40 



THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



blocked up the windows, have been 

 moved, and the border planted with 

 roses, rhododendrons, and fuchsias, 

 and herbaceous perennials, such as 

 delphiniums, phloxes, aquilegias, etc. 

 The large bed, .t, which measures 

 fourteen feet across, will remain as it 

 is for the present, and in May it will 

 be planted with fuchsias. My own 

 opinion of it is, that it is too large ever 

 to look proportionate; but we shall 

 see. At g, there -will be a rockery, 

 with abronias and showy trailers ; 

 at y, another, with ferns and alpines ; 

 at a, under the shadow of a fine lime 

 tree, which stands like a sentry beside 

 the doorway, there will be another, 

 not visible from the gate entrance, 

 and, therefore, between g and a, the 

 wall, at present bare, is to be covered 

 with ivy, Virginian creeper, and 

 Stauntonia latifolia, the latter in- 

 tended to run to the top in no time. 

 The border will be planted with deci- 

 duous trees and evergreens ; the trees 

 at /, to be cut down and grubbed up, 

 and their places supplied with birch, 

 holly, and rhododendrons, with the 

 choicest perennials in front. 



Across the path, at the corner, /, it 

 is intended to carry a wire arch, to 

 be covered with Aristolocliia si'pho, one 

 of the most lovely of deciduous 

 climbers. The wide border, d, will 

 be wholly replanted before this month 

 is out, the back ground with deci- 

 duous trees, to hide the wall and all 

 beyond it; and the front, next the 

 path, with a selection of showy ever- 

 greens, with a breadth of two feet, for 

 specimen geraniums and fuchsias. The 

 space, c, now green and sour, and 

 sprinkled with half perished roses and 

 snowberries, will be left till April, then 

 all the rubbish that blocks up the 

 window, and the dark corner over the 

 cistern, will be rooted up and burnt, 

 the soil removed, and concrete laid 

 down to form a large space of gravel 

 for a jardinet, and a set of flower 

 boxes. The box-edging will be moved 

 to edge the path from the rosary to 

 the ditch, and its place supplied along 

 the whole line, bounding rf, and the 

 new line, bounding b, with edging 

 tiles. The border, b, is for the choicest 

 floweriDg 6hrubs, or for very fine 



specimen geraniums, though there is 

 room but for a few. The wall here is 

 well ivied, and the gate guarded by a 

 pair of horse chestnuts. 



This forecourt is, however, so distinct 

 a thing in itself, that I shall wait till 

 it is planted, and then describe it with 

 the help of a figure. I believe it will 

 prove a model worthy of attention by 

 every possessor of a town plot ; but we 

 had better wait a bit and see. A few 

 other points require mention, and we 

 may leave our friend to pursue his 

 agreeable task. At the corner, between 

 the drawing-room and the hall, there 

 is a space of gravel and bare walls ; 

 here a greenhouse is to be erected, and 

 as the space measures only 7 feet by 7, 

 the house will be carried forward two 

 or three feet more towards the grass- 

 plot. At the lower end the ditch, o, 

 and the water-courseshave been put into 

 regular order, and a cistern constructed 

 at the bend of the path near the bottom, 

 to receive the drainage from the 

 underground pipes. This is to save 

 the trouble of carrying water from the 

 cistern in the forecourt for wateringthe 

 roses in summertime. Erom the cistern 

 to the trench at m, a narrow path is 

 formed of coal-ashes on a bottom of 

 rubbish, and here a three-light pit will 

 be built to face the north, with another 

 narrow path of ashes in front, and then 

 a row of American Cranberries in a 

 trench parallel with the ditch, to turn 

 to good account the wettest part of the 

 garden. The situation of the pit is not 

 a happy one, on account of the exces- 

 sive dampness of the spot, but my 

 friend says he'll have it as dry as a 

 bone before next winter ; and the chief 

 of the water will be carried down to 

 the extreme N.E. corner. On both 

 sides of the garden, at this lower part, 

 there is a space of bare fence. On the 

 east side a narrow border will be 

 formed on a raised platform of lime 

 rubbish, and a rustic shed, built partly 

 for ornament, and partly as a pot- 

 ting and tool house. On the other 

 side at ?i, the fence is to be covered 

 with morello cherries, and in the bor- 

 der in front of them a good place 

 will be found for herbaceous plants 

 that love shade, and between it and 

 the narrow path, a bed of ashes for 



