^4 



IRISH GARDENING. 



JUNE 





Garden Makinir 



Hy I.. J. llr.MPHRKY, Instructor in School t'.anlonins,'- 



uiuli-r ilu- Department of Ag-ricultiiro and Toclinital 



Instruction. 



THERE are some principles which appl_v to the 

 making of gardens, and no matter how small a 

 garden may be these principles, which are 

 really matters of common sense, should not be alto- 

 gether disregarded. For one thing, the paths of a 

 garden are intended to be the thoroughfares along 

 which traffic %vill pass, and they should, as a rule, lead 

 directly from point to point. Curved paths and wind- 

 ing walks must be of that design only because of the 

 necessity for curving or winding. The track over a 

 mountain or through a wood winds or curves because 

 of obstructions, such as trees or rocks, which bar the 

 travellers' way, and in a garden something must be 

 substituted for such natural obstacles if paths are to 

 proceed in serpentine fashion. Without this provision 

 garden paths become meaningless ways, and a walk 

 along them a mental weariness. Unconsciously one 

 looks for a reason for such a curve or such a shape, and 

 if there is no obvious reason there is a feeling of annoy- 

 ance which should be quite foreign to the garden. 

 This searching for a reason for making beds of 

 elaborate shapes has brought into vogue gardens of 

 beds with shapes of hearts and stars which at once 

 yield up the rejison of their shape in their resemblance 

 to something outside the garden. But such beds do 

 nothing for the garden as a whole. Nicely planted 

 they provide a splash of colour, and perhaps break a 

 monotonous patch. This, however, is not the ideal of 

 the gardener, who is, perhaps, an artist, and who, as an 

 artist, thinks of his picture as a whole. A small garden, 

 or indeed any garden, can be much improved in 

 appearance by planting thickly close to the boundaries. 

 The walls or fences are then hidden by the plants 

 growing in front of them, and seen from a little distance 

 the level centre of the garden appears to pass naturally 

 into an undulating bank of shrubs and plants, which fit 

 in with the view beyond. In the corners borders may 

 be a little wider to allow of the planting of more 

 massive specimens, and here and there through the 

 garden similar large specimens may be brought to the 

 front of the borders in which they are growing to pro- 

 vide a point up to which the further planting, by the use 

 of plants of a gradually increasing size, can lead. 

 Where this is done the border may curve outwards to 

 apparently avoid the shrub, and so give variety to the 

 garden. 



The uiiiiii of ilii- patiis lo he niaile will depeiul on the 

 si/.e of the garden ;iik1 tlii' in.mner oi its .arrangement, 

 but both paths and borders should be of ample width, 

 and borders at the foot of a wall or other fence should 

 lie at least as wide as the fence is high. Sometimes 

 paths can be dispensed with altogether, and this results 

 in ;i great saving of labour. In such circumstances a 

 grass lawn forms the boundary of the beds, and serves 

 to connect the various parts of the garden. The green 

 of the grass provides an effective setting to the borilers. 

 and all the troublesome operations, weeding, rolling 

 and raking of gravel walks, are avoided, the only 

 work to be done regularly to the lawn being the mow- 

 ing of the grass and the periodical trimming of the 

 l.iwn edges. In winter, grass is frequently unpleasantly 

 damp for walking upon, and in summer much traffic 

 wears down the grass, leaving bare, unsightly patches. 

 These disadvantages must be weighed against the 

 advantages of appearance and general usefulness. A 

 simple arrangement for gardens such as are frequently 

 attached to terrace houses is one in which a grass plot 

 occupies the centre of the gartlen, with comparatively 

 wide surrounding borders, and wilji. perhaps, a seat or 

 arbour in one of the far C'^rners. 



The labour involved in the planting of a garden of this 

 kind is inconsiderable, and the effect is at all times 

 pleasing. Even in this there is scope for tasteful plant- 

 ing, and use should be made of deciduous and ever- 

 green shrubs, while here and there a tree can be planted 

 to raise the level which might otherwise become too 

 monotonous. Sometimes, despite efforts towards irre- 

 gularity, the plants in the border will resolve themselves 

 into lines which are not desirable in the garden borders. 

 When this is the case triangular groups of three similar 

 plants will help to vary the arrangement. The triangles 

 may be of all kinds, and their size may vary to almost 

 any extent, and while in some groups the apex of 

 the triangle may be towards the fi'ont, in others the 

 arrangement can be reversed with good effect. This 

 method of planting by grouping similar plants together 

 provides the masses of colour which the soul of the 

 gardener loves, but it avoids those straight soldier-like 

 lines which destroy the individuality of the plant. In 

 gardens which are a little larger than the average 

 builder allows to his modern erections, attractiveness 

 can be given lo the garden by hiding some part of it 

 from the general view. Just how this can be managed 

 will depend on the form, size, and levels of the site, 

 but almost any plan can be adopted that is not too 

 obviously artificial. For example, a path can be made 

 to dip down into a valley, having gently sloping sides. 

 These sides can then be planted with rock and .Alpine 

 plants, with a background of shrubs, forming a screen, 

 hiding this little surprise from the rest of the garden. 

 The soil removed in lowering the walk will raise the 

 ground on either side and form the " hill " on which the 

 shrubs are planted. In another way this privacy for 

 some special spot may be obtained by interrupting one 

 of the borders and placing a seat at the back of the 

 space thus left, using small plantations of trees and 

 shrubs to screen the spot from view. Such arrange- 

 ments will not only be pleasing in themselves but will 

 add to the apparent size of the garden, and will greatly 

 increase its interest. Hedges, though often very 



