rising paths4 ,the path then passes all round the large rectangular pool1 one end of which forms the subject of the picture4 ,this shows well the graceful ease and1 one may say1 the courteous suavity1 that is the foremost character of this beautiful kind of ,french designing4 ,the high level of the water in the pool1 so necessary for good effect1 is a detail that is often overlooked in ,english gardens4 ,nothing looks worse than a height of bare wall in a pool or fountain basin1 and nothing is more commonly seen in our gardens4 ,the low stone kerb bordering the pool is broken at intervals with only slightly rising pedestals for ,illustration3 ,,the ,,pool1 ,,bramham ,,from ,,the ,,picture ,,in ,,the ,,possession ,,of ,,sir ,,james ,,whitehead1 ,,bart4 flower vases4 ,tubs of ,agapanthus stand on the projections by the side of the piers that flank the small fountain basin1 whose overflow falls into the pool4 ,all this portion of the garden has a background of yew hedges inclosing large trees4 ,from this pool the ground rises to another2 also of rectangular form1 but with an arm to the right1 in the line of the cross axis1 forming a ,t-shape4 ,between the two1 on a path always rising by occasional flights of steps1 is a summer-house4 ,the path swings round it in a circle4 ,to right and left are flower-beds and roses2 outside these1 also on a curved line1 are ranged a series of gracefully sculptured amorini1 bearing aloft vases of flowers4 ,the path soon reaches the upper pool1 again passing all round it4 ,at the point furthest to the right1 at the end of the projecting arm1 and looking along the cross axis to where1 beyond the pool1 the ground again rises1 is a handsome wall fountain1 with steps to right and left1 inclosed by panelled walls4 ,all this garden of pool and fountain1 easy way of step and gravel1 and ornament of flower and sculpture1 is bounded by the massive walls of yew1 and all beyond is sheltering quietude of ancient trees4 ,from several points around the highest pool1 as well as from the rising lawns to right and left of the theatre1 straight grass-edged paths1 bordered by clipped hornbeam1 lead through the heavily wooded ground4 ,from distant points the main walks converge2 and here1 in a circular green-walled court1 stands a tall pedestal bearing a handsome stone vase4 ,the prospects down the alleys are variously ended2 some by pillared temples set in green niches1 some by the open park-landscape2 some by further depths of woodland4 ,it is all easy and gracious1 but full of dignity--courtly--palatial2 bringing to mind the stately bearing and refined courtesy of manner of our ancestors of two centuries ago4 ,it is good to know that some of these gardens and disciplined woodlands still exist in our own land and in ,france2 these quiet bosquets de verdure of those far-away days4 ,though the scale on which they were planned is only suitable for the largest houses and for wealthy owners who can command lavish employment of labour1 yet we cannot but admire the genius of those garden artists of ,france who designed so boldly and yet so gracefully1 and who have left us such admirable records of their abounding ability4 ,,melbourne ,the gardens of ,melbourne ,hall in ,derbyshire1 the property of ,earl ,cowper1 but occupied for the last five-and-twenty years by ,mr4 ,w4 ,d4 ,fane1 though perhaps less well preserved than those of ,bramham1 still show the design of ,henry ,wise in the early years of the eighteenth century4 ,there had formerly been an older garden4 ,wise's plan shows how completely the ,french ideas had been adopted in ,england1 for here again are the handsome pools and fountains1 the garden thick-hedged with yew1 and the bosquet with its straight paths1 green-walled1 leading to a large fountain-centred circle in the thickest of the grove4 ,the whole space occupied by the house and grounds is not of great extent2 it is irregular and even awkward in shape1 and has roads on two sides4 ,the treatment is extremely ingenious2 indeed1 it is doubtful whether any other plan that could have been devised would have made so much of the space or could have so cleverly concealed the limits4 ,the garden lies out forward of the house in a long parallelogram4 ,next to the house-front is the usual wide gravel terrace1 from which paths1 inclosing spaces of lawn1 lead down to a lower level4 ,the whole lawn1 with its accompanying paths1 slopes downward2 where a steeper slope occurs above and below1 the path becomes a flight of steps4 ,the lower level is intersected by paths4 ,as they converge1 they swing round the pedestal of the ,flying ,mercury that stands upon a circular grass-plot4 ,the main path soon reaches the edge of the handsome pool known as the ,great ,water4 ,it is four-sided1 with a ,illustration3 ,,melbourne ,,from ,,the ,,picture ,,in ,,the ,,possession ,,of ,,mr4 ,w4 ,v4 ,r4 ,,fane further semi-circular bay4 ,a wide grass verge and turf slope form the edging4 ,broad walks pass all round1 with pleasant views at various points into the cool and shaded woodland alleys4 ,near the further angles of the pool's green court1 the great yew hedge1 which bounds the whole garden1 swings back into shallow segmental niches to take curved stone seats4 ,just beyond1 on the return angle1 the view from the path1 here passing the right side of the pool1 is ended by the lead figure of ,perseus1 of heroic size1 also standing in a niche cut in the yews4 ,the companion statue of ,andromeda occupies the corresponding niche on the other side4 ,after passing the ,mercury1 the view across the pool is met by a curious piece of wrought-iron work in the form of a high1 dome-topped summer-house2 a masterpiece of ,jean ,tijou4 ,it is entered by steps1 and leads1 through the trees1 to higher ground beyond4 ,right and left of the middle and upper portions of the garden the great yew hedges are double2 planted in parallel lines1 with an open space between4 ,scotch ,firs1 now very old and towering high aloft1 give great character to this part of the garden4 ,in one place there are three parallel hedges of yew1 the two outermost forming the 8,dark ,arbour10 a tunnel of yew a hundred yards in length1 only broken near its lower end1 where a small fountain marks the crossing of a broad path4 ,all the lower portion of the garden is surrounded by a dense grove of trees1 in which other tall ,scotch ,firs stand out conspicuously4 ,its most extensive area is on the right side of the ,great ,water1 where several grassy paths1 bounded by clipped hedges of yew and lime1 radiate from a large circular space where there is a wide1 round basin and fountain-jet4 ,looking along one of the pleasant green ways1 other jets are seen springing from further fountains where more paths cross4 ,the ends of some of the walks are finished with alcoves or arbours4 ,one of them1 that runs diagonally from the right-hand side of the large pool1 crosses the great wood fountain1 and passing on some distance further ends at a magnificent lead urn on a massive pedestal4 ,this is also the terminal point of view of another of the longest of the green paths4 ,the water that supplies the pools and fountains comes from a wild pond1 the home of many wild-fowl1 that is on a higher level1 outside the grounds and beyond one of the roads that bounds them4 ,a stream from the pond meanders through the wooded ground1 and is conducted by a culvert to the large pool2 the overflow passing out on the opposite side in the same way4 ,important in the garden's decoration are the unusual number of lead statues and other accessories1 of excellent design4 ,the upper lawn has two kneeling figures of negro or ,indian type1 bearing on their heads1 partly supported by their hands1 circular tables with moulded edges that carry an urn-finial4 ,the central ornament of the next level is the ,flying ,mercury1 after ,john of ,bologna4 ,referring to this example1 ,messrs4 ,blomfield and ,inigo ,thomas tell us in 8,the ,formal ,garden in ,england0 that 8lead statues very easily lose their centre of gravity40 ,this is exemplified by the ,mercury at ,melbourne1 which has already come over to a degree which makes its evident want of balance distressing to the eye of the beholder1 and forebodes its eventual downfall4 ,lead as a material for such use in gardens is much more suitable to the ,english climate than marble4 ,it acquires a beautiful silvery colouring with age1 whereas marble becomes disfigured with blackish weather-streaks4 ,during the eighteenth century the art of lead casting came to great perfection in ,england4 ,some good models came from ,italy2 the original of the kneeling slave at ,melbourne is considered to have come from there4 ,others were brought from ,france4 ,the inspiration1 if not the actual designs or moulds1 of the many charming figures of amorini in these gardens must have been purely ,french4 ,the pictures show how they were used4 ,they stand on pedestals at several of the points of departure of the green glades4 ,in fountain basins they form jets2 the little figure appearing to blow the water through a conch-shell4 ,they are also shown1 sometimes singly1 sometimes in pairs1 disputing1 wrestling or carrying a cornucopia of flowers4 ,one little fellow1 alone on his pedestal1 is whittling his bow with a tool like a wheelwright's draw-knife4 ,all are charming and graceful4 ,they are probably more beautiful now than of old1 when they were painted and sanded to look like stone4 ,illustration3 ,,melbourne3 ,,amorini ,,from ,,the ,,picture ,,in ,,the ,,possession ,,of ,,mr4 ,j4 ,w4 ,,ford ,there were several lead foundries in ,london early in the eighteenth century for the making of these garden ornaments4 ,the foremost was that of ,john ,van ,nost4 ,mr4 ,lethaby in his book on ,leadwork tells us that this ,dutch sculptor came to ,england with ,king ,william ,,iii42 that his business was taken in #agci by ,mr4 ,john ,cheere1 who served his time with his brother1 ,sir ,h4 ,cheere1 who made several of the ,abbey monuments4 ,the kneeling slave1 bearing either a vase1 as at ,melbourne1 or a sundial as in the ,temple ,gardens in ,london1 and in other pleasure grounds in different parts of the country1 was apparently a favourite subject4 ,the figure1 not always from the same mould in the various examples1 but always showing good design1 was evidently of ,italian origin4 ,towards the end of the century1 designs for lead figures became much debased1 and such subjects as people sitting round a table1 painted like life1 could not possibly have served any decorative purpose4 ,the natural colour of lead is so good that no painting can improve it4 ,in ,tudor days it was often gilt1 a much more permissible treatment4 ,in the old days there was probably a parterre at ,melbourne1 now no longer existing4 ,the figures of kneeling slaves were possibly the centre ornaments of its two divisions1 on what is now the upper lawn4 ,this portion of the garden is rather liberally1 and perhaps somewhat injudiciously1 planted with a mixture of conifers1 put in probably thirty to forty years ago1 when the remains of good old garden designs were not so reverently treated1 nor their value so well understood1 as now4 ,some of this planting has even strayed to the banks of the ,great ,water4 ,the pleasure ground of ,melbourne is a precious relic of the past1 and1 even though the ill effects of the modern planting of various conifers may be less generally conspicuous there than it is in many places1 yet it is distinctly an intrusion4 ,the tall trees inclosed by massive yew hedges1 the pools and fountains1 the statues and other sculptured ornaments1 all recall1 with their special character of garden treatment1 the times and incidents that ,watteau loved to paint4 ,such a picture as his ,bosquet de ,bacchus1 so well known by the engraving1 with its gaily-dressed groups of young men and maidens seated in the grassy shade and making the music of their lutes and voices accompany that of the fountains' waters1 might have been painted at ,melbourne4 ,for here are the same wide1 green-walled alleys1 the pools1 the fountains and the ornamental details of the great gardens of courtly ,france of two hundred years ago acclimatised on ,english soil2 not in the dreary vastness of ,versailles1 but tamed to our climate's needs and on a scale attuned to the more moderate dimensions of a reasonable human dwelling4 ,,berkeley ,,castle ,this venerable pile1 one of the oldest continuously-inhabited houses in ,england1 stands upon a knoll of rising ground at the southern end of the tract of rich alluvial land known as the ,vale of ,berkeley1 that stretches away for ten miles or more north-eastward in the direction of ,gloucester4 ,within two miles to the west is the ,severn1 already a mile across and rapidly widening to its estuary4 ,on the side of the higher ground the town creeps up to the shelter of the ,castle and the grand old church1 on the lower is a level stretch of water-meadow4 ,seen from the meadows some half-mile away it looks like some great fortress roughly hewn out of natural rock4 ,nature would seem to have taken back to herself the masses of stone reared by man seven and a half centuries ago4 ,the giant walls and mighty buttresses look as if they had been carved by wind and weather out of some solid rock-mass1 rather than as if wrought by human handiwork4 ,but when1 in the middle of the twelfth century1 in the earliest days of the reign of ,henry ,plantagenet1 the castle was built by ,robert1 son of ,harding1 he built it with outer walls ten to fifteen feet thick1 without definite plan as it would seem1 but1 as the work went on1 suiting the building to the shape of the hillock and to the existing demands of defensive warfare4 ,when the day is coming to its close1 and the light becomes a little dim1 and thin mist-films rise level from the meadows1 it might be an enchanted castle2 for in some tricks of evening light it cheats the eye into the semblance of something ethereal--sublimate--without substance--as if it were some passing mirage1 built up for the moment of towering masses of pearly vapour4 ,so does an ancient building come back into sympathy with earth and cloud4 ,its stones are carved and fretted by the wind and rain of centuries2 tiny mosses have grown in their cavities2 the decay of these has formed mould which has spread into every joint and fissure4 ,here grasses and many kinds of wild plants have found a home1 until1 viewed from near at hand1 the mighty walls and their sustaining buttresses are seen to be shaggy with vegetation4 ,these immense buttresses on the meadow side come down to a walled terrace2 their foundations doubtless far below the visible base4 ,the terrace level is some twelve feet above the grassy space below4 ,the grass then slopes easily away for a distance of a few hundred feet to the alluvial flat of the actual meadow-land4 ,large fig-trees grow at the foot of the wall1 rising a few feet above the parapet of the terrace1 from which the fruit is conveniently gathered4 ,it is in the deep1 well-sheltered bays between the feet of the giant buttresses that the most interesting of the modern flower gardening at ,berkeley is done4 ,white ,lilies grow like weeds in the rich red loam1 and there are fine groups of many of the best hardy plants and shrubby things1 gathered together and well placed by the late ,georgina ,lady ,fitzhardinge1 a true lover of good flowers and a woman of sound instinct and well-balanced taste respecting things beautiful both indoors and out4 ,the chief relic of the older gardening at ,berkeley is the remains of the yew hedge that inclosed the bowling-green on three sides2 the fourth side having for its boundary the high retaining wall that supports the entrance road beyond the outer gate4 ,the yews1 still clipped into bold rounded forms1 may have formed a trim hedge in ,tudor days1 and the level space of turf1 which is reached from the terrace by a flight of downward steps that passes under an arch of the old yews1 lies cool and sheltered from the westering sun by the stout bulwark of their ancient shade4 ,the yew arch in the picture shows where the terrace level descends to the bowling-green4 ,the great buttresses of the main castle wall are behind the spectator4 ,a bowery ,clematis is in full bloom over the steps ,illustration3 ,,the ,,lower ,,terrace1 ,,berkeley ,,castle ,,from ,,the ,,picture ,,in ,,the ,,possession ,,of ,,mr4 ,,albert ,,wright to the shorter terrace above1 and near it1 on the lower level1 is one of the great pear-trees that have been trained upon the wall1 and that1 with others on the keep above1 brighten up the grim old building in spring-time4 ,campanula pyramidalis has been sown in chinks on the inner side of the low parapet1 and the picture shows how handsomely they have grown1 supported only by the slight nutriment they could find among the stones4 ,but1 like so many of the ,bell-flowers1 it delights in growing between the stones of a wall4 ,it should be remembered how well this fine plant will succeed in such a place1 as well as for general garden use4 ,it is so commonly grown as a pot-plant for autumn indoor decoration that its other uses would seem to be generally overlooked4 ,,summer ,,flowers ,the end of ,june and beginning of ,july--when the days are hot and long1 and the earth is warm1 and our summer flowers are in fullest mass and beauty--what a time of gladness it is1 and of that full and thankful delight that is the sure reward for the labour and careful thoughtfulness of the last autumn and winter1 and of the present earlier year6 ,the gardens where this reward comes in fullest measure are perhaps those modest ones of small compass where the owner is the only gardener1 at any rate as far as the flowering plants are concerned2 where he thinks out good schemes of plant companionship2 of suitable masses of form and stature2 of lovely colour-combination2 where1 after the day's work1 comes the leisurely stroll1 when every flower greets and is greeted as a close friend1 and all make willing offering of what they have of scent and loveliness in grateful return for the past loving labour4 ,this is the high tide time of the summer flowers4 ,it may be a week or two earlier or later according to the district1 for our small islands have climatic diversities such as can only be matched within the greater part of the whole area of middle ,europe1 though inclining to a temperate average4 ,for the ,myrtle of the ,mediterranean is quite hardy in the ,south and ,south-,west1 and ,ivy and ,gorse1 neither of which is hardy in ,north and ,middle ,germany1 are1 with but few exceptions1 at home everywhere4 ,given1 therefore1 a moderately good soil1 fair shelter and a true love of flowers1 there will be such goodly masses as those shown in the pictures4 ,advisedly is the word 8true0 lover of flowers used1 for it is now fashionable to like flowers1 and much of it is pretence only4 ,the test is to ascertain whether the person professing devotion to a garden works in ,illustration3 ,,orange ,,lilies ,,and ,,larkspur ,,from ,,the ,,picture ,,in ,,the ,,possession ,,of ,,mr4 ,,george ,c4 ,,bompas it personally1 or in any way likes it well enough to take a great deal of trouble about it4 ,to those who know1 the garden speaks of itself1 for it clearly reflects individual thought and influence2 and it is in these lesser gardens that1 with rare and happy exceptions1 the watchful care and happy invention of the beneficent individuality stamps itself upon the place4 ,there is nothing more interesting to one of these ardent and honest workers than to see the garden of another4 ,plants that had hitherto been neglected or overlooked are seen used in ways that had never been thought of1 and here will be found new combinations of colour that had never been attempted1 and methods of use and treatment differing in some manner to those that had been seen before4 ,there is nothing like the true gardening for training the eye and mind to the habit of close observation2 that precious acquirement that invests every country object both within and without the garden's bounds with a living interest1 and that insensibly builds up that bulk of mentally noted incident or circumstance that1 taken in and garnered by that wonderful storehouse the brain1 seems there to sort itself1 to distribute1 to arrange1 to classify1 to reduce into order1 in such a way as to increase the knowledge of something of which there was at first only a mental glimpse2 so to build up in orderly structure a well-founded knowledge of many of those things of every-day out-door life that adds so greatly to its present enjoyment and later usefulness4 ,so it comes about that some of us gardeners1 searching for ways of best displaying our flowers1 have observed that whereas it is best1 as a general rule1 to mass the warm colours 7reds and yellows7 rather together1 so it is best to treat the blues with contrasts1 either of direct complementary colour1 or at any rate with some kind of yellow1 or with clear white4 ,so that whereas it would be less pleasing to put scarlet flowers directly against bright blue1 and whereas flowers of purple colouring can be otherwise much more suitably treated1 the juxtaposition of the splendid blues of the perennial ,larkspurs with the rich colour of the orange ,herring ,lily 7,lilium croceum7 is a bold and grand assortment of colour of the most satisfactory effect4 ,this fine ,lily is one of those easiest to grow in most gardens4 ,the true flower-lovers1 as defined above1 take the trouble to find out which are the ,lilies that will suit their particular grounds2 for it is generally understood that the soil and conditions of any one garden are not likely to suit a large number of different kinds of these delightful plants4 ,four or five successful kinds are about the average1 and the owner is lucky if the superb ,white ,lily is among them4 ,but ,lilies are so beautiful1 so full of character1 so important among other flowers or in places almost by themselves1 that1 when it is known which are the right ones to grow1 those kinds should be well and rather largely used4 ,the garden in which these fine groups were painted has a good loamy soil1 such as1 with good gardening1 grows most hardy flowers well1 and therefore the grand ,white ,lily also thrives4 ,a few of the ,lilies like peat1 such as the great ,auratum1 and the two lovely pink ones1 ,krameri and ,rubellum4 ,but the garden of strong loam should never be without the ,white ,lily1 the ,orange ,lily1 and the ,tiger ,lily1 an autumn flower that seems to accommodate itself to any soil4 ,the ,orange ,lilies are grandly grown by the ,dutch nurserymen in many varieties1 under the names bulbiferum1 croceum1 and davuricum1 and their price is so moderate that it is no extravagance to buy them in fair quantity4 ,flowers of pure scarlet colour are so little common among hardy perennials that it seems a pity that the brilliant ,lilium chalcedonicum of ,greece1 ,palestine1 and ,asia ,minor1 and its ally ,l4 pomponium1 the ,scarlet ,martagon of ,northern ,italy1 should be so seldom seen in gardens4 ,they are some of the most easily grown1 and are not dear to buy4 ,another ,lily that should not be forgotten and is easy to grow in strong soils is the old ,purple ,martagon2 not a bright-coloured flower1 but so old a plant of ,english gardens that in some places it has escaped into the woods4 ,the white variety is very beautiful1 the colour an ivory white1 and the flower of a waxy texture4 ,they are the ,imperial ,martagon1 or ,great ,mountain ,lily of the old writers2 the scarlet pomponium1 of the same shaped flower1 was their ,martagon ,pompony4 ,the name 8pompony10 no doubt1 came from the tightly rolled-back petals giving the flower something of the look of the flattened melons of the ,cantaloupe kind1 with their deep longitudinal furrows2 the old name of these being 8,pompion40 ,another name for this ,lily was the ,red ,martagon of ,constantinople4 ,it is so named by that charming old writer ,parkinson1 who gives evidence of its ,illustration3 ,,white ,,lilies ,,and ,,yellow ,,monkshood ,,from ,,the ,,picture ,,in ,,the ,,possession ,,of ,,mr4 ,,herbert ,d4 ,,turner popularity and former frequency in gardens in these words3 8,the ,red ,martagon of ,constantinople is become so common everywhere1 and so well known to all lovers of these delights1 that ,i shal seem unto them to lose time1 to bestow many lines upon it2 yet because it is so fair a flower1 and was at the first so highly esteemed1 it deserveth his place and commendations1 howsoever increasing the plenty hath not made it dainty40 ,one more of the ,lilies1 indispensable for loveliness1 should be grown wherever it is found possible4 ,this is the ,nankeen ,lily 7,l4 testaceum74 ,it is a flower as mysterious as it is beautiful4 ,it is not found wild1 and is considered to be a hybrid between the ,white ,lily and the ,scarlet ,martagon4 ,whether it occurred naturally1 or whether it was the deliberate work of some unknown benefactor to horticulture1 will now never be known2 we can only be thankful that by some happy agency we have this ,lily of mixed parentage1 one of the most beautiful in cultivation4 ,the name ,nankeen ,lily nearly1 but not exactly1 describes its colour1 for a suspicion of pinkish warmth is added to the tender buff-colour usually so named4 ,many other ,lilies may be grown in different gardens1 but the tenderer kinds from ,eastern ,asia are not for the hardy flower-border1 and the vigorous ,american species have not yet been with us long enough to be familiar as flowers of old ,english gardens4 ,a ,july garden would not show its true character without some masses of the stately blue perennial ,larkspurs4 ,no garden plant has been more widely cultivated within the last fifty years1 and our nurserymen have produced a large range of beautiful varieties4 ,they have1 perhaps1 gone a little too far in some directions4 ,the desire to produce something that can be called a novelty often makes growers forget that what is wanted is the thing that is most beautiful1 rather than something merely exceptionally abnormal1 to be gaped at in wonderment for perhaps one season1 and above all for the purpose of being blazoned forth in the trade list4 ,the true points to look for in these grand flowers are pure colour1 whether light1 medium or dark1 fine stature and a well-filled but not overcrowded spike4 ,there are some pretty double flowers1 where the individual bloom loses its normal shape and becomes flattened1 but the single is the truer form4 ,they are so easily raised from seed that good varieties may be grown at home1 when1 if space may be allowed for a line of seedlings in the trial-ground1 it is pleasant to watch what they will bring forth4 ,such a good old kind as the one named 8,cantab0 is a capital seed-bearer1 and will give many handsome plants4 ,they must be carefully observed at flowering time1 and any of poor or weedy habit in their bloom thrown away4 ,some will probably have interrupted spikes1 that is to say1 the spike will have some flowers below and then a bare interval1 with more flowers above4 ,this is a fault that should not be tolerated4 ,the ,monkshoods 7,aconitum7 are related to the ,larkspurs 7,delphinium72 indeed1 it is a common thing to hear them confused and the name of one used for the other4 ,it is easy to understand how this may be1 for the leaves are much alike in shape1 and both genera bear hooded flowers on tall spikes1 mostly of blue and purple colours4 ,for ordinary garden knowledge it may be remembered that ,monkshood has a smooth leaf and that the colour is a purplish blue1 the bluest of those commonly in cultivation being the late-flowering ,aconitum japonicum1 and that the true pure blues are those of the perennial ,larkspurs1 whose leaves are downy4 ,the great ,delphiniums love a strong1 rich loamy soil1 rather damp than dry1 and plenty of nourishment4 ,there is a handsome ,monkshood with pale yellow flowers that is well used in the garden of the ,white ,lilies1 and most happily in their near companionship4 ,it is ,aconitum ,lycoctonum2 a plant of ,austria and the ,tyrol4 ,the widely-branched racemes of pale luminous bloom are thrown out in a graceful manner1 in pleasant contrast with the equally graceful but quite different upright carriage of the ,white ,lily4 ,the handsome dark green polished leaves of this fine ,aconite are also of much value2 persisting after the bloom is over till quite into the late autumn4 ,many of the charming members of the ,bell-flower family are fine things in the flower-border4 ,the best of all for general use is perhaps the well-known ,campanula persicifolia1 with its slender upright stems and its numbers of pretty bells1 both blue and white4 ,there are double ,illustration3 ,,purple ,,campanula ,,from ,,the ,,picture ,,in ,,the ,,possession ,,of ,,miss ,,beatrice ,,hall kinds1 but the doubling1 though in some cases it makes a good enough flower1 changes the true character so much that it is a ,bell-flower no longer2 and we think that a ,bell-flower should be a bell1 and should hang and swing1 and not be made into a flattened flower set rather tightly on an ungraceful1 thickened stem4 ,another beautiful ,campanula is ,c4 latifolia1 especially the white-flowered form4 ,it is not only a first-rate flower1 but it gives that pleasant impression of wholesome prosperity that is so good to see4 ,the tall1 pointed spike of large milk-white bells is of fine form1 and the distinctly-toothed leaves are in themselves handsome4 ,like all the ,bell-flowers1 the bloom is cut into six divisions--8lobes of the corolla10 botanists call them4 ,each division is sharply pointed and recurved or rolled back after the manner of many of the ,lilies4 ,this fine ,campanula is not only a good plant for the flower-border1 but also for half-shady places in quiet nooks where the garden joins woodland1 in the case of those fortunate gardens that have such a desirable frontier-land2 the sort of place where the instinct of the best kind of gardener will prompt him to plant1 or rather to sow1 the white ,foxglove1 and to plant the white ,french ,willow 7,epilobium74 ,nothing is more commonly seen in gardens than wide-spread neglected patches of ,campanula grandis4 ,the picture shows it better grown4 ,it spreads quickly and in many gardens flowers only sparingly1 because the tufts should have been oftener divided4 ,it is perhaps the most commonly grown of all1 and though1 as the picture shows1 it can be more worthily used than is ordinarily done1 it is by no means so pretty a plant as others of its family4 ,in good soils in our southern counties the tall and beautiful ,chimney ,campanula 7,c4 pyramidalis71 commonly grown in pots for the conservatory1 should be largely used in the borders2 it also loves a place in a wall joint4 ,it is a plant that we are so used to see in a pot that we are apt to forget its great merit in the open ground4 ,of the smaller ,bell-flowers1 ,c4 carpatica1 both blue and white1 is one of the very best of garden plants2 delightful from the moment when the first tuft of leaves comes out of the ground in spring till its full blooming time in middle summer4 ,no plant is better for the front edge of a border1 especially where the edge is of stone2 though it is just tall enough to show up well over a stout box-edging4 ,the biennial ,canterbury ,bells are well known and in every garden4 ,their only disadvantage is that they flower in the early summer and then have to be cleared away1 leaving gaps that may be difficult to fill4 ,the careful gardener1 foreseeing this1 arranges so that their near neighbours in the border shall be such as can be led or trained over to take their places4 ,it should not be forgotten that the ,canterbury ,bell is an admirable rock or wall plant1 where the size of a rock-wall admits of anything so large4 ,the wild plant from which it came has its home in rocky clefts in ,southern ,italy4 ,,rockingham ,in large gardens where ample space permits1 and even in those of narrow limits1 nothing is more desirable than that there should be some places1 or one at least1 of quiet greenery alone1 without any flowers whatever4 ,in no other way can the brilliancy of flowers be so keenly enjoyed as by pacing for a time in some cool green alley and then passing on to the flowery places4 ,it is partly the unconscious working out of an optical law1 the explanation of which in every-day language is that the eye1 being1 as it were1 saturated with the green colour1 is the more ready to receive the others1 especially the reds4 ,even in quite a small garden it is often possible to arrange something of the sort4 ,in the case of a place that has just one double flower-border and a seat or arbour at the end1 it would be easy to do by stopping the borders some ten feet away from the seat with hedges of yew or hornbeam1 and putting other seats to right and left2 the whole space being turfed4 ,the seat was put at the end in order to give the whole view of the border while resting2 but1 after walking leisurely along the flowers and surveying their effect from all points1 a few minutes' rest on one of the screened side seats would give repose to the eye and brain as well as to the whole body1 and afford a much better preparation for a further enjoyment of the flowers4 ,it was probably some such consideration that influenced the designers of the many old gardens of ,england1 where yew1 the grand walling tree1 was so freely used4 ,the first and obvious use was as a protection from wind and a screen for privacy1 then as a beautiful background1 and lastly perhaps for resting and refreshing the eye1 and giving it renewed appetite between its feasts of brilliant colouring and complex design4 ,these green yew-bordered alleys occur without end in the old gardens4 ,they were not always bowling-greens1 though now often so called1 but rather secluded ambulatories2 places either for solitary meditation and refreshment of mind1 or where friends would meet in pleasant converse1 or statesmen hold their discourse on weightier matters4 ,such a place of cool green retreat is this straight alley of ancient yews4 ,almost better it might have been if the path were green and grassy too--,nature herself seems to have thought so1 for she greens the gravel with mossy growths4 ,perhaps this mossiness afflicts the gardener's heart--let him take comfort in knowing how much it consoles the artist4 ,though a garden is for the most part the better for being kept trim1 there are exceptional cases such as this1 where to a certain degree it is well to let natural influences have their way4 ,it is a matter respecting which it is difficult to lay down a law2 it is just one for nice judgment4 ,had the path been freshly scratched up and rolled1 and the verges trimmed to a perfectly true line1 it would not have commended itself to the artist as a subject for a picture1 but1 as it is1 it is just right4 ,the mossy path is in true relation for colour to the trees and grassy edges1 and the degree of infraction of the canons of orderliness stops short of an appearance of actual neglect4 ,among the interesting features of the grounds at ,rockingham is a rose-garden1 circular in form1 bounded and protected by a yew hedge4 ,four archways at equal points1 cut in the hedge1 with straight paths1 lead to a concentric path within which is a large round bed1 with poles and swinging garlands of free-growing ,roses4 ,the outer quarters have smaller beds1 some concentric1 some parallel with the straight paths4 ,the space is large enough to give ample light and air to the ,roses1 while the yew hedge affords that comforting shelter from boisterous winds that all good ,roses love4 ,close to the house a flight of steps leads to a flower garden on the higher level4 ,a sundial on steps stands in the midmost space1 with beds and clumps of bright flowers around4 ,there is other good gardening at ,rockingham1 and a curious 8mount02 not of the usual circular ,illustration3 ,,the ,,yew ,,alley1 ,,rockingham ,,from ,,the ,,picture ,,in ,,the ,,possession ,,of ,,miss ,,willmott shape1 but in straight terraces4 ,but it is these grand old hedges of yew that seem to cling most closely to the fabric and sentiment of the ancient building--half house1 half castle1 whose windows have looked upon them for hundreds of years1 and whose inmates have ever paced within their venerable shade4 ,,brympton ,brympton d',evercy in ,somersetshire--not far from ,montacute1 the residence of the ,hon4 ,sir ,spencer ,ponsonby-,fane--is a house of mixed architectural character of great interest4 ,a large portion of the earlier ,tudor building now shows as the western 7entrance7 front1 while1 facing southward1 is the handsome faade of classical design1 said to be the work of ,inigo ,jones1 but more probably that of a later pupil4 ,the balustraded wall flanking the entrance gates--the subject of the picture--appears to be of the time of this important addition1 for it is better in design than the balustrade of the terrace1 which was built in the nineteenth century4 ,but the terrace is of fine effect1 with the great flight of steps midway in its length that lead down to a wide unspoilt lawn4 ,this again passes to the fish-pond1 then to parkland with undulating country beyond4 ,the treatment of the ground is admirable4 ,fifty years ago the lawn would probably have been cut up into flower-beds1 a frivolity forbidden by the dignified front4 ,gardening is always difficult1 often best let alone1 in many such cases4 ,when the architecture1 especially architecture of the classical type1 is good and pure1 it admits of no intrusion of other forms upon its surfaces4 ,it is complete in itself1 and the gardener's additions become meddling encroachments4 ,when any planting is allowable against houses of this type--as in cases where they are less pure in style and have larger wall-spaces--it should be of something of bold leafage1 or large aspect of one simple character2 the strong-growing ,magnolia grandiflora as an upright example1 and ,wistaria as one of horizontal ,illustration3 ,,the ,,gateway1 ,,brympton ,,from ,,the ,,picture ,,in ,,the ,,possession ,,of ,,mr4 ,,edwin ,,clephan growth4 ,there is some planting between the lower windows at ,brympton1 but it is doubtful whether it would not have been better omitted4 ,it is a place more suitable 7if on this front any gardening is desirable7 for the standing of ,bays or some such trees1 in tubs or boxes on the terrace4 ,there is sometimes a flower-border at the base of such a house2 where this occurs it is a common thing to see it left bare in winter and in the early year dotted with bulbous plants and spring flowers2 to be followed in summer with bedding-plants4 ,no such things look well or at all in place directly against a building4 ,the transition from the permanent structure to the transient vegetation is too abrupt4 ,at least the planting should be of something more enduring and of a shrubby character1 and mostly evergreen4 ,such plants as ,berberis ,aquifolium1 ,savin1 ,rosemary and ,laurustinus would seem to be the most suitable1 with the large1 persistent foliage of the ,megaseas as undergrowth1 ,pyrus japonica for early bloom1 and perhaps some ,china ,roses among the ,rosemary4 ,but happily this house has been treated as to its environment with the wisest restraint4 ,no showy or pretentious gardening intrudes itself upon the great charm of the place1 which is that of quiet seclusion in a beautiful but little-known part of the county4 ,the place lies among fields--just the ,house1 the ,church and the ,rectory4 ,there is no village or public road4 ,the house is approached by a long green forecourt inclosed by walls4 ,between this and the kitchen garden is the quiet1 low1 stone-roofed church1 in a churchyard that occupies such another parallelogram as the forecourt4 ,the pathway to the church passes across the forecourt into the restful churchyard with its moss-grown tombs and bushes of old-fashioned ,roses1 and the grassy mounds that mark the last resting-place of generations of long-forgotten country folk4 ,the church has a bell-cote built upon the gable of its western wall of remarkable and very happy form1 stone-roofed like the rest4 ,among the graves stands the base--three circular steps and a square plinth--of what was once an ancient stone cross4 ,the church seems to lie within the intimate protection of the house1 adding by its presence to the general impression of repose and peaceful dignity4 ,the picture shows the walled and balustraded entrance1 probably contemporary with the classical faade1 wrought of the local ,ham ,hill stone2 a capital freestone for the working of architectural enrichment4 ,it is of a warm yellowish-brown colour2 but grey and yellow lichens and brown mosses have painted the surface after their own wayward but always beautiful manner4 ,a light cloud of ,clematis ,flammula peeps over the bushes through the balusters4 ,stonework so good as this can just bear such a degree of clothing with graceful flowery growth2 no doubt it is watched and not allowed to hide too much with an excess of overgrowth4 ,where garden architecture is beautiful in proportion and detail it is not treating it fairly to smother it with vegetation4 ,how many beautiful old buildings are buried in ,ivy or desecrated by the unchecked invasion of ,veitch's ,virginia ,creeper6 ,,balcaskie ,equidistant from ,pittenweem and ,st4 ,monan's1 in ,fifeshire1 and a mile from the sea1 stands ,balcaskie1 the beautiful home of ,sir ,ralph ,anstruther4 ,the park is entered from the north by a fine gateway with stone piers bearing 8jewelled0 balls1 dating from the later middle of the seventeenth century4 ,the entrance road is joined by two others from east and west1 all passing through a park of delightful character4 ,the road leads straight through a grassy forecourt walled on the three outer sides by yew hedges1 and reaches the door by a gravelled half-circle formed by the projection on either side1 of the curved walls of the offices and stables4 ,the house1 of the middle seventeenth century1 though just too late to have been built as a fortress1 retains much of the character of the older ,scottish castles1 but adds to it the increased comfort and commodiousness of its own time4 ,there have been considerable later additions and alterations1 but much of the old still remains1 including some rooms with very interesting ceilings4 ,the main entrance on the north leads straight through to a door to the garden on the south4 ,the garden occupies a space equal to about five times the length of the house-front4 ,the ground falls steeply1 something like fifty feet in all1 and is boldly terraced into three levels4 ,looking southward from the door and across the garden1 the eye passes down a great vista between trees in the park to the ,firth of ,forth1 and across it to the ,bass ,rock1 some twelve miles away and near the further shore4 ,the upper garden level1 reached from the house by a double flight of descending steps1 has a broad walk running the whole length1 with an excellently modelled lead statue at each end2 to the west an ,apollo1 a singularly graceful figure1 and to the east a female statue1 possibly a ,diana4 ,the space in front of the house is divided into three portions2 the two outer compartments having hedges of yew from four to five feet high4 ,one of these incloses a bowling-green1 the other a lawn with some beds4 ,the middle turfed space has a sundial and beds of flowers4 ,here is also the remaining one of what was formerly a pair of fine cedars1 placed symmetrically to right and left4 ,adjoining the house and next to the end of the broad walk where stands the ,apollo1 is the rose-garden1 which1 with this graceful statue1 forms the subject of the picture4 ,the rose-garden is of beds cut in the grass1 containing not ,roses only but also other bright garden flowers4 ,a female statue of more modern work stands in the centre4 ,the great terrace wall1 eighteen feet high1 that forms the retaining wall of the upper portion of the garden1 rises towards both ends to its full height as a wall1 but the middle space is lightened by being treated with a handsome balustrade4 ,at the extreme ends flights of steps lead down to the next1 the middle level4 ,the first long flight reaches a wide stone landing1 the lower1 shorter flight turning inwards at a right angle4 ,great buttresses1 projecting forward eight feet at the ground-line1 add much to the dignity and beauty of the wall4 ,they are roofed with stone1 and each one carries the bust of a ,roman emperor4 ,from the steps on each side come broad gravelled walks1 leading by one step down to a slightly sunk rectangular lawn1 which occupies the middle space4 ,on each side of the paths are groups of flower-beds on a long axial line that is parallel with the wall4 ,they have a broad turf verge and a nearly equal space of gravel next to their box-edges4 ,piers and other important points have stone balls or flower-vases4 ,stone seats stand upon the landings above the lowest flights or steps1 against the walls which bound the garden to right and left4 ,beyond these boundaries are tall trees1 their protecting masses giving exactly that comforting screen that the eye and mind desire1 and forming the best possible background to the structure and garnishing of the beautiful garden4 ,it is one of the best and most satisfying gardens in the ,british ,isles2 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,apollo1 ,,balcaskie ,,from ,,the ,,picture ,,in ,,the ,,possession ,,of ,,miss ,,bompas ,italian in feeling1 and yet happily wedding with the ,scottish mansion of two and a half centuries ago1 and forming1 with the house and park-land1 one of the most perfect examples of a country gentleman's place4 ,all of it is pleasant and beautiful1 home-like and humanly sympathetic2 the size is moderate--there is nothing oppressively grand4 ,more than once already in these pages attention has been drawn to the danger of letting good stone-work become overgrown with rank creepers4 ,at ,balcaskie this is evidently carefully regulated4 ,the wall-spaces between the great buttresses1 and the buttresses themselves1 are sufficiently clothed but never smothered with the wall-loving and climbing plants4 ,the right relation of masonry and vegetation is carefully observed2 each graces and dignifies the other2 the balance is perfect4 ,the lowest level is given to the kitchen garden4 ,it is not put out of the way1 but forms part of the whole scheme4 ,it is reached by a single flight of handsome balustraded stone steps4 ,balcaskie occurs as a place-name early in the thirteenth century4 ,from #acej to #afae it was owned by a family named ,strang1 afterwards by the ,moncrieffs1 till #affe4 ,it is not known whether any portion of the present house and garden belonged to these earlier dates1 but it is probable that the designer of both was ,sir ,william ,bruce1 one of the best architects of the time of ,charles ,,ii41 and an owner of ,balcaskie for twenty years4 ,,crathes ,,castle ,crathes ,castle in ,kincardineshire presents one of the finest examples of ,scottish architecture of the sixteenth century4 ,it is the seat of ,sir ,robert ,burnett of ,leys1 the eleventh baronet and descendant of the founder4 ,profoundly impressive are these great northern buildings1 rising straight and tall out of the very earth4 ,as to their lower walls1 they are grim1 forbidding1 almost fiercely repellent4 ,there is an aspect of something like ruthless cruelty in the very way they come out of the ground1 without base or plinth or any such amenity--built in the old barbarous days of frequent raiding and fighting1 and constant need of protection from marauders2 when a man's house must needs be a strong place of defence4 ,this is the first impression4 ,but the eye travelling upward sees the frowning wall blossom out above into what has the semblance of a fairy palace4 ,it is like a straight1 tall1 rough-barked tree crowned with fairest bloom and tenderest foliage4 ,turrets both round and square1 as if in obedience to the commanding wave of a magician's wand1 spring out of the angles of the building and hang with marvellous grace of poise over the abyss4 ,there seems to be no actual plan1 and yet there is perfect harmony2 the whole beautiful mass appears as if it had come into being in some one far-away1 wonderful1 magical night6 ,it is a sight full of glamour and romantic impression--grim fortalice below1 ethereal fantasy aloft4 ,rough and rugged is the rock-like wall1 standing dark and dim in the evening gloom2 intangible1 opalescent are the mystic forms above1 in the tender warmth of the afterglow2 cloud-coloured1 faintly rosy1 with shadows pearly-blue4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,yew ,,walk1 ,,crathes ,,from ,,the ,,picture ,,in ,,the ,,possession ,,of ,,mr4 ,,charles ,p4 ,,rowley ,direct descendants of the old ,norman keep1 these ,scottish castles1 for the most part1 retain the four-sided tower1 as to the main portion of the structure4 ,the walls need no buttresses1 for they are of immense thickness1 and the vaulted masonry1 usually of the simple barrel form1 that carries the floors of1 at any rate1 the lower stories1 ties the whole structure together4 ,the angle turrets carried on bold corbels that are so conspicuous a feature of these northern castles1 broke away from the ,norman forms and became a distinct character of the ,scottish work4 ,they were a helpful addition to the means of defence1 and1 as long as they were built for use1 added much to the beauty and dignity of the structure4 ,the only detail that shows a tendency to debasement in ,crathes is the quantity of useless cannon-shaped gargoyles1 put for ornament only1 in places where they could not possibly do their legitimate work of carrying off rain-water from the roof4 ,there could have been no pleasure garden in the old days2 but now these ancient strongholds1 mellowed by the centuries1 seem grateful for the added beauty of good gardening4 ,the grand yew hedges may be of the seventeenth century4 ,they stand up solid and massive for ten feet or more1 with roof-shaped tops1 and then rise again at intervals into great blocks1 bearing ornaments like circular steps crowned with a ball4 ,the ornament is simpler1 a low block and ball only1 in the first picture1 where they accentuate the arches that lead right and left into the two divisions of the flower garden4 ,this plainer form is perhaps more suitable to this grand old place than the more elaborate1 just because it is simpler and more dignified4 ,the flower garden1 as it is to-day1 is quite modern4 ,the finest of the hardy flowers are well grown in bold groups4 ,luxuriant are the masses of ,phlox and tall ,pyrethrum1 of towering ,rudbeckia1 of ,bocconia1 now in seed-pod but scarcely less handsome than when in bloom2 of the bold yellow ,tansy and ,japan ,anemones2 all telling1 by their size and vigour1 of a strong loamy soil4 ,many are the arches of cluster and other climbing ,roses2 at one point in the kitchen garden coming near enough together to make a tunnel-like effect4 ,wonderful is the colouring and diversity of texture6--the bright flowers1 the rich1 dark velvet of the half-distant yews1 the weather-worn granite and rough-cast of the great building4 ,if the flowers in the second and third pictures were in our southern counties the time would be the end of ,august or at latest the middle of ,september1 but the seasons of the flowers in ,scotland are much later1 and these would be ,october borders4 ,the ,castle stands upon a wide1 level1 grassy terrace1 which is stopped on the north-eastern side by the parapet of a retaining wall1 broken by a flight of steps down to the path that is bounded by the two hedges of ancient yews shown in the first picture4 ,these hedges divide the flower garden into two equal parts on the lower level1 for1 from where the ,castle stands1 the ground falls to the south and east4 ,on each side of the steps1 just beneath the terrace wall1 is a flower border4 ,immediately on entering the double wall of yew there is an opening to right and left--an arch cut in the living green--giving access to the two square gardens1 in both of which a path passes all round next the yews4 ,there is also a flower border on two sides4 ,the middle space is grass with flower beds2 in the left-hand garden 7coming from the ,castle7 are bold masses of herbaceous plants in beds grouped round a fountain2 in the one on the right1 for the most part1 ,roses and ,lilies4 ,to the south-east1 and occupying the space next beyond the rose garden and the end of the lawn adjoining the ,castle1 is the kitchen garden4 ,the main walks have flower borders4 ,where the two cross paths intersect is a ,mulberry tree with an encircling seat4 ,the subjects of the second and third pictures are within the kitchen garden4 ,many are the beautiful points of view from the kitchen garden1 for there the grand yew hedges show beyond the flowers2 then1 towering aloft1 comes the fairy castle1 and then fine trees2 for trees are all around1 closely approaching the garden's boundaries4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the brilliancy of colour masses in these ,scottish gardens is something remarkable4 ,whether it is attributable to soil or climate one cannot say2 possibly the greater length of day1 and therefore of daily sunshine1 of these northern summers1 may account for it4 ,of the great number of people who go ,north for the usual autumn shooting1 those ,illustration3 ,,crathes ,,from ,,the ,,picture ,,in ,,the ,,possession ,,of ,,mr4 ,,george ,c4 ,,bompas who love the summer flowers find their season doubled1 for the kinds they have left waning in the ,south are not yet in bloom in the more northern latitude4 ,the flowers of our ,july gardens1 ,delphiniums1 ,achilleas1 ,coreopsis1 ,eryngiums1 ,geums1 ,lupines1 ,scarlet ,lychnis1 ,bergamot1 early ,phloxes1 and many others1 and the hosts of spring-sown annuals1 are just in beauty4 ,sweet ,peas are of astounding size and vigour4 ,strawberries are not yet over1 and early ,peas are coming in4 ,the ,gooseberry season1 that had begun in the earliest days of ,august with the ,early ,sulphurs and had been about ten days in progress in the ,southern ,english gardens1 is for a time interrupted1 but resumes its course in ,september in the ,north1 where this much-neglected fruit comes to unusual excellence4 ,it is a hardy thing1 and appears to thrive better north of the ,border than elsewhere4 ,it is one of the wholesomest of fruits2 its better sorts of truly delicious flavour4 ,it is a pleasure1 to one who knows its merits1 to extol them4 ,it is essentially a fruit for one who loves a garden1 because1 for some reason difficult to define1 it is less enjoyable when brought to table in a dessert dish4 ,it should be sought for in the garden ground and eaten direct from the bush4 ,perhaps many people are deterred by its spiny armature1 and it is certain that1 when1 as is too often the case1 the bushes are in crowded rows and have been allowed to grow to a large size1 the berries are difficult to get at4 ,but the true amateur of this capital autumn fruit has them in espalier form1 in a few short rows1 with ample space--about six feet--between each row4 ,the plants may be had ready trained in espalier shape1 but it is almost as easy to train them from the usual bush form4 ,the vigorous young growth that will spring out every year is cut away at the sides in middle summer2 just a shoot or two of young wood being left1 when the bushes have grown to a fair size1 to train in1 to take the place of older wood4 ,the plants being restricted to the fewer branches that form the flat espalier1 more strength is thrown into the ones that remain1 so that the berries become larger2 and1 as plenty of light and sun can get to the fruits1 even the best kinds are sweeter and better flavoured than when they are allowed to grow in dense bushes4 ,then when the kinds are ripe how pleasant it is to take a low seat and sit at ease before each good sort in succession6 ,the best and ripest fruits can be seen at a glance and picked without trouble1 in pleasant contrast to the painful1 prickly groping that goes on among the crowded bushes4 ,no one would ever regret planting such excellent sorts as ,red ,champagne1 ,amber ,yellow1 ,cheshire ,lass1 ,jolly ,painter1 a large1 well-flavoured and little-known berry1 and ,red ,warrington1 a trusty late kind4 ,to these should be added two admirable ,gooseberries lately brought out by ,messrs4 ,veitch1 namely1 ,langley ,green and ,langley ,gage1 both fine fruits of delicious flavour4 ,if such a little special fruit space were planted in these large ,scottish gardens1 and the merits of the kinds became known1 the daily invitation of the hostess1 8,let us go to the gooseberry garden10 would be gladly welcomed1 and guests would also find themselves1 at various times of day1 sauntering towards the gooseberry plot4 ,how grandly the scarlet ,tropolum 7,t4 speciosum7 grows in these northern gardens is well known2 indeed1 in many places it has become almost a pest4 ,it is much more difficult to grow in the ,south1 where it is often a failure2 in any case1 it insists on a northern or eastern exposure4 ,where it does best in gardens in the ,english counties is in deep1 cool soil1 thoroughly enriched4 ,when well established1 the running roots ramble in all directions1 fresh growths appearing many feet away from the place where it was originally planted4 ,it looks perhaps best when running up the face of a yew hedge1 when the bright scarlet bloom1 and leaves of clear-cut shape1 are seen to great advantage1 and many of the free growths of the plant take the form of hanging garlands4 ,illustration3 ,,crathes3 ,,phlox ,,from ,,the ,,picture ,,in ,,the ,,possession ,,of ,,mrs4 ,,croft ,,kellie ,,castle ,kellie ,castle in ,fifeshire1 very near ,balcaskie1 is another house of the finest type of old ,scottish architecture4 ,the basement is vaulted in solid masonry1 the ground-floor rooms have a height of fourteen feet2 the old hall1 now the drawing-room1 is nearly fifty feet long4 ,a row of handsome stone dormers to an upper floor1 light a set of bedrooms1 which1 as well as the main rooms below1 have coved plaster ceilings of great beauty4 ,there is no certain record of the date of the oldest part of the castle4 ,it is assigned to the fourteenth century1 but may be older4 ,the earliest actual date found upon the building is #aegc1 and it is considered that the mass of the castle1 as we see it now1 was completed by that date1 though another portion bears the date #afjf4 ,it belonged of old to the ,oliphants1 a family that held it for two and a half centuries1 when it passed by sale to an ,erskine1 who1 early in the seventeenth century1 became ,earl of ,kellie4 ,in #agig1 after the death of the seventh ,earl1 it was abandoned by the family and soon showed signs of deterioration from disuse4 ,about thirty years later the ,earldom of ,kellie descended to the ,earl of ,mar1 and the family seat being elsewhere1 ,kellie was allowed to go to ruin4 ,in #ahgh the ruined place was taken1 to its salvation1 on a long lease by ,mr4 ,james ,lorimer1 whose widow is the present occupier4 ,it has undergone the most careful and reverent reparation4 ,the broken roofs have been made whole1 the walls are again hung with tapestries1 and the rooms furnished with what might have been the original appointments4 ,the castle stands at one corner of the old walled kitchen garden1 a door in the north front opening directly into it4 ,the garden has no architectural features4 ,there are walks with high box edgings and quantities of simple flowers4 ,everywhere is the delightful feeling that there is about such a place when it is treated with such knowledge and sympathy as have gone to the re-making of ,kellie as a delightful human habitation4 ,for two sons of the house are artists of the finest faculty--painter and architect--and they have done for this grand old place what boundless wealth1 in less able hands1 could not have accomplished4 ,close to the house on its western side is a little glen1 and in it a rookery4 ,when strong winds blow in early spring the nests in the swaying tree-tops come almost within hand reach of the turret windows of the north-west tower4 ,how the flowers grow in these northern gardens6 ,here they must needs grow tall to be in scale with the high box edging4 ,but ,shirley ,poppies1 when they are autumn sown1 will rise to four feet1 and the grand new strains of tall ,snapdragons will go five and even over six feet in height4 ,as the picture shows1 this is just the garden for the larger plants--single ,hollyhocks in big free groups1 and double ,hollyhocks too1 if one can be sure of getting a good strain4 ,for this is just the difficulty4 ,the strains admired by the old-fashioned florist1 with the individual flowers tight and round1 are certainly not the best in the garden4 ,the beautiful double garden ,hollyhock has a wide outer frill like the corolla of the single flowers in the picture4 ,then the middle part1 where the doubling comes1 should not be too double4 ,the waved and crumpled inner petals should be loosely enough arranged for the light to get in and play about1 so that in some of them it is reflected1 and in some transmitted4 ,it is only in such flowers that one can see how rich and bright it can be in the reds and roses1 or how subtle and tender in the whites and sulphurs and pale pinks4 ,other flowers beautiful in such gardens are the taller growing of the ,columbines1 the feathery herbaceous ,spiras1 such as ,s4 ,aruncus1 that displays its handsome leaves1 and waves its creamy plumes1 on the banks of ,alpine torrents1 and its brethren the lovely pale pink venusta1 the bright rosy palmata and the cream-white ,ulmaria1 the ,illustration3 ,,kellie ,,castle ,,from ,,the ,,picture ,,in ,,the ,,possession ,,mr4 ,,arthur ,h4 ,,longman garden form of the wild ,meadow-sweet of our damp meadow-ditches4 ,then the tall ,bocconia1 with its important bluish leaves and feathery flower-beads1 which shows in the picture in brownish seed-pod2 and the ,thalictrums1 pale yellow and purple1 and ,canterbury ,bells1 and ,lilies yellow and white1 and the tall broad-leaved ,bell-flowers4 ,all these should be in these good gardens1 besides the many kinds of ,scotch ,briers1 and big bushes of the old1 almost forgotten garden ,roses of a hundred years ago1 many of which are no longer to be found1 except now and then in these old gardens of ,scotland4 ,for here some gardens seem to have escaped that murderously overwhelming wave of fashion for tender bedding plants alone1 that wrought such havoc throughout ,england during three decades of the last century4 ,here1 too1 are ,roses trained in various pretty simple ways4 ,our garden ,roses come from so many different wild plants1 from all over the temperate world1 that there is hardly an end to the number of ways in which they can be used4 ,some of them1 like the ,scotch ,briers1 grow in close bushy masses2 some have an upright habit2 some like to rush up trees and over hedges2 others again will trail along the ground and even run downhill4 ,some are tender and must have a warm wall2 some will endure severe cold2 some will flower all the summer2 others at one season only4 ,so it is that we find in various gardens1 ,roses grown in many different ways4 ,in one as small bushes in beds1 or budded on standards1 in another as the covering of a pergola1 or as fountain roses1 throwing up many stems which arch over naturally4 ,some of the oldest garden ,roses1 such as ,the ,garland1 ,dundee ,rambler and ,bennett's ,seedling are the best for this kind of use4 ,the ,himalayan ,r4 polyantha will grow in this way into a huge bush1 sometimes as much from thirty to forty feet in diameter1 and many of the beautiful modern garden ,roses that have polyantha for a near ancestor1 will do well in the same way1 though none of them attain so great a size4 ,roses grown like this take a form with1 roughly speaking1 a semi-circular outline1 like an inverted basin4 ,if they are wanted to take a shape higher in proportion they must be trained through or over some simple framework4 ,this is called balloon-training4 ,some roses are grown in this fashion at ,kellie1 the framework being a central post from which hoops are hung one above the other4 ,the ,rose grows up inside the framework and hangs out all over4 ,if this kind of training is to be on a larger scale1 long half-hoops have their ends fixed in the ground1 and pass across and across one another at a central point1 where they are fixed to a strong post1 thus forming ten or twelve ribs4 ,horizontal wires1 like lines of latitude upon a globe1 pass all round them at even intervals4 ,then ,roses can be trained to any kind of trellis1 either a plain one to make a wall of roses or a shaped one1 whose form they will be guided to follow4 ,then again1 there may be rose arches1 single1 double or grouped2 or in a straight succession over a path2 or alternate arches and garlands1 a pretty plan where paths intersect2 the four arches kept a little way back from the point of intersection1 with garlands connecting them diagonally in plan4 ,then there are ,roses1 some of the same that serve for several of these kinds of free treatment1 for making bowers and arbours4 ,and there are endless possibilities for the beautiful treatment of ,rose gardens1 though seldom does one see them well done4 ,there are many who think that a ,rose garden must admit no other flowers but ,roses4 ,this may be desirable in some cases1 but the present writer holds a more elastic view4 ,beds and clumps of ,roses where no other flower is allowed1 often look very bare at the edges1 and might with advantage be under-planted with ,pinks and ,carnations1 ,pansies1 ,london ,pride1 or even annuals4 ,and any ,lilies of white and pink colouring such as candidum1 longiflorum1 ,brownii1 ,krameri1 or rubellum suit them well1 also many kinds of ,clematis4 ,the gardener may perhaps1 object that the usual cultivation of ,roses1 the winter mulch and subsequent digging in and the frequent after-hoeing precludes the use of other plants2 but all these rules may be relaxed if the ,rose garden is on a fairly good rose soil4 ,for the object is the showing of a space of garden ground made beautiful by garden ,roses--not merely the production of a limited number of blooms of exhibition quality4 ,the way the bushes of garden ,roses grow and bloom in close companionship with other strong-growing plants1 at ,kellie and in thousands of other gardens1 shows how amicably they live with their near neighbours2 and often by a happy accident1 they tell us what plants will group beautifully with them4 ,the ,roses that are best kept out of the ,rose garden1 are those delightful ones of the end of ,june2 the ,damasks1 and the ,provence1 the sweet old ,cabbage ,rose of ,english gardens4 ,these1 and the ,scotch ,briers of earlier ,june1 bloom for one short season only4 ,of late years the possibilities of beautiful ,rose gardening have been largely increased by the raising of quantities of beautiful ,roses of the ,hybrid ,tea class that bloom throughout the summer1 and that1 with the coming of autumn1 seem only to gain renewed life and strength4 ,,hardwick ,hardwick ,hall in ,derbyshire1 one of the great houses of ,england1 is1 with others of its approximate contemporaries of the later half of the sixteenth century1 such as ,longleat1 ,wollaton1 and ,montacute1 an example of what was at the time of its erection an entirely new aspect of the possibilities of domestic architecture4 ,the country had settled down into a peaceful state4 ,a house was no longer a castle needing external defence4 ,hitherto the homes of ,england had been either fortresses1 or had needed the protection of moats and walls4 ,they had been poorly lighted2 only the walls looking to an inner court1 or to a small walled garden could have fair-sized openings4 ,no spacious windows could look abroad upon open country1 field or woodland4 ,but by this time such restriction was a thing of the past1 and we see in these great houses1 and in ,hardwick especially1 immense window spaces in the outer walls4 ,the architects of the time1 ,john ,thorpe1 the ,smithsons and others1 ran riot with their great windows1 as if revelling in their exemption from the older bonds4 ,the new freedom was so tempting that they knew not how to restrain themselves1 and it was only later1 when it was found that the amount of lighting was overmuch for convenience1 that the relation of degree of light to internal comfort came to be better understood and more reasonably adjusted4 ,the famous ,countess of ,shrewsbury 7,bess of ,hardwick71 to whose initiative this great house owes its origin1 set an imperishable memorial of her imperious arrogance upon the balustrading that crowns the square tower-like projections at the angles and ends of the building1 where the ,illustration3 ,,the ,,forecourt3 ,,hardwick ,,from ,,the ,,picture ,,in ,,the ,,possession ,,of ,,mr4 ,,aston ,,webb stone is wrought into lace-like fretwork of arabesque1 whereof the chief features are her coronet and the initials of her name4 ,a spacious forecourt occupies the ground upon the western--the main entrance front4 ,it stretches the whole length of the house1 and projects as much forward2 its outer sides being inclosed with a wall that bears in constant succession an ornament of a fleur-de-lys with tall pyramidal top1 a detail imported direct from ,italy1 from the ,renaissance gardens of earlier date4 ,such an ornament occurs at the ,villa d',este at ,tivoli1 crowning a retaining wall4 ,the entrance to the inclosed forecourt is by a handsome stone gateway4 ,this gateway forms the background of the picture1 which shows one of the well-planted flower borders that abound at ,hardwick1 and that strike that lightsome and cheerful note of human care and delight that is so welcome in this place whose scale is rather too large1 and somewhat coldly forbidding1 in relation to the more ordinary aspects of daily comfort4 ,indeed--for all the good planting--the long wall-backed flower border facing south1 whose wall is in part of its length that of the house itself1 looks as if1 in relation to the great building towering above it--its occupants were still too small1 although they include flowering plants seven to nine feet high1 such as ,gyneriums and the larger herbaceous ,spiras4 ,a well-directed effort has evidently been made to have the planting on a scale with the lordly building1 but the items want to be larger still and the grouping yet bolder1 to overcome the dwarfing effect of the towering structure4 ,in such a place the ,magnolias1 both evergreen and deciduous1 would have a fine effect1 though possibly they would hardly thrive in the midland climate4 ,within the forecourt1 along the wall parallel to the house and furthest from it1 this need is not so apparent4 ,in the subject of the picture1 the ,honeysuckle1 the magnificently grown purple ,clematis upon the wall1 the ,mulleins1 ,bocconia and ,japan ,anemones1 are in due proportion2 the ,tufted ,pansies and ,mignonette bringing their taller brethren happily down to the grassy verge4 ,approaching the pathway from the right1 stretch some of the long loose growths of one of the two large ,cedars that are such prominent objects in the forecourt garden4 ,the main open spaces of this garden repeat in flower beds on grass the big ,e4,s4 of the self-asserting founder4 ,it is not pretty gardening nor particularly dignified4 ,no doubt it is only a modern acquiescence in the dominating tradition of the place4 ,even making allowance for1 and retaining this sentiment1 a better design might have been made1 embodying these already too-often-repeated letters4 ,moreover1 the servile copying of the lettering in its stone form only serves to illustrate the futility of reproducing a form of ornament designed for one material in another of totally different nature4 ,there is some excellent gardening in a long flower-border outside the forecourt wall4 ,here the size of the house is no longer oppressive1 and it comes into proper scale a little way beyond the point where the broad green ways1 bounded by noble hedges of ancient yews1 swing into a wide circle as they cross1 and show the bold niches cut in the rich green foliage where leaden statues are so effectively placed4 ,by the kindness of the owner1 the ,duke of ,devonshire1 ,hardwick ,hall1 illustrating as it does a distinct form of architectural expression with much of historical interest1 is open to the public4 ,,montacute ,montacute in ,somersetshire1 built towards the end of the sixteenth century by ,sir ,edward ,phelips1 is another of that surprising number of important houses built on a symmetrical plan that arose during the reign of ,queen ,elizabeth4 ,as the house was then1 so we see it now2 unaltered1 and only mellowed by time4 ,the gardens1 too1 are of the original design1 including a considerable amount of architectural stonework4 ,the large entrance forecourt is inclosed by a high balustraded wall1 with important and finely-designed garden houses on its outer angles4 ,the length of the side walls is broken midway on each side by a small circular pillared pavilion with a boldly projecting entablature1 crowned with an openwork canopy and a topmost ornament of two opposite and joining rings of stone4 ,the piers of the balustrade are surmounted by stone obelisks1 and the large paved landing1 forming a shallow court at the top of the flight of steps a hundred feet wide1 that gives access to the house on this side has tall pillars that now carry lamps1 though they appear to have been designed merely as a stately form of ornament4 ,the forecourt has a wide expanse of gravel with a large fountain basin in the middle4 ,next the wall there are flower-borders2 then the wide gravelled path1 and1 following this1 a broad strip of turf with ,irish yews at regular intervals4 ,the general severity of the planning is pleasantly relieved by the bright flower-border1 the subject of the picture4 ,to right and left are openings in the wall leading to other garden spaces4 ,the one of these to the left1 just behind the spectator as in the picture1 leads by an upward flight of steps to one side of a wide terrace walk1 that encompasses on all four sides a large sunk garden of formal design4 ,this garden runs the whole length of the forecourt and depth of the house1 and has a width equal to some two-thirds of its length4 ,a large middle fountain-basin1 with shaped outline of angles and segments of circles1 has a balustraded kerb with a stone obelisk on every pier4 ,in the centre is a handsome tazza in which the water plays4 ,wide paths lead down flights of balustraded steps from all four sides to the gravelled area within which the fountain stands4 ,the spaces between1 and the banks rising to the level of the upper terraces1 are of turf4 ,rows of ,irish yews stand ranged on both levels4 ,it is all extremely correct1 stately--dare one say a trifle dull8 ,opposite the forecourt the garden is bounded by a good yew hedge protecting it from wind from the valley below4 ,midway in the length is an opening where a low wall and seats give a welcome outlook4 ,the same yew hedge returns eastward to the south-east angle of the house2 the garden's opposite boundary being a low wall with a sunk fence outside1 giving a view into the park4 ,there is an entrance from the garden to the house on its southern side by a flight of balustraded steps1 and niches with seats are on either side of the door4 ,wonderful are these great stone houses of the early ,english ,renaissance--wonderful in their bold grasp and sudden assertion of the new possibilities of domestic architecture6 ,for it may be repeated that it was only of late that a man's house had ceased to be a place of defence1 and that he might venture to have windows looking abroad all round1 and yet feel perfectly safe without even an inclosing moat4 ,in the present day it is somewhat difficult to account for the designer's attitude of mind when deciding on such a lavish employment of the obelisk-shaped finials4 ,one can only regard it as the outcome of the taste or fashion of the day1 when he borrowed straight from the ,italians everything except their marvellous discernment4 ,one accepts the many obelisks at ,montacute as showing the reflection of ,italian influence on the ,tudor mind2 to-day and new1 they would be inadmissible4 ,the modern mind1 with the vast quantity of material at hand1 and the easy access to all that has been said and done on the subject1 should ,illustration3 ,,montacute3 ,,sunflowers ,,from ,,the ,,picture ,,in ,,the ,,possession ,,of ,,mr4 ,e4 ,c4 ,,austen ,,leigh accept nothing but the best and purest in this as in any other branch of fine art4 ,there is one other possible way of accounting for the prevalence of these all-pervading obelisks4 ,the name of the place is taken from a conical wooded hill 7mons acutus74 ,the same play on a word1 a favourite fashion of ,elizabethan times1 and a custom in heraldry from a remoter antiquity1 is seen in the shield of the ancient ,montacute family1 where the three sharp peaks denote that the surname had the same origin4 ,the connexion of this name with the acute peak or obelisk form would therefore the more readily commend itself to the ,elizabethan mind4 ,the house has never gone into other hands1 the present owner1 ,mr4 ,w4 ,r4 ,phelips1 being the descendant of the founder4 ,,ramscliffe ,it would seem to be a law that the purest and truest human pleasure in a garden is attained by means whose ratio is exactly inverse to the scale or degree of the garden's magnificence4 ,the design1 for instance1 of a ,versailles impresses one with a sense of ostentatious consciousness of magnitude2 out of scale with living men and women2 whose lives could only be adapted to it1 as we know they were1 by an existence full of artificial restraints and discomforts2 the painful and arbitrarily imposed conditions of a tyrannical and galling etiquette4 ,so we think also of our greatest gardens1 such as ,chatsworth4 ,it is visited by a large number of people who go to see it as a large expensive place to gape at1 but surely not for the truest love of a garden4 ,so it is with many a large place2 the size and grandeur of the garden may suit the great house as a design2 it may be imposing and costly1 it may be beautifully kept1 and yet it may lack all the qualities that are needed for simple pleasure and refreshment4 ,it is not till we come to some old garden of moderate size that has always been cherished and has never been radically altered1 that the true message of the garden can be received and read2 and it is from thence downward in the scale of grandeur that we find those gardens that are the happiest and best of all for true delight and close companionship2 the simple borders of hardy flowers1 planted and tended with constant watchfulness and loving care by the owner's own hands4 ,such a garden is this of ,mr4 ,elgood's2 in a midland county1 and on a strong soil that throws up good hardy plants in vigorous luxuriance4 ,here grow the great ,orange ,lilies--the ,herring ,lilies of ,illustration3 ,,ramscliffe3 ,,orange ,,lilies ,,monkshood ,,from ,,the ,,picture ,,in ,,the ,,possession ,,of ,,mr4 ,c4 ,e4 ,,freeling the ,dutch1 because they bloom at the time of the herring harvest--six and seven feet high1 and with them the ,monkshood1 with its tall spikes of hooded bloom4 ,in poorer soils or with worse culture these fine flowers are of much lower growth1 the ,monkshood often only half the height1 with its deeply-cut leaves yellowing before their time with the weakness of too-early maturity4 ,the pleasure with which one sees this fine old garden flower is1 however1 always a little lessened by the knowledge of the dangerously poisonous nature of the whole plant1 and especially of the root4 ,it is the deadly ,aconite of pharmacy4 ,another of the same family is grouped with it2 the yellow ,aconite of the ,austrian mountains1 with branched heads of sulphur-coloured bloom and singularly handsome leaves--large1 dark green1 glistening and persistently enduring--for1 long after the bloom is past1 they are beautiful in the border4 ,how well an artist knows the value of grey-leaved plants1 and their use in pictorial gardening in the way of giving colour-value by close companionship1 to tender pinks and lilacs1 and1 above all1 to whites6 ,a patch of white bloom is often too hard and sudden and inharmonious to satisfy the trained eye1 but led up to and softened and sweetened by masses of neighbouring tender grey it takes its proper place and comes to its right strength in the well-ordered scheme4 ,lavender1 ,lavender-cotton 7,santolina71 ,catmint1 ,pinks and ,carnations1 and the ,woolly ,woundwort 7,stachys7 with some other plants of hoary foliage1 do this good work4 ,in this garden the ,woundwort1 there known by its old ,midland name of 8,our ,saviour's ,blanket10 throws up its grey-pink heads of bloom from a thick carpet of rather large leaves1 silvery soft with their thick coating of long white down4 ,here a groundwork of it leads to the group of white ,peach-leaved ,bell-flower on the right and to the tall white ,gnaphalium1 a plant of kindred woolliness1 on the left1 while the precious grey quality runs through the left-hand flower-group by means of the downy-coated pods of the earlier-blooming ,lupins1 purposely left among the later flowers for this and for their handsome form4 ,how finely the ,orange ,lilies tell against the background of the holly hedge1 at the path-end cut into an arbour1 may well be seen in the picture1 and how kindly and gracefully the ,greengage ,plum-tree bends over and plays its appointed part4 ,such a flower border makes many a picture in the hands of a garden-artist4 ,his knowledge of the plants1 their colours1 seasons1 habits and stature1 enables him to use them as he uses the colours on his palette4 ,how grandly the tall ,delphiniums grow in this strong soil4 ,a little of the colour has been lost owing to technical difficulties of reproduction1 for the blue is purer and stronger in effect both in the original picture and in nature than is here shown4 ,they are grouped1 as blue flowers need1 with contrasts of yellow and orange2 with yellow ,daisies and the feathery ,meadow-rue 7,thalictrum71 and the tall yellow ,aconite and nearly white ,campanulas1 woolly ,stachys and purple ,bell-flowers beyond4 ,only one small patch of brighter colour1 the scarlet of ,lychnis chalcedonica1 is allowed here4 ,on the other side is the loose-growing and always pictorial white ,mallow 7,sidalcea candida71 taking some weeks to produce its crop of flowers that1 like ,foxgloves and most of the flowers of the tall-spiked habit of growth1 begin to bloom below1 following upward till they finish at the top4 ,some sort of garden knowledge is so generally professed in these days1 and so much more gardening of the better kind is being attempted1 that people are gradually learning the advantage of planting in good groups of one thing at a time4 ,the older way of putting one each of the same plant at regular intervals along a border--like buttons on a waistcoat--is now no longer tolerated1 but a great deal has yet to be learnt4 ,even planting in bold groups1 however good the plants1 will be ineffective if not absolutely unfortunate1 if relationships of colouring are not understood4 ,the safest plan is to plant in harmonies more or less graduated as to the warm colours1 such as full yellow with orange and scarlet1 and to plant blues with contrasts of yellows and any white flowers4 ,then delightful effects may be obtained with masses of grey foliage1 such as ,lavender1 ,lavender-cotton1 and ,stachys1 and white ,pink1 with flowers that have colourings of tender pink1 white1 lilac and purple4 ,to acquire a colour eye is an education in itself1 founded on the needful natural aptitude1 a gift that is denied to some people even if they are not actually colour-blind4 ,but it is a precious possession where it occurs1 and all the better ,illustration3 ,,ramscliffe3 ,,larkspur ,,from ,,the ,,picture ,,in ,,the ,,possession ,,of ,,miss ,,kensit when it has been so well trained that the eye is enabled to appreciate the utmost refinements of colour-values1 and when this education has been carried to the point necessary for the artist1 of justly estimating the colour as it appears to be4 ,this is the most difficult thing to learn2 to see colour as it is1 is quite easy2 any one not colour-blind can do this2 but to see it as it appears to be needs to be learnt1 for upon this acquired proficiency depends the power of the artist to interpret the colours of objects and to represent them in their right relation to each other4 ,there is another good double flower-border in this pleasant garden4 ,in the sunny month of ,august the fine ,summer ,daisies 7,chrysanthemum maximum71 ,phloxes and ,lavender are in beauty1 and some bloom remains upon the climbing ,roses4 ,the ,box-edging1 stout and strong1 can withstand the temporary encroachments of some of the border flowers1 for in such a garden1 rule is relaxed whenever such latitude tends to beauty4 ,here and there1 where the little edging shrub showed signs of unusual vigour1 it has been allowed to grow up on the understanding that it shall submit to the shears1 which clip it into rounded ball-shapes of two sizes1 one upon another1 like loaves of bread4 ,a garden like this1 of moderate size1 and needing no troublesome accessories of glasshouses1 or even frames1 and very little outside labour1 is probably the very happiest possession of its kind4 ,as the seasons succeed each other new pictures of flower beauty are revealed in constant succession4 ,after the day's work in the best of the daylight is over1 its owner turns to it for pleasant labour or any such tending as it may need4 ,every group of plants meets him with a friendly face1 for each one was planted by his own hands4 ,his watchful eye observes where anything is amiss and the needful aid is immediately given4 ,in a great garden this vigilant personal care of plants as individuals is impossible4 ,however able a man the head gardener may be1 or however much he may love and wish to cherish the flowers under his care1 his duties and responsibilities are too many and too onerous to admit of his being able to enjoy this intimate fellowship2 but in the humbler garden the close relationship of man and flowers1 with all its beneficent and salutary serviceableness to both1 seems to be exactly adjusted4 ,such a garden it is that fulfils its highest purpose2 that giving of the pleasure--the rich reward of the loving toil and care that have gone to its making2 every plant or group in it doing its appointed work in its due season--that giving of 8sweet solace0 according to the well-fitting wording of our far-away ancestors4 ,and when the day's work is done1 and the light just begins to fail1 no one knows better than the artist that then is the best moment in the garden--when the colours acquire a wonderful richness of 8subdued splendour0 such as is unmatched throughout the lighter hours of the long summer day4 ,then it is that the flowers of delicate texture that have grown faint in the full heat1 raise their heads and rejoice2 that the tall evening ,primrose opens its pale wide petals and gives off its faint perfume2 that the little lilac cross-flowers of the night-scented ,stock open out and show their modest prettiness and pour forth their enchanting fragrance4 ,this early evening hour is indeed the best of all2 the hour of loveliest sight1 of sweetest scent1 of best earthly rest and fullest refreshment of body and spirit4 ,illustration3 ,,levens ,,from ,,the ,,picture ,,in ,,the ,,possession ,,of ,,major ,,longfield ,,levens ,there is perhaps no garden in ,england that has been so often described or so much discussed as that at ,levens in ,westmorland1 the home of ,captain ,jocelyn ,bagot4 ,it was laid out near the beginning of the eighteenth century by a ,french gardener named ,beaumont4 ,there is nothing about it of the ,french manner1 as we know it1 for it is more in the ,dutch style of the time1 and has become in appearance completely ,english2 according perfectly with the beautiful old house1 and growing with it into a complete harmony of mellow age1 whose sentiment is one of perfect unison both within and without4 ,forward of the house-front1 in a space divided by intersecting paths into six main compartments1 is the garden4 ,flower-borders1 box-edged on both sides1 form bordering ornaments all round these divisions4 ,the inner spaces are of turf4 ,at the angles and at equal points along the borders are strange figures cut in yew and box4 ,some are like turned chessmen2 some might be taken for adaptations of human figures1 for one can trace a hat-covered head--one of them wears a crown--shoulders and arms and a spreading petticoat4 ,some of the yews1 and these mostly in the more open spaces of grass or walk1 rise four-square as solid blocks1 with rounded roof and stemless mushroom finial4 ,these have for the most part arched recesses1 forming arbours4 ,one of the tallest1 standing clear on its little green1 is differently shaped1 being round in plan above and the stems bared all round below1 with an encircling seat4 ,no doubt many of the yews have taken forms other than those that were originally designed2 the variety of shape would be otherwise too daring2 but these recklessly defiant escapes from rule only add to the charm of the place1 presenting a fresh surprise at every turn4 ,the play of light and variety of colour of the green surfaces of the clipped evergreens is a delight to the trained colour-eye4 ,sometimes in shadow1 cold1 almost blue1 reflecting the sky1 with a sunlit edge of surprising brilliancy of golden-green--often all bright gold-green when the young shoots are coming1 or when the sunlight catches the surface in one of its many wonderful ways4 ,for the trees1 clipped in so many diversities of form1 offer numberless planes and facets and angles to the light1 whose play upon them is infinitely varied4 ,then the beholder1 passing on and looking back1 sees the whole thing coloured and lighted anew4 ,this quantity of ,yew and ,box clipped into an endless variety of fantastic forms has often been criticised as childish4 ,would that all gardens were childish in so happy a way6 ,is not the joy and perfectly innocent delight that the true lover of flowers feels in a good garden in itself akin to childishness1 and is not a fine old ,english garden such as this1 with its numberless incidents that stir and gratify the imagination1 and its abundance of sweet and beautiful flowers1 just the one that can give that happiness in the greatest degree8 ,does not the oldest of our legends1 so closely bound up with our youngest apprehension of religious teaching1 tell us of the earliest of our race of whom we have any record or even tradition1 living happily in a garden in a state of childish innocence8 ,why should a garden not be childish8--perhaps when it truly deserves such a term it is the highest praise it could possibly have6 ,however this may be the fact remains that those who own this garden of many wonders1 and watch and tend it with unceasing love and reverence1 and others who have had the happiness of working in it for many days together1 find it a place that never wearies1 but only continues day by day to disclose new beauties and new delights4 ,doubtless it is a garden that cannot be fairly judged from a hasty glance or a few hours' visit4 ,like many of the places and things that we call inanimate--though to one who knows and loves a garden nothing is more vitally living--such a place has its moods and can frown upon an unsympathetic beholder4 ,the garden is filled with many ,roses and well-grown hardy plants2 ,illustration3 ,,levens3 ,,roses ,,and ,,pinks ,,from ,,the ,,picture ,,in ,,the ,,possession ,,of ,,mrs4 ,,archibald ,,parker those especially of tall stature making a fine effect4 ,the ,rose garden has ,white ,pinks in its outer beds4 ,immediately beyond the garden's bounds is wild ground of a beautiful character4 ,the river ,kent1 a rock-strewn stream with steep wooded banks1 flows within fifty yards of the house4 ,the contrast is a great and a delightful one4 ,wild parkland and untamed river without2 and within the walls ordered restraint2 then again1 the quiet of the wide bowling-green1 with its dark clipped hedges1 and beyond it a long1 tree-shaded walk4 ,precious1 indeed1 are the few remaining gardens that have anything of the character of this wonderful one of ,levens2 gardens that above all others show somewhat of the actual feeling and temperament of our ancestors4 ,they show personal discrimination combining happily with common-sense needs2 walls and masses of yew and box to make shelter from the violence of wind1 and yet to admit the welcome sunlight2 so to provide the best conditions in the inner spaces for the growing of lovely flowers4 ,then the shaping of some of the yews into strange forms1 shows perhaps the whimsical humour of some one of a line of owners1 preserved1 with careful painstaking1 by his descendants4 ,a garden many generations old may thus be a reflection of the minds of several of such possessors--men who have not only thankfully paced its green spaces and delighted in its flowery joys1 but who have held it in that close and friendly fellowship whose outcome is sure to be some living and lasting addition either to its comfort1 its interest1 or its beauty4 ,the original design may have become in some degree lost1 but unless the doings of the several owners have been in the way of destruction or radical alteration1 or something of obvious folly or bad taste1 the garden will have gained in a remarkable degree that quality of human interest that is not easy to define but that is clearly perceptible1 not only to a trained critic but to any one who has knowledge of its most vital needs and sympathy with its worthiest expression4 ,this precious utterance is not confined to this or to any one special kind of gardening1 but may pervade and illuminate almost any one of the many ways in which men find their pleasure and delight in ordering the sheltered seclusion of their home grounds1 and enjoying the varied beauty of tree and bush and flower4 ,it is only in gardens of the most rigidly formal type1 such as are full of architectural form and detail and admit of no alteration of the original plan1 that personal influence can least be exercised4 ,this is no doubt the reason why such gardens1 correctly beautiful though they may be1 are those that give in smallest measure that wonderful sense of the purest and most innocent happiness1 that of all earthly enjoyments seems to be the most directly ,god-given4 ,yet1 even in such gardens1 it is not impossible that some impress of the personal influence may be beneficently given1 but the range of operation is extremely limited1 the greatest knowledge and ability are needed1 with the sure action of the keenest and most restrained judgment4 ,,campsey ,,ashe ,in ,eastern ,suffolk1 within a few miles of the sea1 is this1 the country home of the ,hon4 ,william ,lowther4 ,the house1 replacing an older one that occupied the same site1 is of brick and stone1 built in the earlier part of the nineteenth century4 ,a moat1 inclosing an unusually large area1 and formerly entirely encompassing the house and garden1 is now partly filled up2 but one long arm remains1 running the greater part of the length of the house and garden2 a shorter length bounding the inclosed garden on the opposite side4 ,the longer length of moat approaches the house closely on its eastern face1 and then forms the boundary of a large and beautifully-kept square lawn1 with fine old cedars and other trees4 ,following this southward is a double walled garden1 with the main paths1 especially those of the nearer division1 bordered with flowers4 ,beyond these again is the portion of the garden that forms the subject of the picture--a small parterre of box-edged beds with a row of old clipped yews beyond4 ,this leads westward to a grove of trees1 with a statue also girt with trees standing in an oval in the midmost space4 ,the garden has beautiful incidents in abundance1 but is somewhat bewildering4 ,traces of the older gardening constantly appear2 but their original cohesion has been lost4 ,the moat1 always an important feature1 ends suddenly at four points4 ,garden-houses and gazebos1 that usually come at salient points with determinate effect1 seem to have strayed into their places4 ,sections of the park seem to have broken loose and lost themselves in the garden4 ,the garden is not the less charming in detail1 but is impossible to gather together or hold in a clear mental grasp1 from the absence of general plan4 ,besides the old clipped yews in the picture1 others1 apparently of the same age1 inclose an oval bowling-green4 ,in form they are as if they had been at first cut as a thick hedge with a roof-like sloping top4 ,from this1 at fairly regular intervals1 spring great rounded masses1 that1 with the varying vigour of the individual trees and the continual clipping without reference to a fixed design1 have asserted themselves after their own fashion4 ,though symmetry has been lost1 the place has gained in pictorial value4 ,four ways lead in2 the larger bosses guarding the entrances4 ,so it is throughout this charming but puzzling garden4 ,ever a glimpse of some delightful old-world incident1 and then the baffled effort to fit together the disjointed members of what must once have been a definite design4 ,the portion of the garden that is simplest and clearest is a broad walk opposite the house1 on the further side of the moat1 and raised some ten feet above it2 backed by an old yew hedge some twenty feet high1 of irregular outline4 ,just opposite the middle of the house the line of the hedge is interrupted to give a view into the park1 with a vista between groups of fine elms2 but the hedge stretches away southward the whole length of the long arm of the moat and the walled gardens4 ,at regular intervals along the old hedge are ranged1 on column-shaped pedestals1 busts that came from an ,italian villa4 ,about half way along steps lead down to the moat1 where there is a ferry-punt propelled by an endless rope1 such as is commonly used in the fenlands4 ,at the end of the long walk is a curious seat with a high carved back1 that looks as if it had once formed part of an old ship or state barge1 in the bygone days of two hundred years ago1 when a fine style of bold and free wood-carving was lavishly used about their raised poops and stern-galleries4 ,towards the end of the second division of the walled garden is an old orangery or large garden house1 that probably was in connexion with the scheme of the yew hedges4 ,it has the usual piercing with large lights but no top-light4 ,the original purpose of these buildings was the housing of orange and other tender trees in tubs1 and the fact of its presence might possibly throw some light on the mystery of the garden's former planning4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,yew ,,hedge1 ,,campsey ,,ashe ,,from ,,the ,,picture ,,in ,,the ,,possession ,,of ,,mr4 ,h4 ,w4 ,,search ,good hardy flowers are everywhere in abundance4 ,specially beautiful in the later summer is a grand pink ,hollyhock of strong free habit1 with the flowers of that best of all shapes--with wide1 frilled outer petals and centres not too tightly packed4 ,it would be interesting work for some one with a knowledge of the garden design of the past three centuries in ,england to try to reconstruct the original plan of some one time4 ,though on the ground the various remaining portions of the older work cannot be pieced together1 yet1 if these were put on paper to proper scale1 it might be possible to come to some general conclusions as to the way in which the garden was originally1 and again perhaps subsequently1 laid out4 ,some of the remaining portions of the older work of quite different dates may now seem to be of the same age1 but the expert would probably be able to discriminate4 ,the result of such a study would be worth having even if actual reconstruction were not contemplated4 ,,cleeve ,,prior ,near a quiet village in ,warwickshire1 and in close relation to its accompanying farm buildings1 is this charming old manor house4 ,it is not upon a main road1 but stands back in its own quiet place on rising ground above the ,avon4 ,everything about it is interesting and quite unspoilt4 ,the wooden hand-gate1 with its acorn-topped posts1 that stands upon two semi-circular steps may not have been of the pattern of the original gate--it has an eighteenth-century look--but it is just right now4 ,it leads into a half dark1 half light1 double arcade of splendid old clipped yews4 ,looking from the gate they seem to be tall walls of yew to right and left1 showing the projecting porch of the house at the end2 but1 passing along1 there are seen to be openings between every two trees1 each of which gives a charming picture of the lawns and simple flower beds to right and left4 ,the path is paved with stone flags2 the garden is bounded with a low wall of the local oolite limestone that rock-plants love4 ,a few thin-topped old fruit-trees1 their stems clothed with ivy1 are another link between the past and present1 and the somewhat pathetic evidence of their having long passed their prime and being on the downward path1 is in striking contrast with the robust vigour of the ancient yews1 already some centuries old1 and looking as if they must endure for ever4 ,eight yews stand on either side--sixteen in all4 ,they are known as the twelve ,apostles and the four ,evangelists4 ,the names may have belonged to them from the time of their planting1 for the whole place belonged in old days to ,evesham ,abbey1 and is pervaded with monastic memory and tradition4 ,this may also account for the excellence of the ,illustration3 ,,the ,,twelve ,,apostles1 ,,cleeve ,,prior ,,from ,,the ,,picture ,,in ,,the ,,possession ,,of ,,sir ,,frederick ,,wigan buildings1 for the old monks were grand constructors1 and their structures were not only solid but always beautiful4 ,one of the older of these at ,cleeve ,prior is a large circular dovecote of stone masonry with tiled roof and small tiled cupola4 ,such buildings were not unfrequent in the old days1 and many of them remain4 ,sometimes they are round in plan1 sometimes four-1 sometimes eight-sided4 ,occasionally there is a central post inside1 set on pivots to revolve easily1 with lateral arms carrying a ladder that reaches nearly to the walls1 so that any one of the many pigeon-holes can be reached4 ,to the left of the ,apostles' ,garden1 as you stand facing the house1 a little gate leads into the vegetable garden4 ,it has narrow grass paths bordered with old-fashioned flowers4 ,a further gate leads into the orchard4 ,behind the house is the home close with some fine trees2 on two other sides are the farm buildings1 yard and rickyard4 ,how grandly the flowers grow in these old manor and farm gardens6 ,how finely the great masses of bloom compose1 and how beautifully they harmonise with the grey of the limestone wall and the wonderful colour of the old tiled roof2 both of them weather and lichen-stained2 each tile a picture in itself of grey and orange and tenderest pink4 ,the yews have got over their paler green colour of the early summer when the young shoots are put forth1 and have settled into the deep green dress that they will wear till next ,may4 ,for the time is ,september2 wheat harvesting is going on and the autumn flowers are in full vigour4 ,there are ,dahlias1 the great annual ,sunflowers and the tall autumn ,daisy2 ,lavender and ,michaelmas ,daisies1 with sweet herbs for the kitchen1 just as it should be in such a garden4 ,some of these old pot-herbs are beautiful things deserving a place in any flower garden4 ,sage--for instance--a half shrubby plant with handsome grey leaf and whorled spikes of purple flowers2 a good plant both for winter and summer1 for the leaves are persistent and the plant well clothed throughout the year4 ,hyssop is another such handsome thing1 of the same family1 with a quantity of purple bloom in the autumn1 when it is a great favourite with the butterflies and bumble bees4 ,this is one of the plants that was used as an edging plant in gardens in ,tudor days1 as we read in ,parkinson's 8,paradisus10 where ,lavender-cotton1 ,marjoram1 ,savoury and ,thyme are also named as among the plants used for the same purpose4 ,rue1 with its neat bluish-green foliage1 is also a capital plant for the garden where this colour of leafage is desired4 ,fennel1 with its finely-divided leaves and handsome yellow flower1 is a good border plant1 though rarely so used1 and blooms in the late autumn4 ,lavender and ,rosemary are both so familiar as flower-garden plants that we forget that they can also be used as neat edgings1 if from the time they are young plants they are kept clipped4 ,borage has a handsome blue flower1 as good as its relation the larger ,anchusa4 ,tansy1 best known in gardens by the handsome ,achillea ,eupatorium1 was an old inmate of the herb garden4 ,sweet ,cicely 7,myrrhis odorata7 has beautiful foliage1 pale green and fern-like1 with a good umbel of white bloom1 and is a most desirable plant to group with and among early blooming flowers4 ,and we all know what a good garden flower is the common ,pot ,marigold4 ,the old farm buildings at ,cleeve ,prior are scarcely less beautiful than the manor-house itself1 and are remarkable for the timber erections1 open at the sides but with tiled roofs1 that give sheltered access1 by outside stairways1 to the lofts4 ,throughout ,england the older farmhouses and buildings are full of interest1 not only to architects1 but to many who are in sympathy with good and simple construction1 and have taken the pleasant trouble to learn enough about it to understand how and why the buildings were reared4 ,and in these restless days of hurry and strain and close competition in trades1 and bad1 cheap work1 it is good to pass a quiet hour in wandering about among structures set up four or even five centuries ago by these grand building monks4 ,the present writer had just such a pleasure not long ago in the ,south of ,england1 where a large group of monastic farm buildings stands within sound of the wash of the sea4 ,they are on sloping ground1 inclosing three sides of a square2 a wall1 backed with trees1 forming the fourth side4 ,on the upper level is a great barn2 a much greater1 the tithe barn1 being opposite it on the lower4 ,buildings containing stables1 cattle-sheds and piggeries connect the two4 ,between these and the wall opposite is a spacious yard2 across the middle is a raised causeway dividing the yard into two levels4 ,illustration3 ,,cleeve ,,prior3 ,,sunflowers ,,from ,,the ,,picture ,,in ,,the ,,possession ,,of ,,mr4 ,,james ,,crofts ,,powell ,the barns are of grand masonry4 ,some of the stones1 next above the plinth--a feature that adds so much to the dignity of the building1 and by its additional width1 to its solidity--measure as much as four feet six inches in length by twenty inches in height4 ,in every fifth course is a row of triangular holes for ventilation1 such as every brick or stone-built barn must have4 ,they are cleverly arranged as to the detail of the manner of their building1 and though only intended for use have a distinctly ornamental value4 ,where the walls rise at the gable ends they are corbelled out at the eaves and carried up some two feet above the line of the rafters1 finishing in a wrought stone capping1 thus stopping the thatch4 ,for the buildings are1 and always have been1 thatched with straw1 the ground around being good corn-land1 a rich calcareous loam4 ,there is a delightful sense of restfulness about these fine solid buildings1 built for the plainest needs of the community of the material nearest to hand1 in the simply right and therefore most beautiful way4 ,with no intentional ornament1 they have the beauty of sound1 strong structure and unconsciously right proportion4 ,there is also a satisfaction in the plain evidence of delight in good craftsmanship1 and in the unsparing use of both labour and material4 ,,condover ,condover ,hall near ,shrewsbury is a stately house of important size and aspect--one of the many great houses that were reared in the latter half of the reign of ,queen ,elizabeth4 ,its general character gives the impression of severity rather than suavity1 though the straight groups of chimneys have handsome heads1 and the severe character is mitigated on the southern front by an arcade in the middle space of the ground floor4 ,the same stern treatment pervades the garden masonry4 ,no mouldings soften the edges of the terrace steps2 parapets and retaining walls1 with the exception of the balustrade of the main terrace1 are without ornament of light and shade2 plainly weathered copings being their only finish4 ,only here and there1 a pier that carries a large ,italian flower-pot has a little more ornament of rather massive bracket form4 ,the garden spaces are large and largely treated1 as befits the place and its environment of park-land amply furnished with grand masses of tree-growth4 ,on the southern side of the house1 where the ground falls away1 are two green flats and slopes1 leading to a lower walk parallel with their length and with the terrace above4 ,the steps in the picture are the top flight of a succession leading to these lower levels4 ,the lower and narrower grassy space has a row of clipped yews of a rounded cone-shape4 ,the upper level has a design of the same1 but of different patterns4 ,the balustrade in the picture is old1 probably of the same date as the house2 much of the other stonework is modern4 ,the circular seat on a raised platform1 with its stone-edged flower-beds1 has a very happy effect1 and its yew-hedge backing joins well into the older yews that ,illustration3 ,,condover3 ,,the ,,terrace ,,steps ,,from ,,the ,,picture ,,in ,,the ,,possession ,,of ,,miss ,,austen ,,leigh overlap the parapet of the steps2 their colour contrasting distinctly with that of the more distant ,ilex1 a magnificent example of a tree that deserves more general use in ,english gardens4 ,the parterre above the steps and on a level with the house has box hedges1 after the ,italian manner1 three feet high and two feet wide4 ,these1 with some of the yew hedges1 were planted a hundred years ago1 though much of the garden1 with its ornaments of fine ,italian flower-pots1 was the work of the former owner1 the late ,mr4 ,reginald ,cholmondeley1 a man of powerful personality and fine taste4 ,the most important part of the garden lies to the west of the house1 where there is a double garden of stiff pattern with high box borders and clipped evergreens4 ,at a right angle to this1 the spectator1 standing at some distance westward1 and looking back towards the east and straight with the space between the pair of gardens of angular design1 sees a broad space flanked on either side by a row of handsome upright yews4 ,the ground between is a flower garden of large diamond-shaped beds in two sizes1 with cleverly-arranged green edgings4 ,but now that the large ,irish yews have grown to their early maturity1 dominating the garden and insisting on their own strong parallel lines1 it is open to question whether it would not have been better to have had a wide1 clear middle space of green straight down the length1 with the flowers in shapely1 ordered masses to right and left4 ,the close succession of large beds gives the impression of impediments to comfortable progress4 ,it was wise to leave the ,irish yews unclipped4 ,though the common ,english yew is the tree that is of all others the most docile to the discipline of training and shearing1 the upright growing variety will have none of it4 ,in some fine ,english gardens they are clipped1 always with disastrous effect4 ,they will only take one form3 that of an ugly swollen bottle1 or lamp-chimney with a straight top4 ,their own form is quite symmetrical enough for use in any large design4 ,,speke ,,hall ,there are1 alas6 but few now remaining of the timber buildings of the sixteenth century that are either so important in size or so well-preserved as this beautiful old ,lancashire house4 ,they were built at a time when the country had settled down into a peaceable state2 when houses need no longer be walled and loopholed against the probable raids of enemies2 when their windows might be of ample size and might look abroad without fear4 ,many of them1 however1 were still moated1 for a moat was of use not only for defence but as a convenient fish-pond1 and as a bar to the depredations of wolves1 foxes and rabbits4 ,the advance of civilisation also brought with it a greater desire for home comforts1 and the genius of the country1 unspoilt1 unfettered1 undiluted by that mass of half-digested knowledge of many styles that has led astray so many of the builders of modern days1 by a natural instinct cast these dwellings into forms that we now seek out and study in the effort to regain our lost innocence1 and that in many cases we are glad to adopt anew as models of what is most desirable for comfort and for the happy enjoyment of our homes4 ,still1 in these days we cannot build such houses anew without a suspicion of strain or affectation4 ,when they were reared1 oak was the building material most readily to be obtained1 and carpenters' work1 already well developed in the construction of roofs1 now given free scope in outer walls as well1 seemed to revel in the new liberty1 and oak-framed houses grew up into beautiful form and ornament in such a way as has never been surpassed in this country4 ,illustration3 ,,speke ,,hall ,,from ,,the ,,picture ,,in ,,the ,,possession ,,of ,,mr4 ,,george ,s4 ,,elgood ,it was satisfying and beautiful because every bit of ornamental detail grew out of the necessary structure4 ,the plainer framing of cottage and farmhouse became enriched in the manor-house into a wealth of moulding and carving and other kinds of decoration4 ,external panel ornament gained a rich quality by the repetition of symmetrical form1 while the overhanging of the successive stories and the indentations between projecting wings and porches threw the various faces of the building into interesting masses of light and shade4 ,then1 in delightful and restful contrast to the 8busy0 wall-spaces1 are the roofs1 with their long quiet lines of ridge and their covering of tile or stone1 painted by the ages with the loveliest tinting of moss and lichen4 ,within1 these fine old wooden houses show the good ,english oak as worthily treated as without4 ,for the whole structure is of wood from end to end1 built as soundly and strongly as were the old wooden ships4 ,the inner walls1 where they were not panelled with oak1 were hung with tapestry4 ,ceilings of the best rooms were wrought with plaster ornament2 lesser rooms showed the beams and often the thick joists that fitted into them and upheld the floor above4 ,where1 as was usual1 there was a long gallery in the topmost floor1 its ceiling would show a tracery of oak with plaster filling1 partly following the line of the roof4 ,the whole structure1 blossoming out in its more important parts into beautiful decorative enrichment1 showed the worker's delight in his craft1 and his mastery of mind and hand in conceiving and carrying out the possibilities offered by what was then the most usual building material of the country4 ,such another house as ,speke is ,moreton ,old ,hall in ,cheshire1 but the latter is still more richly decorated1 with carved strings1 some of which were painted1 and wood and plaster panels of great elaboration1 and lead-quarried windows of large size and beautiful design4 ,the destruction of large numbers of these timber buildings in the eighteenth century can never be sufficiently deplored4 ,there was a time when the fashion for buildings of classical form was spreading over ,england1 when they were considered barbarous relics of a bygone age1 and when the delightful gardens that had grown up around them were alike condemned and in many cases destroyed4 ,there is not a large garden at ,speke1 but just enough of simple groups of flowers to grace the beautiful timber front4 ,the picture shows that the gardening is just right for the place2 not asserting itself overmuch but doing its own part with a restful1 quiet charm that has a right relation to the lovely old dwelling4 ,,garden ,,roses ,those who follow the developments of taste in modern gardening1 cannot fail to perceive how great has been the recent increase in the numbers of ,roses that are for true beauty in the garden4 ,it is only some of the elders among those who take a true and lively interest in their gardens who know what a scarcity of good things there was thirty years ago1 or even twenty1 compared with what we have now to choose from4 ,still1 of the ,roses commonly known as garden ,roses1 there were even then ,china ,roses1 ,damask1 ,cabbage and ,moss1 ,sweetbriars and ,cinnamon ,roses1 and the free-growing ,ayrshires1 which are even now among the most indispensable4 ,but the wave of indifferent taste in gardening that had flooded all ,england with the desire for summer bedding plants1 to the almost entire exclusion of the worthier occupants of gardens1 had for a time pushed aside the older garden ,roses4 ,for whereas in the earlier half of the nineteenth century these good old ,roses were much planted and worthily used1 with the coming of the fashion for the tender bedding plants they fell into general disuse2 and1 with the accompanying neglect of many a good hardy border plant1 left our gardens very much the poorer1 and1 except for special spring bedding1 bare of flowers for all the earlier part of the year4 ,now we have learnt the better ways1 and have come to see that good gardening is based on something more stable and trustworthy than any passing freak of fashion4 ,and though the foolish imp fashion will always pounce upon something to tease and worry over1 and to set up on a temporary pedestal only to be pulled down again before long1 so also it assails and would make its own for a time1 some one or other point of garden practice4 ,just now it is the pergola and the ,japanese garden2 and truly wonderful are the absurdities committed in the name of both4 ,but the sober1 thoughtful gardener smiles within himself and lets the freaks of fashion pass by4 ,if he has some level place where a straight covered way of summer greenery would lead pleasantly from one quite definite point to another1 and if he feels quite sure that his garden-scheme and its environment will be the better for it1 and if he can afford to build a sensible structure1 with solid piers and heavy oak beams1 he will do well to have a pergola4 ,if he has travelled in ,japan1 and lived there for some time and acquired the language1 and has deeply studied the mental attitude of the people with regard to their gardens1 and imbibed the traditional lore so closely bound up with their horticultural practice1 and is also a practical gardener in ,england--then let him make a ,japanese garden1 if he will and can2 but he will be the wiser man if he lets it alone4 ,even with all the knowledge indicated1 and1 indeed1 because of its acquirement1 he probably would not attempt it4 ,when a ,japanese garden merely means a space of pleasure-ground where plants1 natives of ,japan1 are grown in a manner suitable for an ,english garden1 there is but little danger of going wrong1 but such danger is considerable when an attempt is made to garden in the ,japanese manner4 ,this is a wide digression from the subject of garden ,roses1 and yet excusable in that it can scarcely be too often urged that any attempt to practise anything in horticulture for no better reason than because it is the fashion1 can only lead to debasement and can only achieve futility4 ,now that there are large numbers of people who truly love their gardens1 and who show evidence of it by giving them much care and thought and loving labour1 the old garden ,roses have been sought for and have been restored to their former place of high favour4 ,and our best nurserymen have not been slow to see what would be acceptable in well-cared-for gardens throughout the length and breadth of the land2 so that the last few years have seen an extraordinary activity in the production of good ,roses for garden effect4 ,the free-growing ,rosa polyantha of the ,himalayas has been employed as a seed or pollen-bearing parent1 and from it have been developed first the well-known ,crimson ,illustration3 8,,viscountess ,,folkestone0 ,,from ,,the ,,picture ,,in ,,the ,,possession ,,of ,,mr4 ,r4 ,,clarke ,,edwards ,rambler1 and later a number of less showy but much more refined flowers of just the right kind for free use in garden decoration4 ,valuable hybrids have also been raised from the ,tea ,roses1 one of the best known of them being ,viscountess ,folkestone1 the subject of the picture2 a grand ,rose for grouping in beds or clumps1 and one that yields its large1 loose1 blush-white flowers abundantly and for a long season4 ,this merit of an extended blooming season runs through the greater number of the now long list of varieties of the beautiful hybrid ,teas4 ,some of the new seedling ,tea ,roses have nearly single flowers1 and are none the less beautiful1 as those wise folk well know who grow ,corallina and the lovely white ,irish ,beauty1 and its free-blooming companion ,irish ,glory4 ,these also are plants that will succeed1 as will most of the hybrid ,teas1 in some poor hot soils where most ,roses fail4 ,then for rambling over banks we have ,rosa wichuraiana and its descendants2 among these the charming ,dorothy ,perkins1 good for any free use4 ,those who garden on the strong1 rich loams that ,roses love will find that many of the so-called show ,roses are grand things as garden ,roses also2 indeed1 for purely horticultural purposes there is no need of any such distinction4 ,the way is for a number of ,roses to be grown on trial1 and for a keen watch to be kept on their ways4 ,it will soon be seen which are those that are happiest in any particular garden1 and how1 having regard to their colour and way of growth1 they may best be used for beauty and delight4 ,in the garden where the picture was painted1 ,viscountess ,folkestone has an undergrowth of ,love-in-a-mist1 that comes up year after year1 and with its quiet grey-blue colouring makes a charming companionship with the faint blush of the ,roses4 ,,penshurst ,the gardens that adorn the ancient home of the ,sidneys are1 as to the actual planting of what we see to-day1 with repairs to the house and some necessary additions to fit it for modern needs1 the work of the late ,lord de ,l',isle with the architect ,george ,devey1 begun about fifty years ago4 ,it was a time when there was not much good work done in gardening1 but both were men of fine taste and ability1 and the reparation and alteration needed for the house1 and the new planting and partly new designing of the garden could not have been in better hands4 ,the aspect and sentiment of the garden1 now that it has grown into shape--its lines closely following1 as far as it went1 the old design--are in perfect accordance with the whole feeling of the place1 so that there seems to be no break in continuity from the time of the original planting some centuries ago4 ,such as it is to-day1 such one feels sure it was in the old days--in parts line for line and path for path1 but throughout1 just such a garden as to general form1 aspect1 and above all1 sentiment1 as it must have been in the days of old4 ,for when it was first planted the conditions that would have to be considered were always the same2 requirement of shelter from prevailing winds2 questions relating to various portions1 as to whether it would be desirable to welcome the sunlight for the flowers' delight1 or to shut it out for human enjoyment of summer coolness--all such grounds of motive were1 just as now1 deliberated by the men of old days1 whose decisions1 actuated by sympathy with both house and ground1 would bring forth a result whose character would be the same1 whether thought out and planned to-day or four centuries ago4 ,so it is that we find the old work at ,penshurst confirmed and renewed1 ,illustration3 8,,gloire ,,de ,,dijon10 ,,penshurst ,,from ,,the ,,picture ,,in ,,the ,,possession ,,of ,,sir ,,reginald ,,hanson ,,bart4 and new work added of a like kind1 such as will make use of the wider modern range of garden plants1 while it retains the dignity and grandeur of the fine old place4 ,the house stands on a wide space of grass terrace commanding the garden4 ,on a lower level is a large quadrangular parterre1 with cross paths4 ,in each of its square angles is a sunk garden with a five-foot-wide verge of turf and a bordering stone kerb forming a step4 ,the beds within1 filled with good hardy plants1 have bold box edgings eighteen inches high and a foot thick1 that not only set off the bright masses of flowers within1 but have in themselves an air of solidity and importance that befits the large scale of the place4 ,they represent in their own position and on their lesser scale somewhat of the same character as the massive yew hedges1 twelve feet high and six feet through1 that do their own work in other parts of the garden4 ,these grand yew hedges and solid box borders have responded well to good planting and tending1 for the late ,lord de ,l',isle knew his work and did it thoroughly4 ,not only was the ground well prepared1 but for several years after planting the young trees were provided with a surface dressing that prevented evaporation and provided nutriment4 ,this was carefully attended to1 not only in the case of the yews but of the box edgings also4 ,the cross-walks of the parterre do not meet in the middle1 but sweep round a circular fountain basin1 in the centre of which stands a statue of what may be a young ,hercules1 brought from ,italy by ,lord de ,l',isle4 ,the slender grace of the figure might at first suggest a youthful ,bacchus1 but the identity in such a statue is easily established by looking for one or other of the characteristic attributes of ,hercules2 these usually are the lion's skin1 the upright-growing hair on the forehead1 the poplar wreath or the battered1 flattened ears4 ,but the statue stands too far from the walk to be exactly identified4 ,that the nearer portions of the garden are on the same lines as the older planting is shown by an engraving in ,harris's 8,kent10 where the parterre is1 now as then1 bounded by terraces on two of its sides1 the house side and that of the adjoining churchyard1 to which access is gained by a beautiful gabled gateway of brick and stone1 the work of ,tudor times4 ,the old churchyard has its own beauty1 while the church and a fine group of elms are seen from the garden above the wall1 and take their own beneficent place in the garden landscape4 ,the rectangular fountain1 which1 with its surrounding yew hedges1 and the grass walks also inclosed by thick yew hedges1 divides the two portions of the kitchen garden1 are also parts of the old design1 added to by the late owner4 ,the yew hedges beyond the fountain pool have been set back to allow width enough for a handsome flower-border on either side4 ,water ,lilies grow in the pool and the flower-borders display their beauties beyond1 while the fruit trees of the kitchen garden show above the thick green hedges as flowering masses in spring1 and in later summer1 as the taller perennials of the border rise to their full height1 as a thin copse of fruit and leafage4 ,the turf walk and flower-border swing outward to suit the greater width of another fountain-basin at the end4 ,this has straight sides running the way of the main path1 and a segmental front4 ,instead of the usual rising kerb1 there are two shallow stone steps1 the upper one even with the grass1 the lower half way between that and the water-level4 ,except that it is less of a protection than something of the parapet kind1 this is a most desirable means of near access to the water2 welcome to the eye in all ways and allowing the water-surface to be seen from a distance4 ,it is pleasantly noticeable in this pool that the water-level rises to the proper place4 ,nothing is more frequent or more unsightly than a deep pool or basin with straight sides and only a little water in the bottom4 ,if the height of the water is necessarily fluctuating it is a good plan to build the tank in a succession of such steps2 they are pleasant to see both above and under water1 and in the case of an accident to a straying child1 danger is reduced to the smallest point4 ,the picture shows one of the flights of steps from one level to another4 ,to the left two handsome gate-piers and a fine wrought-iron gate lead to a quiet green meadow4 ,near by and just across it is the ,medway1 with wooded banks and groups of fine trees4 ,the old wall is beautiful from the meadow side2 its coping a garden of wild flowers4 ,above it is seen the clipped yew hedge with its series of rising ornaments1 rounded in the direction of the axis of the hedge1 but flat on ,illustration3 ,,the ,,terrace ,,steps1 ,,penshurst ,,from ,,the ,,picture ,,in ,,the ,,possession ,,of ,,mr4 ,,frederick ,,greene its two faces4 ,this is seen in the picture on the upper level1 above the steps to the left4 ,herbaceous plants are grandly grown throughout this beautiful garden4 ,specially noticeable are the fine taste and knowledge of garden effect with which they have been used4 ,there are not flowers everywhere1 but between the flowery portions of the garden are quiet green spaces that rest and refresh the eye1 and that give both eye and brain the best possible preparation for a further display and enjoyment of their beauty4 ,such an example the picture shows4 ,on either side is a border with masses of strong-growing hardy plants--pale ,monkshood1 ,evening ,primrose1 ,sweet-,william1 ,pink ,mallow--then1 above the steps1 only the restful turf underfoot1 and to right and left the quiet walls of yew2 at the end a group of great elms4 ,at the foot of the steps1 passing away to the right1 is another double flower-border1 passing again by a turn to the right into the quiet green walk leading to the large fountain basin4 ,many a good climbing ,rose1 with other rambling and clambering plants1 find their homes on the terraces4 ,a ,gloire de ,dijon or one of its class--,madame ,brard or ,bouquet d',or1 perhaps2 either of these the equal of the other for such garden use--rises from below the parapet of one of the flights of steps and comes forward in happiest fellowship with a leaden vase of fine design2 the dark background of ,irish ,yew making the best possible ground for both ,rose and urn4 ,in olden days these lead ornaments were commonly painted and gilt1 but the revived taste for all that is best in gardening rightly considers such treatment to be a desecration of a surface which with age acquires a beautiful grey colouring and a delightful quality of colour-texture4 ,the painting of lead would seem to be a relic of the many toy-like artifices in gardening that were prevalent in ,tudor times4 ,all these are rejected in the best modern practice1 though all the old ways that made for true garden beauty and permanent growth and value have been retained4 ,a clever way of utilising the stronger growing ,clematises1 including the large purple ,jackmanii1 is here practised4 ,they are swung garland-fashion between a row of ,apple-trees that borders one of the walks4 ,hops are used in the same way4 ,it was perhaps a remembrance of ,italy1 where ,vines are trained to swing between the ,mulberries4 ,the beautiful pale yellow ,carnation1 named ,pride of ,penshurst1 was raised in this good garden1 where everything tells of the truest sympathy with all that is best in ,english horticulture4 ,not the least among the soothing and satisfying influences of the pleasure-grounds of ,penshurst1 is the entire absence of the specimen conifer1 that1 with its wearisome repetition of single examples of young firs and pines1 has brought such a displeasing element of restless confusion into so many pleasure-grounds4 ,,brickwall ,east ,sussex is rich in beautiful houses of ,tudor times2 many precious relics remaining of those days and of the ,jacobean reigns1 of important manor-house1 fine farm building and labourer's cottage4 ,these were the times when ,english oak1 some of the best of which grew in the ,sussex forests1 was the main building material4 ,the walls were framed of oak1 and the same wood provided beams1 joists and rafters1 boards for the floors1 panelling1 doors1 window-mullions and furniture4 ,in those days the wood was not cut up with the steam-saw1 but was split with the axe and wedge4 ,the carpentry of the roofs was magnificent2 there was no sparing of stuff or of labour4 ,much of it that has not been exposed to the weather1 such as these roof-framings1 is as sound to-day as when it was put together1 with its honest tenons and mortises and fastenings of stout oak pins4 ,in most cases the old oak has become extraordinarily hard and of a dark colour right through4 ,brickwall1 the beautiful home of the ,frewens1 near ,northiam1 is a delightful example1 both as to house and garden1 of these old places of the truest ,english type4 ,a stately gateway1 and a short road across a spacious green forecourt bounded by large trees1 leads straight to the entrance in the wide north-eastern timbered front4 ,the other side of the house1 in closely intimate relation to the garden1 has a homely charm of a most satisfying kind4 ,the wide bricked path next the house1 so typical of ,sussex1 speaks of the strong1 cool soil4 ,the ground rises just beyond1 and again further away in the distance4 ,the garden is divided into two nearly equal portions by the double flower-border1 backed by pyramidal clipped yews1 that forms the subject of the picture1 and is enfiladed by the middle windows of the house4 ,in the left hand division is a long rectangular pool with rather steep-angled sides of grass1 looking a little dangerous4 ,there is a reason here for the water being a good way below the level of the lawn1 for this is much above that of the ground floor of the house2 still it is a matter of doubt whether it would not have been better to have had a flagged or bricked path some four feet wide1 not much above the water-level1 with steps rising on two sides to the lawn1 and dry walling1 allowing of some delightful planting1 from the path to the lawn level4 ,on the two outer sides of the garden1 parallel with the middle walk1 are raised terraces1 reached by steps at the ends of the bricked path4 ,these have walls on their outer sides1 and towards the garden1 yew hedges kept low so that it is easy to see over4 ,these low hedges run into a much higher and older one that connects them towards the upper end of the garden4 ,the clipped yews which give the garden its character are for the most part of one pattern1 a tall three-sided pyramid1 only varied by some tall cones4 ,one cannot help observing how desirable it is in gardens of this kind that the form of the clipped yews should for the most part keep to one shape1 or at any rate one general pattern1 just as the architecture1 whatever its character or ornament1 within some kind of limit remains faithful to the dominant idea4 ,the picture shows a double flower-border in ,august dress2 good groups of the best hardy plants combining happily with some of the pyramids of yew4 ,to the right is the fine summer ,daisy 7,chrysanthemum maximum71 with the lilac ,erigeron and the spiky blue-purple balls of the ,globe ,thistle1 the tall double ,rudbeckia ,golden ,glow1 ,lavender1 ,poppies and ,phlox4 ,to the left1 ,phloxes and the tall ,evening ,primrose1 the great garden ,tansy 7,achillea ,eupatorium71 seed-heads of the ,delphiniums that bloomed a month ago1 ,white ,mallow1 and the grand red-ringed ,sweet-,william called ,holborn ,glory4 ,everything speaks of good cultivation on a rich loamy soil1 for those fine yews want plenty of nutriment themselves1 and would also be apt to rob their less robust neighbours4 ,but then the good gardener knows how to provide for this4 ,there is always an opportunity for beautiful treatment1 when1 as in ,illustration3 ,,brickwall1 ,,northiam ,,from ,,the ,,picture ,,in ,,the ,,possession ,,of ,,mr4 ,r4 ,a4 ,,oswald this case1 the garden ground ascends from the house4 ,the garden is laid out to view1 almost as a picture hangs on a wall1 in the very best position for the convenience of the spectator2 and there is nothing that gives a greater sense of dignity1 with something of a poetical mystery1 than separate flights of steps ascending one after another in plane after plane--as they do in that magnificent example1 ,canterbury ,cathedral4 ,it matters not whether the steps are under a roof or not--the impression received is the same4 ,and there is much beauty in the steps themselves being long and wide and shallow4 ,looking uphill we see the steps2 looking downhill they are lost4 ,it is not the foot only that rests upon the step1 it is the eye also1 and that is why any handsome steps with finely-moulded edges are so pleasant to see4 ,the overhanging edge may have arisen from utility1 in that1 where a step must be narrow it gives more space for the foot2 but in the wide step it affords still more satisfaction1 giving a good shadow under the moulded edge1 and accentuating the long level lines that are so welcome to the eye4 ,,stone ,,hall1 ,,easton ,,the ,,friendship ,,garden ,it was a pleasant thought1 that of the lover of good flowers and firm friend of many good people1 who first had the idea of combining the two sentiments into a garden of enduring beauty4 ,such a garden has been made at ,easton by the ,countess of ,warwick4 ,the site of the ,friendship ,garden has been happily chosen1 close to the remains of an ancient house called ,stone ,hall1 which now serves ,lady ,warwick as a garden-house and library of garden books4 ,the flower-plots are arranged in a series of concentric circles2 the plants are the gifts of friends4 ,the name of each plant and that of the giver are recorded on an imperishable majolica plaque4 ,many well-known givers' names are here1 from that of the very highest in the land downward4 ,the plants themselves comprise many of the best and handsomest4 ,the picture shows the garden as it is about the middle of ,september2 the time of the great ,white ,pyrethrum1 the perennial ,sunflowers and the earliest of the ,michaelmas ,daisies4 ,the bush of ,lavender is blooming late1 its normal flowering time is a month earlier4 ,but ,lavender1 especially when some of the first bloom is cut1 will often go on flowering1 as later-formed shoots come to blooming strength4 ,let us hope that the giver is not shortlived like the gift1 for ,lavender bushes1 after a few years of strong life1 soon wear out4 ,already this one is showing signs of age1 and it would be well to set a few cuttings in spring or autumn1 or1 still better1 to layer it by one of the lower branches1 in order to renew ,illustration3 ,,stone ,,hall1 ,,easton3 ,,the ,,friendship ,,garden ,,from ,,the ,,picture ,,in ,,the ,,possession ,,of ,,the ,,countess ,,of ,,warwick the life of the plant when the strength of the present bush comes to an end4 ,such a garden1 full of so keen a personal interest1 sets one thinking4 ,what will become of it fifty or a hundred years hence8 ,the flowers1 with due diligence of division1 and replanting and enriching of the soil1 will live for ever4 ,the name-plates1 with care and protection from breakage1 will also live4 ,but what will these names be one or two generations hence8 ,will the plants all be there8 ,and what of the ,friendships8 ,they are something belonging intimately to the lives of those now living4 ,what record of them will endure2 or enduring1 be of use or comfort to those who come after8 ,then one thinks and wonders--what hand1 perhaps quite a humble one--planted the old apple-tree that has its stem now girdled by a rustic seat4 ,its days are perhaps already numbered2 the top is thin and open1 the foliage is spare2 it seems to be beyond fruit-bearing age1 and as if it had scarcely strength to draw up the circulating sap4 ,and then1 for all the carefulness given to the making of the garden and its tender memories of human kindness in giving and receiving1 the plant that dominates the whole1 and gives evidence of the oldest occupation from times past1 and promises the greatest attainment of age in days to come1 is the ,ivy on the old ,stone ,hall4 ,probably it was never planted at all--came by itself1 as we carelessly say--or planted1 as we may more thoughtfully and worthily say1 by the hand of ,god1 and now doing its part of sheltering and fostering the ,garden of ,friendship4 ,should not the ,ivy also have its heart-shaped plate and its most grateful and reverent inscription1 as a noble plant1 the gift of the kindest ,friend of all1 who first created a garden for the sustenance and delight of man and put into his heart that love of beautiful flowers that has always endured as one of the chiefest and quite the purest of his human pleasures8 ,there is a rose-garden beyond the bank of shrubs to the left1 where each ,rose1 on one of the permanent labels1 here shaped after the pattern of a ,tudor ,rose1 has a quotation from the poets4 ,here are1 among others1 the older roses of our gardens1 the ,damask and the ,rose of ,provence1 the ,cinnamon and the ,musk ,rose1 the bushy ,briers and the taller ,eglantine that we now call ,sweetbrier4 ,close at hand there is also a ,shakespeare ,garden1 designed to show what were the garden-flowers commonly in use in his time4 ,here we may again find ,rosemary--that sweetly aromatic shrub1 so old a favourite in ,english gardens4 ,its long-enduring scent made it the emblem of constancy and friendship4 ,and here should be ,rue1 also classed by ,shakespeare among 8nose-herbs10 and the sweet-leaved ,eglantine1 and ,lads-,love1 ,balm and ,gilliflowers 7our ,carnations71 a few kinds of ,lilies1 ,musk and ,damask ,roses1 ,violets1 ,peonies1 and many others of our oldest garden favourites4 ,,the ,,deanery ,,garden1 ,,rochester ,those who know the ,dean of ,rochester1,a either personally or by reputation1 will know that where he dwells there will be a beautiful garden4 ,his fame as a rosarian has gone throughout the length and breadth of ,britain1 and far beyond1 and his practical activity in spreading and fostering a love of ,roses must have been the means of gladdening many a heart1 and may be reckoned as by no means the least among the many beneficent influences of his long and distinguished ministry4 ,a ,these lines were in print before the lamented death of ,dean ,hole4 ,a few days' visit to ,dean ,hole's own home at ,caunton ,manor1 near ,newark1 will ever remain among the writer's pleasantest memories4 ,it must have been five and twenty years ago1 and it was ,june1 the time of ,roses4 ,to one whose home was on a poor sandy soil it was almost a new sight to see the best of ,roses1 splendidly grown and revelling in a good loam4 ,not that the credit was mainly due to the nature of the garden ground1 for1 as the ,dean 7then ,canon ,hole7 points out in his delightful 8,book about ,roses10 the soil had to be made to suit his favourite flower4 ,in this1 or some one of his books1 he feelingly describes how many of the visitors to his garden1 seeing the splendid vigour of his ,roses1 at once ascribed it to the excellence of his soil4 8,of course10 they said1 8your flowers are magnificent1 but then1 you see1 you have got such a soil for ,roses40 8,i should think ,i had got a soil for ,roses10 was the reply1 8didn't ,i mix it all myself and take it there in a barrow80 ,i quote from memory1 but this is the sense of this excellent lesson4 ,the writer's own experience is exactly the same4 ,of the quantities of garden visitors who have come--their number has had to be stringently limited of late--not one in twenty will believe that one loves a garden well enough to take a great deal of trouble about it4 ,in fact1 it is only this unceasing labour and care and watchfulness2 the due preparation according to knowledge and local experience2 the looking out for signal of distress or for the time for extra nourishment1 water1 shelter or support1 that produces the garden that satisfies any one with somewhat of the better garden knowledge2 a knowledge that does not make for showy parterres or for any necessarily costly complications2 rather1 indeed1 for all that is simplest1 but that produces something that is apparent at once to the eye1 and sympathetic to the mind1 of the true garden-lover4 ,it must have been a painful parting from the well-loved ,roses and the many other beauties of the ,caunton garden1 when the new duties of honourable advancement called ,canon ,hole from the old home to the ,deanery of ,rochester2 from the pure air of ,nottinghamshire to that of a town1 with the added reek of neighbouring lime and cement works4 ,but even here good gardening has overcome all difficulties1 and though1 when the air was more than usually loaded with the foul gases given off by these industries1 the ,dean would remark1 with a flash of his characteristic humour1 that ,rochester was 8a beautiful place--to get away from10 yet the ,deanery garden is now full of ,roses and quantities of other good garden flowers1 all grandly grown and in the best of health4 ,roses are in fact rampant4 ,a rough trellis1 simply made of split oak after the manner of the hurdles used for folding sheep in the ,midlands1 but about six feet high1 stands at the back of the main double flower-border4 ,rambling ,roses and others of free-growing habit are loosely trained to this1 their great heads of bloom hanging out every way with fine effect2 each ,rose is given freedom to show its own way of beauty1 while the trellis gives enough support and guides the general line of the great hedge of ,roses4 ,the ,dean is not alone among the flowers1 for ,mrs4 ,hole is also one of the best of gardeners4 ,the picture shows a portion of a double flower-border where a curving path connects two others that are at different angles4 ,in the ,illustration3 ,,the ,,deanery ,,garden1 ,,rochester ,,from ,,the ,,picture ,,in ,,the ,,possession ,,of ,,mr4 ,g4 ,a4 ,,tonge distance1 rising to a height of a hundred feet1 is the grand old ,norman keep2 the rare ,deptford ,pink 7,dianthus ,armeria7 grows in its masonry4 ,the ancient city wall is one of the garden's boundaries4 ,another old wall1 that is within the garden1 has been made the home of many a good rock-plant4 ,on the left1 in the picture1 are masses of ,poppies1 ,roses and ,white ,lilies1 with ,alstrmeria1 ,love-in-a-,mist1 and ,larkspurs1 both annual and perennial2 the background is of the soft1 feathery foliage of ,asparagus4 ,the ,roses are of all shapes2 single and double2 show ,roses and garden ,roses2 standards1 bushes and free-growing ramblers4 ,on the right are more ,larkspurs1 ,irises in seed-pod1 ,lavender1 and some splendidly-grown ,lilium szovitsianum1 one of the grandest of ,lilies1 and1 where it can be grown like this1 one of the finest things that can be seen in a garden4 ,its tender lemon colouring has suffered in the reproduction1 which makes it somewhat too heavy4 ,the upper part of a greenhouse shows in the picture4 ,it is sometimes impossible to keep such a structure out of sight1 but one like this1 of the plainest possible kind1 is the least unsightly of its class4 ,it is just an honest thing1 for the needs of the garden and for a part of its owner's pleasure4 ,the fatal thing is when an attempt is made to render greenhouses ornamental1 by the addition of fretted cast-iron ridges and fidgety finials4 ,these ill-placed futilities only serve to draw attention to something which1 by its nature1 cannot possibly be made an ornament in a garden1 while it is comparatively harmless if let alone1 and especially if the wood-work is not painted white but a neutral grey4 ,in all these matters of garden structures2 seats1 arbours and so forth1 it is much best in a simple garden to keep to what is of modest and quiet utility4 ,in the case of a large place1 which presents distinct architectural features1 it is another matter2 for there such details as these come within the province of the architect4 ,,compton ,,wynyates ,in the very foremost rank among the large houses still remaining that were built in ,tudor times is the ,warwickshire home of the ,marquess of ,northampton4 ,the walls are of brick1 wide-jointed after the old custom1 with quoins1 doorways1 and window-frames of freestone1 wrought into rich and beautiful detail in the heads of the bays and the grand old doorway1 whose upper ornament is a large panel bearing the sculptured arms of ,king ,henry ,,viii4 ,formerly the house was entirely surrounded by a moat1 which approached it closely on all sides but one1 where a small garden was inclosed4 ,now1 on the three sides next the building1 grass lawns take its place4 ,on all sides but one1 hilly ground rises almost immediately2 in steep slopes for the most part1 beautifully wooded with grand elms4 ,to the north is the small garden still inclosed by the moat4 ,straight along it is a broad grass walk with flower borders on both sides1 leading to a thatched summer-house that looks out upon the moat4 ,lesser paths lead across and around among vegetables and old fruit-trees4 ,at one corner is a venerable ,mulberry4 ,the space within the quadrangle of the building is turfed and has cross-paths paved with stone flags4 ,bushes of hardy ,fuchsia mark their outer angles of intersection4 ,at the foot of the walls hardy ,ferns are in luxuriance1 and nothing could better suit the place4 ,there are a few climbing ,roses1 but they are not overdone2 the beautiful building is sufficiently graced1 but not smothered1 by vegetation4 ,so it is throughout the place both within and without2 house and garden show a loving ,illustration3 ,,compton ,,wynyates ,,from ,,the ,,picture ,,in ,,the ,,possession ,,of ,,mr4 ,,george ,s4 ,,elgood reverence for the grand old heritage and that sound taste and knowledge that create and maintain well and wisely4 ,from the portions of the site of the old moat that are now grass1 a turf slope rises to a height of about eight feet4 ,on the upper level is a gravel walk1 and beyond it a yew hedge about four feet high1 with ornaments of peacocks cut in it at the principal openings1 and of ball and such-like forms at other apertures4 ,this is on the level of the main parterre4 ,a wide gravel path divides the garden into two equal portions1 swinging round in the middle space to give place to a circular grass-plot with a sundial4 ,this beautiful place offers so few details that can be adversely criticised that these few are the more noticeable4 ,the sundial has a handsome shaft1 but should stand upon a much wider step4 ,the introduction of pyramid fruit-trees at concentric points1 both here and in other parts of the design1 is an experiment of doubtful value1 that will probably never add to the pictorial value of the design4 ,the garden critic may also venture to suggest that the pergola1 which is well placed at the eastern end of the parterre1 deserves better piers than its posts of fir4 ,here would be the place for some simple use of specially made bricks1 such as a pier hexagonal in plan built of bricks of two shapes1 diamond and triangle1 two inches thick1 with a wide mortar joint4 ,each course would take two bricks of each shape1 and their disposition1 alternating with each succeeding course1 would secure an admirable bond4 ,the great parterre has main divisions of grass paths twelve feet wide1 each subdivision--four on each side of the cross-walk and sundial--of eight three-sided beds disposed ,union-,jack-wise1 with bordering beds stopped by a clipped ,box-bush at each end4 ,narrow grass walks are between the beds4 ,the borders are roomy enough to accommodate some of the largest of the good hardy flowers1 for the garden is given to these1 not to 8bedding stuff40 ,here are some of the tall perennial ,sunflowers1 eight feet high2 the great autumn ,daisy 7,pyrethrum uliginosum72 bushes of ,lavender with ,pentstemons growing through them--a capital combination1 doing away with the need of staking the ,pentstemons2 the last of the ,phloxes2 for the time of the picture1 which was painted in this part of the garden1 is ,september4 ,this bold use of autumnal border flowers invites the exercise of invention and ingenuity2 for instance1 ,august is the main time for the flowering of ,lavender1 and1 though a thinner crop succeeds the heavier normal yield1 yet the bushes then look thin of bloom4 ,clematises1 purple1 lilac and white1 can be planted among them1 and can easily be guided1 by an occasional touch with the hand1 to run over the ,lavender bushes4 ,the same capital autumn flowers should be planted with the handsome white ,everlasting ,pea4 ,the ,pea is supported by stout branching spray and does its own good work in ,july4 ,when the bloom is over it is cut off1 and the ,clematis1 which has been growing by its side with a support of rather slighter spray1 is drawn close to the foliage of the ,pea and spreads over it4 ,the working out of such simple problems is one of the many joys of the good gardener2 and every year1 with its increased experience1 brings with it a greater readiness in the invention of such happy combinations4 ,illustration3 ,,china ,,roses ,,and ,,lavender1 ,,palmerstown ,,from ,,the ,,picture ,,in ,,the ,,possession ,,of ,,mrs4 ,,kennedy-,,erskine ,,palmerstown ,the ,earl of ,mayo's residence in ,county ,kildare1 ,ireland1 lies a few miles distant from the small market town of ,naas4 ,the house is of classical design1 built within the nineteenth century4 ,around it is extensive park-land that is pleasantly undulating1 and is well furnished with handsome trees both grouped and standing singly4 ,in the lower level is a large pool with ,water-lilies1 and natural banks fringed with reeds and the other handsome sub-aquatic vegetation that occurs wild in such places4 ,there was an older house at ,palmerstown in former days1 whose large walled kitchen garden remains4 ,it is a lengthy parallelogram1 divided in the middle into two portions1 each nearly a square1 by a fine old yew hedge with arches cut in it for the two walks that pass through4 ,the paths are broad1 and some width on each side has been planted as a flower border1 giving ample space for the good cultivation and enjoyment of all the best of the hardy flowers1 so willing to show their full growth and beauty in the soft genial climate of the sister island4 ,it is a place that shows at once the happy effect of wise and sure direction1 for ,lady ,mayo is an accomplished gardener1 and the inclosure abounds with evidences of fine taste and thoughtful intention4 ,one length of border is given to ,lavender and ,china ,rose1 always a delightful and most harmonious mixture4 ,there is a length of some twenty yards of this pleasant combination--the picture shows one end--with a few groups of taller plants1 such as ,bocconia1 behind4 ,fruit-trees1 trained as espaliers1 form the back of the border1 or sometimes there is a hedge of ,sweet ,pea4 ,vegetables occupy the middle portions of the quarters4 ,the flower-bordered paths pass across and across the middle space1 with others about ten feet within the walls and parallel with them4 ,quite in the middle the path passes round a fountain basin1 and there are four arches on which ,roses and ,clematis are trained4 ,such flower borders give ample opportunity for the practising of good gardening4 ,the task is the easier in that only one of the pairs of borders can be seen at a glance1 and a definite scheme of colour progression can easily be arranged4 ,such schemes are well worth thinking out4 ,the writer's own experience favours a plan in which the borders begin with tender colourings of pale blue1 white and pale yellow1 with bluish foliage1 passing on to the stronger yellows4 ,these lead to orange1 scarlet and strong blood-reds4 ,the scale of colouring then returns gradually to the pale and cool colours4 ,it is by such simple means that the richest effects of colour are obtained1 whether in a continuous border or in clump-shaped masses4 ,a separate space of flower-border may also be well treated by the use of an even more restricted scheme of colouring4 ,purple and lilac flowers1 with others of pink and white only1 and foliage of grey and silvery quality1 the darkest being such as that of ,rosemary and ,echinops1 make a charming flower-picture1 with a degree of pictorial value that any one who had not seen it worked out would scarcely think possible4 ,the right choice of treatment depends in great measure on the environment4 ,when this1 as at ,palmerstown1 consists of old walls and a grand hedge of venerable yews1 a suitable frame is ready for the display of almost any kind of garden-picture4 ,the yews are ten feet high and six feet through4 ,over a seat one of them is cut into the form of a peacock4 ,to the left of the green archway in the ,lavender picture1 the yew takes the form of the heraldic wild-cat1 the ,mayo crest4 ,outside the garden is a yew walk of untrimmed trees2 they show in the picture to the right1 over the wall4 ,here1 in the heat of summer1 the coolness and dim light are not only in themselves restful and delightful1 but1 after passing along the bright borders1 where eye and brain become satiated with the brilliancy of light and colour1 the cool retreat is doubly welcome1 preparing them afresh for further appreciation of the flower-borders4 ,,st4 ,,anne',s1 ,,clontarf ,there is perhaps no place within the ,british islands so strongly reminiscent of ,italy as ,st4 ,anne's1 in ,county ,dublin1 one of the ,irish seats of ,lord ,ardilaun4 ,this impression is first received from the number and fine growth of the grand ,ilexes1 which abound by the sides of the approaches and in the park-land near the house4 ,for there are ,ilexes in groups1 in groves1 in avenues--all revelling in the mild ,irish air and nearness to the sea4 ,the general impression of the place1 as of something in ,italy1 is further deepened by the house of classical design and of palatial aspect1 both within and without1 that has that sympathetic sumptuousness that is so charming a character of the best design and ornamentation of the ,italian ,renaissance4 ,for in general when in ,england we are palatial1 we are somewhat cold1 and even forbidding4 ,we stand aloof and endure our greatness1 and behave as well as we are able under the slightly embarrassing restrictions4 ,but in ,italy1 as at ,st4 ,anne's1 things may be largely beautiful and even grandiose1 and yet all smiling and easily gracious and humanly comforting4 ,as it is in the house1 so also is it in the garden2 the same sentiment prevails1 although the garden shows no effort in its details to assume an ,italian character4 ,but apparent everywhere is the remarkable genius of ,lady ,ardilaun--a queen among gardeners4 ,a thorough knowledge of plants and the finest of taste2 a firm grasp and a broad view1 that remind one of the great style of the artists of the ,school of ,venice--these are the acquirements and cultivated aptitudes that make a consummate gardener4 ,the grounds themselves were not originally of any special beauty4 ,all the present success of the place is due to good treatment4 ,adjoining the house1 at the northern end of its eastern face1 is a winter garden4 ,looking from the end of this eastward1 is a sight that carries the mind directly to ,southern ,europe2 an avenue of fine ,ilexes1 and1 at the end1 a blue sea that might well be the ,mediterranean4 ,passing to the left1 before the ,ilexes begin1 is a walk leading into a walled inclosure of about two acres4 ,next the wall all round is a flower-border2 then there is a space of grass1 then a middle group of four square figures1 each bordered on three sides by a grand yew hedge that is clipped into an outline of enriched scallops like the edge of a silver ,mentieth2 a series of forms consisting of a raised half-circle1 then a horizontal shoulder1 and then a hollow equal to the raised member4 ,the genial climate admits of the use of many plants that generally need either winter housing or some special contrivance to ensure well-being4 ,thus there are great clumps of the blue ,african ,lily 7,agapanthus72 and ,iris ,susiana blooms by the hundred1 treated apparently as an ordinary border plant4 ,the picture shows a portion of a double flower-border in another square walled garden1 formerly a kitchen garden1 and only comparatively lately converted into pleasure-ground4 ,yews planted in a wide half-circle form a back-ground to the bright flowers and to a statue on a pedestal4 ,the intended effect is not yet finished1 for the trellis at the back of the borders is hardly covered with its rambling ,roses1 which will complete the picture by adding the needed height that will bring it into proper relation with the tall yews4 ,there is a cleverly invented edging which gives added dignity as well as regularity1 and obviates the usual falling over of some of the contents of the border on to the path2 an incident that is quite in character in a garden of smaller proportion1 but would here be out of place4 ,a narrow box edging1 just a trim line of green1 has within it a good width of the foliage of ,cerastium4 ,the bloom1 of course1 was over by the middle of ,june1 but the close carpet of downy white leaf remains as a grey-white edging throughout the summer and autumn4 ,though this border shows bold masses of flowers1 it scarcely gives an ,illustration3 ,,st4 ,,anne',s1 ,,clontarf ,,from ,,the ,,picture ,,in ,,the ,,possession ,,of ,,miss ,,mannering idea of the general scale of grand effect that follows the carrying out of the design and intention of its accomplished mistress4 ,for here things are done largely and yet without obtrusive ostentation4 ,they seem just right in scale4 ,for instance1 in the house are some great columns2 huge monoliths of green ,galway marble4 ,it is only when details are examined that it is perceived how splendid they are1 and only when the master tells the story1 that the difficulty of transporting them from the ,west of ,ireland can be appreciated4 ,for they were quarried in one piece1 and bridges broke under their immense weight4 ,at one point in their journey they sank into a bog1 and their rescue1 and indeed their whole journey and final setting up at its end1 entailed a series of engineering feats of no small difficulty4 ,,auchincruive ,the mild climate of south-western ,scotland is most advantageous for gardening4 ,hydrangeas and ,myrtles flourish1 ,fuchsias grow into bushes eight to ten feet high4 ,mr4 ,oswald's garden lies upon the river ,ayr1 a few miles distant from the town of ,ayr4 ,the house stands boldly on a crag just above the river1 which makes its music below1 tumbling over rocky shelves and rippling over shingle-bedded shallows4 ,for nearly a mile the garden follows the river bank1 in free fashion as befits the place4 ,trees are in plenty and of fine growth1 both on the garden side and the opposite river shore4 ,here and there an opening in the trees on the further shore shows the distant country4 ,the garden occupies a large space2 the grouping of the shrubs and trees taking a wilder character in the portions furthest away from the house1 so that1 mingling at last with native growth1 garden gradually dies away into wild4 ,large undulating lawns give a sense of space and freedom and easy access4 ,that close1 fine turf of the gardens of ,britain is a thing so familiar to the eye that we scarcely think what a wonderful thing it really is4 ,when we consider our flower and kitchen gardens1 and remember how much labour of renewal they need--renewal not only of the plants themselves1 but of the soil1 in the way of manurial and other dressings2 and when we consider all the digging and delving1 raking and hoeing that must be done as ground preparation1 constantly repeated2 and then when we think again of an ancient lawn of turf1 perhaps three hundred years old1 that1 except for moving and rolling1 has1 for all those long years1 taken care of itself2 it seems1 indeed1 that the little closely interwoven plants of grass are things of wonderful endurance and longevity4 ,the mowing ,illustration3 ,,auchincruive ,,from ,,the ,,picture ,,in ,,the ,,possession ,,of ,,mr4 ,r4 ,a4 ,,oswald prevents their blooming1 so that they form but few fresh plants from seed4 ,imperceptibly the dying of the older plants is going on1 and the hungry root-fibres of their younger neighbours are feeding on the decaying particles washed into the earth4 ,but whether lawns could exist at all without the beneficent work of the earthworms is very doubtful4 ,every one has seen the little heaps of worm-castings upon grass1 but it remained for ,darwin1 after his own long experiment and exhaustive observation1 partly based upon and comprehending the conclusions of other naturalists1 to tell us how largely the fertility of our surface soil is due to the unceasing work of these small creatures4 ,worms swallow large quantities of earth and decaying leaves1 and ,darwin's observations led him 8to conclude that all the vegetable mould over the whole country has passed many times through1 and will again pass many times through the intestinal canals of worms40 ,this1 indeed1 is the only way in which it is possible for a person with any knowledge of the needs of plant-life1 to conceive the possibility of any one closely-packed crop occupying the same space of ground for hundreds of years4 ,the soil1 as it passes1 little by little1 through the bodies of the worms1 undergoes certain chemical changes which fit it afresh for its ever-renewed work of plant-sustenance4 ,there are some who1 viewing the castings as an eyesore on their lawns1 cast about for means of destroying the worms4 ,this is unwise policy1 and would soon lead to the impoverishment of the grass4 ,the castings1 when dry1 are easily broken down by the roller or the birch-broom1 and the grass receives the beneficent top-dressing that assures its well-being and healthy continuance4 ,the only part of the garden at ,auchincruive that is obedient to rectangular form1 is the kitchen garden and the ground about it4 ,the kitchen garden lies some way back from the house and river1 and1 with its greenhouses1 is for the most part hidden by two long old yew hedges which run in the direction of the river4 ,one of these appears in the picture1 with its outer ornament of bright border of autumn flowers4 ,here are ,tritomas1 ,gypsophila in mist-like clouds1 tall ,evening ,primrose and ,campanula pyramidalis1 both purple and white1 with many other good hardy flowers4 ,the red-leaved tree illustrates a question which often arises in the writer's mind as to whether trees and shrubs of this coloured foliage1 such as ,prunus ,pissardi and ,copper ,beech and ,copper ,hazel are not of doubtful value in the general garden landscape4 ,trees of the darkest green1 as this very picture shows by its dark upright yews1 are always of value1 but the red-leaved tree1 though in the present case it has been tenderly treated by the artist1 is apt to catch the eye as a violent and discordant patch among green foliage4 ,especially is this the case with the darker form of copper beech1 which1 in autumn1 takes a dull1 solid1 heavy kind of colour1 especially when seen from a little distance1 that is often a disfiguring blot in an otherwise beautiful landscape4 ,the same criticism may occasionally apply to trees of conspicuous golden foliage1 but errors in planting these1 though often made1 may easily be avoided by suitable grouping and association with white and yellow flowers4 ,indeed it would be delightful to work out a whole golden garden4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,yew ,,arbour1 ,,lyde ,,from ,,the ,,picture ,,in ,,the ,,possession ,,of ,,mr4 ,,george ,e4 ,b4 ,,wrey ,,yew ,,arbour3 ,,lyde ,it is not in large gardens only that hardy flowers are to be seen in perfection4 ,often the humblest wayside cottage may show such a picture of plant-beauty as will put to shame the best that can be seen at the neighbouring squire's4 ,and where labouring folk have a liking for clipped yews1 their natural good taste and ingenuity often turns them into better forms than are seen among the examples of more pretentious topiary work4 ,the cottager has the undoubted advantage that1 as his tree is usually an isolated one1 he can see by its natural way of growth the kind of figure it suggests for his clipping2 whereas the gardener in the large place usually has to follow a fixed design4 ,so it is that one may see in a cottage garden such a handsome example as the yew in the picture4 ,the lower part of the tree is nearly square in plan1 with a niche cut out for a narrow seat4 ,there is space enough between the top of this and the underside of the great mushroom-shaped canopy1 to allow the upper surface of the square base to be green and healthy4 ,the great rounded top proudly carries its handsome crest1 that is already a good ornament and will improve year by year4 ,the garden is raised above the road and only separated from it by a wall which is low on the garden side and deeper to the road4 ,it passes by the side of the yew1 so that the occupier of the seat commands a view of the road and all that goes along it1 and can exchange greetings and gossip with those who pass by4 ,the cottagers of the neighbourhood--it is in ,herefordshire1 about four miles from ,hereford--have a special fancy for these clipped yews2 many examples may be met with in an afternoon's walk4 ,not very far from this is a capital peacock excellently rendered in conventional fashion4 ,it stands well above a high pedestal1 one side of which is hollowed out for a little seat4 ,one may well understand what a pride and pleasure and amusing interest these clipped trees are to the cottage folk2 how after each year's clipping they would discuss and criticise the result and note the progress of the growth towards the hoped-for form4 ,a pile of cheeses is a favourite pattern1 sometimes on a square base1 with the topmost ornament cut into a spire or even a crown4 ,the ,english peasant has a love for ornament that always strives to find some kind of expression4 ,in many parts the thatcher makes a kind of basket ornament on the top of his rick2 and the pattern of crossed laths1 pegged down with the hazel 8spars0 that finishes the thatched cottage roof near the eaves1 is of true artistic value4 ,the carter loves to dress his horses for town or market1 and a fine team1 with worsted ribbons in mane and headstall1 and quantities of gleaming highly-polished brasses1 is indeed a pleasant sight upon the country high road4 ,now1 alas6 when cheap rubbish1 misnamed ornamental1 floods village shops and finds its way into the cottages1 the cottager's taste1 which was always true and good as long as it depended on its own prompting and instinct1 and could only deal with the simplest materials1 is rapidly becoming bewildered and debased4 ,all the more1 therefore1 let us value and cherish these ornaments of the older traditions2 the bright little gardens and the much-prized clipped yew4 ,a usual feature of these cottage yews is that the seat is for one person alone4 ,the labourer sits in his little retreat enjoying his evening pipe after his day's work1 while the wife puts the children to bed and gets the supper4 ,probably he has been harvesting all day1 and his strong frame is tired1 with that feeling of almost pleasant fatigue that comes to a wholesome body after a good day's work well done2 and when the hardly-earned rest is thoroughly enjoyed4 ,so he sits quite quiet1 with one eye on the possible interests of his outer world1 the road1 and the other on the beauty of his flower-border4 ,and what a pretty double border it is1 with its grand mass of pink ,japan ,anemone and well-flowered clump of ,goldilocks 7one of the few yellow-bloomed ,michaelmas ,daisies71 looking at its near relation in purple over the way4 ,a graceful little ,plum-tree shoots up through the flowers2 its long free shoots of tender green seem to laugh at the rigid surface of the clipped yew beyond4 ,don't be too confident about your freedom1 little ,plum2 it is more than likely that you will be severely pruned next winter4 ,but you need not mind1 for if you lose one kind of beauty1 you will gain others2 the pure white bloom of spring-time1 and the autumn burden of purple fruit2 and be both handsome and useful1 like your neighbour the old yew4 ,,autumn ,,flowers ,how stout and strong and full of well-being they are--the autumn flowers of our ,english gardens6 ,hollyhocks1 ,tritomas1 ,sunflowers1 ,phloxes1 among many others1 and lastly1 ,michaelmas ,daisies4 ,the flowers of the early year are lowly things1 though none the less lovable2 ,primroses1 ,double ,daisies1 ,anemones1 small ,irises1 and all the beautiful host of small ,squill and ,snow-,glory and little early ,daffodils4 ,then come the taller ,daffodils and ,wallflowers1 ,tulips1 and the old garden ,peonies and the lovely ,tree ,peonies4 ,then the true early summer flowers4 ,if you notice1 as the seasons progress1 the average of the flowering plants advances in stature4 ,by ,june this average has risen again1 with the ,sea ,hollies and ,flag ,irises1 the ,chinese ,peonies and the earlier ,roses4 ,and now there are some quite tall things4 ,mulleins seven and eight feet high1 some of them from last year's seed1 but the greater number from the seed-shedding of the year before2 the great white-leaved ,mullein 7,verboscum olympicum71 taking four years to come to flowering strength4 ,but what a flower it is1 when it is at last thrown up6 ,what a glorious candelabrum of branching bloom6 ,perhaps there is no other hardy plant whose bulk of bloom on a single stem fills so large a space4 ,and what a grand effect it has when it is rightly planted2 when its great sulphur spire shows1 half or wholly shaded1 against the dusk of a wood edge or in some sheltered bay1 where garden is insensibly melting into woodland4 ,this is the place for these grand plants 7for their flowers flag in hot sunshine71 in company with white ,foxglove and the tall yellow ,evening ,primrose1 another tender bloom that is shy of sunlight4 ,four o'clock of a ,june morning is the time to see these fine things at their best1 when the birds are waking up1 and but for them the world is still1 and the ,cluster-,roses are opening their buds4 ,no one can know the whole beauty of a ,cluster-,rose who has not seen it when the summer day is quite young2 when the buds of such a rose as the ,garland have just burst open and the sun has not yet bleached their wonderful tints of shell-pink and tenderest shell-yellow into their only a little less beautiful colouring of full midday4 ,by ,july there are still more of our tall garden flowers2 the stately ,delphiniums1 seven1 eight1 and nine feet high2 tall white ,lilies2 the tall yellow ,meadow-,rues1 ,hollyhocks1 and ,sweet ,peas in plenty4 ,by ,august we are in autumn2 and it is the month of the tall ,phloxes4 ,there are some who dislike the sweet1 faint and yet strong scent of these flowers2 to me it is one of the delights of the flower year4 ,no garden flower has been more improved of late years2 a whole new range of excellent and brilliant colouring has been developed4 ,i can remember when the only ,phloxes were a white and a poor ,lilac2 the individual flowers were small and starry and set rather widely apart4 ,they were straggly-looking things1 though always with the welcome sweet scent4 ,nowadays we all know the beauty of these fine flowers2 the large size of the massive heads and of the individual blooms2 the pure whites1 the good ,lilacs and ,pinks1 and that most desirable range of salmon-rose colourings1 of which one of the first that made a lively stir in the world of horticulture was the one called ,lothair4 ,in its own colouring of tender salmon-rose it is still one of the best4 ,careful seed-saving among the brighter flowers of this colouring led to the tints tending towards scarlet1 among which ,etna was a distinct advance1 to be followed1 a year or two later1 by the all-conquering ,coquelicot4 ,some florists have also pushed this docile flower into a range of colouring which is highly distasteful to the trained colour-eye of the educated amateur2 a series of rank purples and virulent magentas2 but these can be avoided4 ,what is now most wanted1 and seems to be coming1 is a range of tender1 rather light ,pinks1 that shall have no trace of the rank quality that seems so unwilling to leave the ,phloxes of this colouring4 ,garden ,phloxes were originally hybrids of two or three ,north ,american species2 for garden purposes they are divided into two groups1 the earlier1 blooming in ,july1 much shorter in stature and more bushy1 being known as the suffruticosa group1 the later1 taller kinds being classed as the decussata4 ,they are a little shy of direct sunlight1 though they can bear it in strong soils where the roots are always cool4 ,they like plenty of food and moisture2 in poor1 dry1 sandy soils they fail absolutely1 and even if watered and carefully watched1 look miserable objects4 ,but where ,phloxes do well1 and this is in most good garden ground1 they are the glory of the ,august flower-border4 99 99 99 99 99 ,in the teaching and practice of good gardening the fact can never be too persistently urged nor too trustfully accepted1 that the best effects are accomplished by the simplest means4 ,the garden artist or artist gardener is for ever searching for these simple pictures2 generally the happy combination of some two kinds of flowers that bloom at the same time1 and that make either kindly harmonies or becoming contrasts4 ,in trying to work out beautiful garden effects1 besides those purposely arranged1 it sometimes happens that some little accident--such as the dropping of a seed1 that has grown and bloomed where it was not sown--may suggest some delightful combination unexpected and unthought of4 ,at another time some small spot of colour may be observed that will give the idea of the use of this colour in some larger treatment4 ,it is just this self-education that is needed for the higher and more thoughtful gardening1 whose outcome is the simply conceived and beautiful pictures1 whether they are pictures painted with the brush on paper or canvas1 or with living plants in the open ground4 ,in both cases it needs alike the training of the eye to observe1 of the brain to note1 and of the hand to work out the interpretation4 ,the garden artist--by which is to be understood the true lover of good flowers1 who has taken the trouble to learn their ways and wants and moods1 and to know it all so surely that he can plant with the assured belief that the plants he sets will do as he intends1 just as the painter can ,illustration3 ,,phlox ,,and ,,daisy ,,from ,,the ,,picture ,,in ,,the ,,possession ,,of ,,lady ,,mount-,,stephen compel and command the colours on his palette--plants with an unerring hand and awaits the sure result4 ,when one says 8the simplest means10 it does not always mean the easiest4 ,many people begin their gardening by thinking that the making and maintaining of a handsome and well-filled flower-border is quite an easy matter4 ,in fact1 it is one of the most difficult problems in the whole range of horticultural practice--wild gardening perhaps excepted4 ,to achieve anything beyond the ordinary commonplace mixture1 that is without plan or forethought1 and that glares with the usual faults of bad colour-combinations and yawning1 empty gaps1 needs years of observation and a considerable knowledge of plants and their ways as individuals4 ,for border plants to be at their best must receive special consideration as to their many and different wants4 ,we have to remember that they are gathered together in our gardens from all the temperate regions of the world1 and from every kind of soil and situation4 ,from the sub-arctic regions of ,siberia to the very edges of the ,sahara2 from the cool and ever-moist flanks of the ,alps to the sun-dried coasts of the ,mediterranean2 from the ,cape1 from the great mountain ranges of ,india2 from the cool and temperate ,northern ,states of ,america--the home of the species from which our garden ,phloxes are derived2 from the sultry slopes of ,chili and ,peru1 where the ,alstrmerias thrust their roots deep down into the earth searching for the precious moisture4 ,so it is that as our garden flowers come to us from many climes and many soils1 we have to bear in mind the nature of their places of origin the better to be prepared to give them suitable treatment4 ,we have to know1 for instance1 which are the few plants that will endure drought and a poor1 hot soil2 for the greater number abhor it2 and yet such places occur in some gardens and have to be provided with what is suitable4 ,then we have to know which are those that will only come to their best in a rich loam1 and that the ,phloxes are among these1 and the ,roses2 and which are the plants and shrubs that must have lime1 or at least must have it if they are to do their very best4 ,such are the ,clematises and many of the lovely little alpines2 while to some other plants1 many of the alpines that grow on the granite1 and nearly all the ,rhododendrons1 lime is absolute poison2 for1 entering the system and being drawn up into the circulation1 it clogs and bursts their tiny veins2 the leaves turn yellow1 the plant dies1 or only survives in a miserably crippled state4 ,an experienced gardener1 if he were blindfolded1 and his eyes uncovered in an unknown garden whose growths left no soil visible1 could tell its nature by merely seeing the plants and observing their relative well-being1 just as1 passing by rail or road through an unfamiliar district1 he would know by the identity and growth of the wild plants and trees what was the nature of the soil beneath them4 ,the picture1 then1 showing autumn ,phloxes grandly grown1 tells of good gardening and of a strong1 rich loamy soil4 ,this is also proved by the height of the ,daisies 7,chrysanthemum maximum74 ,but the lesson the picture so pleasantly teaches is above all to know the merit of one simple thing well done4 ,two charming little stone figures of amorini stand up on their plinths among the flowers2 the boy figure holds a bird's nest1 his girl companion a shell4 ,they are of a pattern not unfrequent in ,english gardens1 and delightfully in sympathy with our truest home flowers4 ,the quiet background of evergreen hedge admirably suits both figures and flowers4 ,it is all quite simple--just exactly right4 ,daisies--always the children's flowers1 and1 with them1 another of wide-eyed innocence1 of dainty scent1 of tender colouring4 ,quite simple and just right2 but then--it is in the artist's own garden4 ,,mynthurst ,at the time the picture was painted1 ,mynthurst was in the occupation of ,mrs4 ,wilson1 to the work of whose niece1 ,miss ,radcliffe1 the garden owes much of its charm4 ,it lies in the pleasant district between ,reigate and ,dorking1 on a southward sloping hill-side4 ,the house is a modern one of ,tudor character1 standing on a terrace that has a retaining wall and steps to a lower level4 ,the garden lies open to the south and south-westerly gales1 the prevalent winds of the district1 but it is partly sheltered by the walls of the kitchen garden1 and by a yew hedge which runs parallel with one of the walls2 the space so inclosed making a sheltered place for the rose garden4 ,here ,roses rise in ranks one above the other1 and have a delightful and most suitable carpet of ,love-in-a-mist4 ,this pretty annual1 so welcome in almost any region of the garden1 is especially pretty with ,roses of tender colouring2 whites1 pale yellows1 and pale pinks4 ,a picture elsewhere shows it combined with ,rose ,viscountess ,folkestone4 ,beyond the rose garden1 a path leads away at a right angle between the orchard and the kitchen-garden wall4 ,here is the subject of the picture4 ,a broad border runs against the wall1 as long as the length of the kitchen garden4 ,a border so wide is difficult to manage unless it has a small blind alley at the back rather near the wall1 to give access to what is on the wall and to the taller plants in the back of the border4 ,but here it is arranged in another way4 ,the front edge of the border is not continuous1 but has little paths at intervals cutting across it and reaching nearly to the wall4 ,this method of obtaining easy access also has its merits1 though it involves a large amount of edging4 ,mynthurst has a strong soil1 an advantage not always to be had in this district1 so that ,roses can be well grown1 and some of the ,lilies4 ,here the ,tiger ,lily1 that fine autumn flower1 does finely4 ,it is one of the ,lilies that is puzzling1 or as we call it1 capricious1 which only means that we gardeners are ignorant and do not understand its vagaries4 ,for in some other heavy soils it refuses to grow1 and in some light ones it luxuriates2 but it is so good a plant that it should be tried in every garden4 ,it is a pretty plan to have the orchard in connexion with the flower-borders2 though from the point of view of good gardening the wisdom is doubtful of having clumps of flowers round the trunks of the fruit-trees4 ,shallow-rooted annuals for a season or two may do no harm1 but the disturbance of the ground needful for constant cultivation1 with the inevitable consequence of worry and irritation of the fruit-trees' roots1 can hardly fail to be harmful1 though the effect meanwhile is certainly pretty4 ,the evil may not show at once1 but is likely to follow4 ,one does not often see so strong a ,canterbury ,bell in the autumn as the one in the picture4 ,it must have been a weak or belated plant of last year that made strong growth in early summer4 ,sometimes one sees such a plant that had remained in the kitchen-garden reserve bed2 left there because it was weaker than the ones taken for planting out in autumn4 ,it is not generally known that these capital plants will bear potting when they are almost in bloom1 so that when a few are so left1 they can be used as highly decorative room plants1 and have the advantage of lasting much longer than when in the open border1 exposed to the sun4 ,one defect these good plants have1 which is the way the dying flowers suddenly turn brown4 ,instead of merely fading and falling1 and so decently veiling their decadence1 the brown flowers hang on and are very unsightly4 ,it is only1 however1 a challenge to the vigilance of the careful gardener2 they must be visited in the morning garden-round and the dead flowers removed4 ,it is like the care needed to arrest the depredations of the mullein caterpillar4 ,it is no use wondering whether it will come1 or hoping it will not appear2 it always comes where there are mulleins1 about the second week of ,june4 ,when the first tiny enemy is seen1 any mulleins there may be should be visited twice a day4 ,illustration3 ,,mynthurst ,,from ,,the ,,picture ,,in ,,the ,,possession ,,of ,,miss ,,radcliffe ,in the front of the picture1 just under the red rose1 is a patch of ,mimulus1 one of the larger variations of the brilliant little ,m4 cardinalis4 ,all the kinds like a cool1 strong soil2 they are really bog plants1 and revel in moisture4 ,the old ,sweet ,musk1 so favourite a plant in cottage windows1 likes a half-shady place at the foot of a cool wall4 ,many a dull1 sunless yard might be brightened by this sweet and pretty plant4 ,the ,welsh ,poppy1 with its bright pale-green leaves and good yellow bloom1 is also excellent for the same use1 but is best sown in place from a just-ripened pod4 ,,abbey ,,leix ,in a picturesque1 but little-known district in ,queen's ,county1 ,ireland1 lies ,abbey ,leix1 the residence of ,lord de ,vesci4 ,it is a land of vigorous tree-growth and general richness of vegetation4 ,hedge-rows show an abundance of well-grown ash timber1 and the park is full of fine oaks1 a thing that is rare in ,ireland1 and that makes it more like ,english parkland of the best character4 ,this impression is accentuated in spring-time when the oaks are carpeted with the blue of wild ,hyacinths1 and when the broad woodland rides are also rivers of the same ,blue-bells4 ,in this favoured land the common ,laurel is a beautiful tree1 thirty feet high2 the mildness of the winter climate allowing it to grow unchecked4 ,only those who have seen it in tree form in the best climates of our islands1 or in ,southern ,europe1 know the true nature of the ,laurel's growth1 or the poetry and mystery of its moods and aspects4 ,the long grey limbs shoot upward and bend and arch in a manner almost fantastic4 ,sometimes a stem will incline downwards and run along the ground1 followed by another4 ,in the evening half-light they might be giant silver-scaled serpents1 writhing and twisting and then springing aloft and becoming lost to sight in the dim masses of the crowning foliage4 ,seen thus one can hardly reconcile its identity with that of the poor1 tamed1 often-clipped bush of every garden4 ,the ,laurel is so docile1 so easily coerced to the making of a quickly-grown hedge or useful screen1 that its better qualities as an unmutilated tree in a mild district are usually lost sight of4 ,the house at ,abbey ,leix is a stone building of classical design of the middle of the eighteenth century4 ,on the northern front is the entrance ,illustration3 ,,abbey-,,leix ,,from ,,the ,,picture ,,in ,,the ,,possession ,,of ,,sir ,,james ,,whitehead1 ,,bart4 forecourt2 on the southern1 the garden4 ,here1 next the house1 is a wide terrace1 bounded on the outer side by the parapet of a retaining wall1 and next the building1 by a running guilloche of box-edged beds filled with low-growing plants4 ,the terrace has a semi-circular ending1 near the eastern wall of the house1 formed of an evergreen hedge1 with a wooden seat following the same line1 and a sundial at the radial point4 ,at the other end1 the terrace ends in a flight of downward steps leading to large green spaces1 with fine trees and flowering shrubs1 and eventually to the walled gardens4 ,straight across the terrace from the house is the parterre1 whose centre ornament is an unusually well-proportioned fountain of the same date as the house4 ,it is circular in plan1 with a wide lower basin and two graduated superimposed tazzas4 ,from this1 four cross-paths radiate2 the quarters are filled mainly with half-hardy flowers such as ,gladiolus2 the design being accentuated at several points by the upright growing ,florence ,court ,yews4 ,the parterre is inclosed by a low wall1 backed by a clipped evergreen hedge2 on the wall stand at intervals graceful stone figures of amorini1 identical in character with those shown in the picture of ,phlox and ,daisy1 and apparently designed by the same hand4 ,the steps at the western end of the terrace are wide and handsome1 and are also ornamented with sculptured amorini4 ,the path leads onward1 at first directly forward1 but a little later in a curved line through a region of lawn and stream1 with trees and groups of flowering shrubs4 ,here and there1 on the grass by itself1 is one of the free-growing ,roses1 rightly left without any support1 and showing the natural fountain-like growth that so well displays the beauty of many of the ,roses of the old ,ayrshire class and of some of the more modern ramblers4 ,the path passes one end of an avenue of large trees1 and1 after a while1 turning to the left1 reaches the kitchen gardens1 consisting of several walled inclosures4 ,one of these1 of which one wall is occupied by vineries1 has been made into a flower garden1 where hardy flowers1 grandly grown1 are in the wide borders next the wall4 ,a portion of such borders1 in an adjoining compartment of the garden1 forms the subject of the picture4 ,the inner space is divided into two squares1 one having as a centre a rustic summer-house almost hidden by climbing plants2 from this radiating grass paths pass between beds of flowers4 ,the outer borders in the next walled compartment are ten feet wide1 and are finely filled with all the best summer plants1 perennial1 annual and biennial4 ,the fine pale yellow ,anthemis tinctoria is here grown in the way this good plant deserves1 and its many companions1 ,hollyhocks1 ,delphiniums1 ,japan ,anemones1 ,phloxes and ,lavender2 annual ,chrysanthemums1 ,gladiolus1 ,carnations1 ,tritomas1 and all such good things1 are cleverly and worthily used1 and1 with the graceful arches of free ,roses and white ,everlasting ,pea1 make delightful garden pictures in all directions4 ,the garden of ,abbey ,leix is one of those places that so pleasantly shows the well-directed intention of one who is in close sympathy with garden beauty2 for everywhere it reflects the fine horticultural taste and knowledge of ,lady de ,vesci1 who made the garden what it is4 ,,michaelmas ,,daisies ,early in ,september1 when the autumn flowers are at their finest1 some of the ,starworts are in bloom4 ,even in ,august they have already begun1 with the beautiful low-growing ,aster acris1 one of the brightest of flowers of lilac or pale purple colouring4 ,from the time this pretty plant is in bloom to near the end of ,october1 and even later1 there is a constant succession of these welcome ,michaelmas ,daisies4 ,the number of kinds good for garden use is now so great that the growers' plant lists are only bewildering1 and those who do not know their ,daisies should see them in some good nursery or private garden and make their own notes4 ,as in the case of ,phloxes1 the improvement in the garden kinds is of recent years1 for ,i can remember the time when it was a rare thing to see in a garden any other ,michaelmas ,daisy than a very poor form of ,novi-,belgii1 a plant of such mean quality that1 if it came up as a seedling in our gardens to-day1 it would be sent at once to the rubbish heap4 ,when the learner begins to acquire a ,daisy-eye he will see what a large proportion of the garden kinds are related to this same ,novi-,belgii1 the ,starwort of ,new ,england4 ,the greater number of the garden varieties are derived from ,north ,american species1 but they hybridise so freely that it is now impossible to group the garden plants with any degree of botanical accuracy4 ,but the amateur may well be content with a generally useful garden classification1 and he will probably learn to know his ,novi-,belgii first4 ,then he will come to those ,novi-,belgii that are from the species lvis1 rather wider and brighter green of leaf and only half the height4 ,then1 once known1 he cannot mistake ,nov-,angli1 with its hairy and slightly viscid stem and foliage1 and strong smell1 and its two distinct colourings--rich purples and reddish pinks4 ,then again1 if he observes his plants in early summer1 he can never mistake the heart-shaped root-leaves of cordifolius for any other4 ,this is one of the most beautiful of the mid-season ,starworts1 with its myriads of small flowers gracefully disposed on the large spreading panicles4 ,of this the best known and most useful are ,a4 cordifolius elegans and a paler-coloured and most dainty variety called ,diana4 ,once seen he can never forget the low-growing early ,a4 acris or the good garden varieties of ,a4 ,amellus1 both from ,european species4 ,several other kinds1 both tall and short1 early and late1 will be added to those named1 but these may be taken as perhaps the best to begin with4 ,where space can be given1 it is well to set apart a separate border for these fine plants alone4 ,this is done in the garden where ,mr4 ,elgood found his subject4 ,here the ,starworts occupy a double border about eight feet wide and eighty feet long4 ,they are carefully but not conspicuously staked with stiff1 branching spray cut out the winter before from oaks and chestnuts that had been felled4 ,the spray is put in towards the end of ,june1 when the ,asters are making strong growth4 ,the borders are planted and regulated with the two-fold aim of both form and colour beauty4 ,in some places rather tall kinds come forward2 in the case of some of the most graceful1 such as cordifolius ,diana1 the growths being rather separated to show the pretty form of the individual branch4 ,in others it was thought that their best use was as a flowery mass4 ,each kind is treated at the time of staking according to its own character1 and so as best to display its natural form and most obvious use4 ,like all the best flower gardening it is the painting of a picture with living plants1 but1 unlike painting1 it is done when the palette is empty of its colours4 ,still the good garden-planter who has intimate acquaintance and keen sympathy with his plants1 can plant by knowledge and faith2 by knowledge in his certainty of recollection of the habit and stature and colour of his plants2 by faith in that he knows that if he does his part well the growing thing will be docile to his sure guidance4 ,in these borders of ,michaelmas ,daisies one other flowering plant is ,illustration3 ,,michaelmas ,,daisies1 ,,munstead ,,wood ,,from ,,the ,,picture ,,in ,,the ,,possession ,,of ,,mr4 ,t4 ,,norton ,,longman admitted1 and well deserves its place1 namely1 that fine white ,daisy ,pyrethrum uliginosum1 otherwise ,chrysanthemum serotinum4 ,there can be no doubt that it is a daisy flower and that it blooms at ,michaelmas2 facts that alone would give it a right to a place among the ,michaelmas ,daisies4 ,but it has all the more claim to its place among them in that it is the handsomest of the large white ,daisies1 and1 though there are white kinds and varieties of the perennial ,asters1 not one of them can approach it for size or pictorial effect4 ,there is also the still taller ,chrysanthemum leucanthemum or ,leucanthemum lacustre1 but this is a plant that has an element of coarseness1 and unless the spaces are large1 and the ,asters are thrown up to an unusual size by a strong and rich soil1 it looks heavy and out of proportion4 ,towards the front of the main portions of the ,aster borders are rather bold1 but quite informal edgings of grey-leaved plants such as white ,pink1 ,stachys and ,lavender-cotton2 in places only a few inches wide1 as where the rich purple1 gold-eyed ,aster ,amellus comes to within a few inches of the path1 in the white ,pink's region1 or again1 where the grey1 bushy masses of ,lavender-cotton run in a yard deep among the ,daisies4 ,about fifteen sorts are used in this double border2 very early and very late ones are excluded1 so as to have a good display from the third week of ,september for a month onward4 ,they are mostly in rather large groups of one kind together4 ,there is a more than usual pleasure in such a ,daisy garden1 kept apart and by itself2 because the time of its best beauty is just the time when the rest of the garden is looking tired and overworn--evidently dying for the year4 ,some trees are already becoming bare of leaves2 the tall sunflowers look bedraggled2 ,dahlias have been pinched by frost and battered by autumn gales1 and it is impossible to keep up any pretence of well-being in the borders of other hardy flowers4 ,then with the eye full of the warm colouring of dying vegetation and the few remaining blooms of perennial ,helianthus and half-hardy marigolds of the fading borders1 to pass through some screening evergreens to the fresh1 clean1 lively colouring of the lilac1 purple and white ,daisies1 is like a sudden change from decrepit age to the brightness of youth1 from the gloom of late autumn to the joy of full springtide4 ,another excellent way of growing the perennial ,asters is among shrubs1 and preferably among ,rhododendrons1 whose rich green forms a fine background for their tender grace1 and whose stiff branches give them the support they need4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,alcove1 ,,arley ,,from ,,the ,,picture ,,in ,,the ,,possession ,,of ,,mrs4 ,,campbell ,,arley ,throughout the length and breadth of ,england it would be hard to find borders of hardy flowers handsomer or in any way better done than those at ,arley in ,cheshire4 ,the house1 an old one1 was much enlarged by the late ,mr4 ,r4 ,e4 ,egerton-,warburton1 and the making of the gardens1 now come to their young maturity1 was the happy work of many years of his life4 ,here we see the spirit of the old ,italian gardening1 in no way slavishly imitated1 but wholesomely assimilated and sanely interpreted to fit the needs of the best kind of ,english garden of the formal type1 as to its general plan and structure4 ,it is easy to see in the picture how happily mated are formality and freedom2 the former in the garden's comfortable walls of living greenery with their own appropriate ornaments1 and the latter in the grandly grown borders of hardy flowers4 ,the subject of the picture is the main feature in the garden plan4 ,a path some fifteen feet wide1 with grassy verges of ample width1 and deep borders of hardy flowers4 ,what is shown is about one fourth of the whole length4 ,at the back of the right-hand border is the high old wall of the kitchen garden2 on the left1 as grand a wall of yew1 ten feet high and five feet thick1 its straight line pleasantly broken and varied by shaped buttresses of clipped yew1 whose forms take that distinct light and shade1 and strong variations of solidity of green colouring1 that make the surfaces of our clipped ,english yew so valuable a ground-work for masses of brilliant flowers4 ,the same yew buttresses are against the wall on the right1 placed symmetrically with the ones opposite4 ,near the end1 as shown in the picture1 the last pair of buttresses come forward the whole width of the border1 each buttress ending in an important shaped finial to the front4 ,between these and the well-designed alcove in stone masonry that so satisfactorily ends the walk1 is a space of turf1 leading on the left1 through an arch cut in the ten-foot-high yew hedge1 to the bowling-green4 ,nothing can make a more effective shelter than such grand yew hedges2 the solid wall itself is scarcely better4 ,even on the roughest days1 with a storm of wind of destructive power outside1 the space within is calm and sheltered1 and the flowers escape that cruel battering from fierce blasts that add so much to the difficulty of gardening in exposed places4 ,but the planting and thus providing this much-needed shelter is just good gardening1 and when1 in addition1 it is done to a design of happy invention and true proportion1 with just such refinements of detail and ornament as are suited to the garden's calibre and the owner's endowment1 then1 with the addition of splendid masses of good flowers grandly grown1 do we find gardening at its best4 ,the time of year of this picture is in or near the second week of ,july1 when the ,white ,lily is at its finest1 and the ,orange ,lily is in bloom1 with the ,blue ,delphinium and many another good garden flower4 ,one can see how all the best garden flowers are utilised here4 ,there is the ,white ,sidalcea at the front of the border1 one of the many plants of the ,mallow family that are so important in our borders2 for our grand ,hollyhocks are ,mallows too4 ,this ,white ,sidalcea has much the same value as the large ,white ,snapdragon1 one good variety of which1 the precursor of the many good large kinds now grown1 was the only one of its kind at the time the picture was painted4 ,of late their numbers have greatly increased1 and also their stature and the variety of their beautiful colourings1 so that now they can be used as tall plants of great effect4 ,six feet two inches was the measurement of one grand spike of soft1 rosy colouring in the writer's own garden last autumn4 ,these capital plants have been 8fixed10 as gardeners say1 in ranges of different heights2 tall1 intermediate1 and the quite dwarf little cushions whose form is perhaps as little suited to the character of the plant as the foolish little dwarf ,sweet ,peas1 that are only wilfully wanton1 freakish distortions of a beautiful and graceful plant1 whose duty it is to climb and bring its pretty blooms up to the level of our admiring eyes and appreciative noses4 ,a good strong ,illustration3 ,,the ,,rose ,,garden1 ,,arley from the picture in the possession of ,,mrs4 ,,huth soil is shown by the well-being of the ,white ,lily and ,phlox1 ,sweet ,williams and double ,scarlet ,potentilla4 ,carnations are largely grown in the borders2 the great ,orange ,lily 7,l4 croceum7 has just given place to the ,white2 ,canterbury ,bells are in grand masses1 and the sturdier plants are interspersed with graceful fragilities1 such as the long-spurred yellow ,californian ,columbine4 ,to the left of the alcove an archway cut in the yew hedge leads to the bowling-green4 ,this also is inclosed and sheltered by yew hedges4 ,there is a terrace all round1 from which it is pleasant to watch the game4 ,next to this1 and following along the line of the yew hedge1 is a square inclosure of turf1 with a few clipped yews4 ,this is a kind of ante-room to the rose-garden4 ,high walls of yew are all around except to this garden1 where they are low and shaped4 ,the middle space of the rose-garden has beds concentrically arranged1 leaving spandrils of beds of other shape4 ,at the end is a garden-house1 and a wide way out to lawn spaces with fine trees and flowering shrubs4 ,a broad gravel walk at the boundary of the lawn1 with a wide grass outer verge and the knee-high top of the wall of a sunk fence1 that separates it from the park1 leads leftwards to the house4 ,from this walk there is a very beautiful view across the steeply-falling gradient of the park to the lake4 ,the park has grand old oak trees that fall into picturesque groups4 ,beyond the lake again are fine masses of timber4 ,the lake is a sheet of water that takes a winding course and disappears among the trees4 ,the kitchen-garden walls are interesting survivals of an old way of treating fruit-trees4 ,they are three feet thick and honeycombed with flues for heating4 ,it was a clumsy and unmanageable expedient practised in the days before the circulation of water in pipes heated from one boiler was understood4 ,the modern orchard-house is much more convenient and its working absolutely under control4 ,the kitchen garden lies between the house and the newer gardens that have been described4 ,the maze should not be forgotten4 ,it is at the back of the alcove and the bowling-green4 ,these old garden toys are very seldom planted now4 ,perhaps people have not time for them4 ,also they are costly of labour2 the area of green wall of a maze of even moderate size1 that has to be clipped yearly1 if computed would amount to an astonishing figure4 ,now that the possibilities of other forms of garden delight are so much widened1 it is small wonder that the maze should have fallen into disuse4 ,it must have been amusing in the older days when people's lives were simpler and more leisured2 but there are puzzles and difficulties enough in our more complicated days1 and the influences that we now want in a garden are soothing tranquillities rather than bewildering perplexities4 ,near the maze and alcove is a group of three great ,lombardy ,poplars that tells with extremely fine effect from many parts of the garden4 ,on one side of the house is an old parterre of the kind now but seldom seen out of ,italy2 with elaborate scrolls and arabesques of clipped box2 the more characteristically ,italian form of the 8knotted0 gardens of our ,tudor ancestors4 ,the ,english patterns were much nearer akin to those used so lavishly on gala clothing in the form of needlework of cording and braiding1 and the strap-work of wood-carving1 while the ,italian parterre designs were drawn more freely in flowing lines and less rigid forms4 ,opposite the porch is a sundial1 supported by a kneeling figure of a black slave1 of the same design as the one in the gardens of the ,inner ,temple1 that was formerly at ,clement's ,inn1 and is known as the 8,blackamoor40 ,like this one the figure is of lead4 ,illustration3 ,,lady ,,coventry',s ,,needlework from the picture in the possession of ,,mrs4 ,,appleton ,,lady ,,coventry',s ,,needlework ,this is a pretty ,midland name for the good garden plant commonly called ,red ,valerian1 or ,spur ,valerian 7,centranthus ruber71 that groups so well in the picture with the straw-thatched beehives4 ,how the name originated cannot be exactly stated1 but may easily be inferred4 ,there are several estates in the ,midland ,counties belonging to the ,coventry family1 and1 bearing in mind what we know of the home life of our great-great-grandmothers of the late eighteenth century1 it may be assumed that some ,lady ,coventry of that date was specially fond of the pretty needlecraft so widely practised among the ladies of that time4 ,delightful things they are1 these old needlework pictures1 with a character quite different from that of their predecessors of ,jacobean times4 ,these were much stiffer in treatment and usually had figures2 a lady and gentleman and a dog being usual subjects1 and trees looking like those out of a ,noah's ,ark1 no doubt interpretations of the stiffly-cut yew and box trees of the gardens of the same times4 ,but the workers of the flower-pictures of a hundred years later1 and into the first quarter of the nineteenth century1 for the most part chose flowers alone for their subjects4 ,sometimes a drawing was made1 but many of them look as if they were worked direct from the flowers4 ,it would appear that the worker would begin in the spring1 with a ,hyacinth2 then would come ,anemones1 ,tulips1 ,auriculas1 ,lilac1 ,roses and ,lilies2 a jumble of seasons but a concord of pretty things1 and all done with a simplicity1 a sweetness1 a directness of intention and absence of strain or affectation1 that give them a singular charm4 ,one such picture that ,i have before me must have been begun in ,may1 and finished1 perhaps1 in ,august and ,september2 for the first flower in the upper left-hand corner1 where the work would naturally begin1 is a thyrse of ,lilac1 and the last1 low down on the right1 is a ,nasturtium2 while the intermediate flowers1 following each other in what would be approximately their natural sequence1 come in between4 ,these are ,pansy1 ,rose1 ,sweet ,pea1 ,love-in-a-,mist1 ,lily1 ,larkspur1 ,convolvulus1 ,carnation1 ,jasmine and ,passion-flower2 and one ,daisy-shaped flower1 whose identity1 considering the numbers of possible ,composites and the somewhat vague manner of the rendering1 cannot be determined1 though all the other flowers are capitally done and could not be mistaken4 ,the disk of the ,daisy-flower is worked in a mass of those little knots that sit closely together1 the secret of whose making is known to every good needlewoman4 ,they are a capital direct imitation of the group of anthers in the centre of a flower4 ,the glory of the picture1 and what was evidently the delight of the worker1 is the ,love-in-a-,mist1 which stands above the others in the middle top of the picture4 ,the tender blue of the flower1 shading to white1 the sharply-jagged edges of the petals1 the green upstanding forms in the centre1 and1 above all1 the fennel-like divisions of the involucre and the leaves1 all lend themselves to satisfactory portrayal with the needle2 while the prominent position given to this charming midsummer flower shows how the worker rejoiced in its beauty and took pleasure in painting its form and colour in tender stitchery upon the white silken ground of her picture4 ,the ,jasmine flowers1 too1 are done with evident enjoyment as well as the neat1 clear-cut leaves4 ,the ,rose is a ,moss-,rose1 shown in three stages of bud and half-blown bloom1 when this charming ,rose is at its best2 the mossiness of the calyx being cleverly suggested by short straw-coloured stitches that catch the light upon a ground of dull green4 ,the working material is floss silk1 whose silvery1 shining surface1 dark in some lights1 makes a distinct effect of light and shade in the case of the white flowers1 even though they are worked upon a ground that is also white4 ,sometimes these pictures are of a bunch of flowers without a receptacle1 but often there is a basket or vase4 ,in this case there is a basket of very simple form1 standing on a darker table worked in the chenilles1 which were also much used4 ,they are tiny ropes of silk velvet with an effect of rich short pile1 like the old velvets of ,genoa4 ,it is easy to see how the ,red ,valerian came to be used as a model for needlework4 ,short stitches and long would easily render the small divisions of the calyx and the long slender spur and single pistil1 and a quantity of this1 representing the rather crowded flower-head1 would have a very good effect on a white or light ground4 ,the plant itself is a pretty one in any garden4 ,botanists say that it is not indigenous1 but it has taken to the country and acclimatised itself1 and now behaves like a native2 haunting quarries and railway cuttings in the chalk4 ,it is a capital plant for establishing on or in walls or bold rockwork1 as well as in the garden border4 ,it is always thankful for chalk or lime in any form4 ,printed by ,ballantyne1 ,hanson ,co4 ,london ,edinburgh