LANDSCAPE UA&DENINti. 



dimensions in provincial districts. Not tliat this 1ms been the residt of accident ; 

 for they almost invariably boast of a large amonnt of laying ont, and not nnconi- 

 moidy is it their misfortune to have too much of it, in that an attempt is made to 

 accommodate within a small space a certain (inantity of all the dilTerent ingredi- 

 ents which go to the making up of a large garden ; and these are obtruded ujiiin 

 each other in such admired discord that a visitor is inclined to compare the luiit 

 enscinhle to a marine store-shoj) of odds and ends of gardens. We have fre- 

 quently seen, within the space of half an acre or so, geometrical arrangements, 

 sweeps of shrubl)cry, herbaceous borders, serpentine walks, arbors of different 

 kinds and patterns, with stone vases and statues scattered about u})on the ground 

 or mounted upon picturesque old stumps ; finally, no garden of the kind is con- 

 sidered complete without its fountain, rock-work and lake. 



These various items are crowded together in so small a space, that from the 

 windows of the house they are all under the eye at the same time ; and care has 

 generally been taken, for the sake of contrast, that the parts least in harmony 

 with each other should be placed most closely in juxtaposition. 



It is only confusion and disorder we would be understood as objecting to, not 

 variety. The exhibition of skill in arranging a garden consists not only in the 

 careful adaptation of the parts to their proper effects and purposes, but also in 

 arranging their order with reference to each other, so that they shall combinedly 

 form a harmonious whole ; and these points duly kept in view, as much variety 

 should be introduced as the space admits of without crowding. 



As examples are more illustrative than a long dry discourse, we have selected 

 a case in point from amongst those which have come under our consideration, and 

 give engravings by which we can render more intelligibly an idea of what the 

 garden was and of what it is now. 



The house is pleasantly situated in one of our suburban villages, having its 

 entrance towards the public road, and looking from the garden side over a flat 

 agricultural scene, with which the house stands too much on a level. In front of 

 the house a respectable piece of garden extends itself, flanked by a shrubbery on 

 both sides, and bounded by a pond between and the extended meadows beyond. 

 On the right is the greenhouse, at the end of one of the offices, inconsiderately 

 placed so close to the garden as to make it an impossibility to conceal it by 

 planting without materially encroaching upon the ground. Farther to the right 

 stand coach-house, stables, and other offices, and beyond these a large kitchen 

 garden. 



The house itself is of plain red brick, unpretending in its architecture, and of 

 a description which would require considerable outlay to give it a degree of 

 ornamentation. The drawing-room, ending with a large bow on the left hand 

 side of the group, being the only important room on that side of the house, it 

 rendered the arrangement of the garden difficult ; this, however, had been 

 managed without the slightest reference to any windows of the house or in any 

 other way with regard to it. The ground was simply cut longitudinally by a 



