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JOURNAIi OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ September 26, 1867. 



Planted in lines as hedgerows, the Elder nill be quite established 

 in two years, and form a fence ; planted against a low stone 

 ■wall, hurdles, pales, &c., it forma an excellent fence by adding 

 one storey to make up for the deficiency of the wall ; and as it 

 never grows large, it does not rob the land like timber trees. 

 I remember a hedge made of Elder shoots to screen a garden ; 

 it was about 100 feet long, and one man cut the shoots from 

 the bushes, carried them on his back for halfa-mile, cut them 

 into lengths, and planted them, without any further cost than 

 his own labour, and that was for half-a-day I Cottagers and 

 tenants-at-will should take a lesson from this experiment, for it 

 was a tall, strong hedge in two years, and such a wind-guard 

 wonld be no small benefit to those who rear calves and poultry, 

 and, if they made no use of the Elder berries, the fowls would 

 eat them greedily. — Alex. Forsyth (in Mark Lane Express.) 



LILLIESDEN. 



Situated on an eminence in a rich undulated tract of 

 country near the southern boundary of Kent is the village of 

 Hawkhurst, the healthiness and rural beauty of which have 

 obtained for it a high reputation. The village in itself is a 

 pattern of neatness, not less so by its situation than by the 

 nniformity of colouring given to the shops and dwellings, that 

 employed being a sort of stone colour. Hawkhurst appears to 

 consist of two villages fully half a mile apart, each built on an 

 eminence, with a valley between. The southern of the two I 

 shall call for distinction Hawkhurst proper, as it contains the 

 paritih church, itself an object of much beauty, and also that 

 other important feature in a country village — the green, which 

 in this case is no mere piece of waste ground used for piling 

 up heaps of manure, timber, and the various articles we 

 sometimes meet with in other open spaces dignified with the 

 same name, but is a beautiful level piece of turf that would 

 grace any nobleman's lawn, and sufliciently large for two or 

 three sets of cricketers at a time ; and it is to be hoped the 

 spot will always remain innocent of the bricks and mortar 

 which invade similar public places. Good roads surround this 

 triangular-shaped green, boidered by dwellings and shops. The 

 church and its interesting churchyard are at one corner, and 

 near to the gate stands a venerable Oak tree, which, though 

 not so large as some met with elsewhere, is yet, I believe, 

 about 17 feet in circumference at 4 feet from the ground, and 

 from its aged appearance is a great favourite with artists. 

 The churchyard itself is also full of interest, and commands a 

 lovely landscape. Proceeding beneath umbrageous trees, and 

 passing on the way an elevated structure, which is the obser- 

 ■vatory of the great Sir John Herschel, I at length came to the 

 immediate object of my journey — Lilliesden. 



Lilliesden, the seat of Colonel Lloyd, is one of those resi- 

 dences which rise so suddenly and yet so complete, at the 

 iidding of such energetic and enterprising gentlemen as the 

 owner of this. I believe only a dozen years have elapsed since 

 the property passed into his hands ; it was then but an ordi- 

 nary farm ■with its necessary buildings and a second-class 

 farmhouse. The latter have all been swept away, and a new 

 mansion has been erected, which is replete with every com- 

 fort which wealth, good taste, and judicious arrangement can 

 ensure. So successful, also, has been the planting of large 

 trees, that Lime trees and Oaks 40 feet high already grace the 

 ]awn and belts where only a bare hill existed before, while in 

 front of these have been planted, in most cases successfully, 

 specimens of the most choice Pinuees brought from great dis- 

 tances ; numbers of smaller ones are also rising up in all 

 quarters, as well as masses of shrubs, in one place crowning 

 a height, in another reposing in a valley. Here I may remark 

 that the mansion is placed on the top of one of the gentle 

 eminences which form so important a feature in the district ; 

 while around it on the southern and western sides the ground 

 recedes, not regularly, but in subsidiary hills and valleys, 

 giving scope for that irregular mode of planting and treatment 

 which has always been a favourite feature in English gar- 

 dening. 



On the southern and western sides of the mansion is a broad 

 terrace ; and below that, on the southern side, is a geometric 

 garden, the beds being cut out on grass, and these at the time 

 of my visit — the early part of September, were gay with the 

 most choice bedding plants. Conspicuous amongst them was 

 Indian Yellow, one of the Pelargoniums raised by Mr. Beaton, 

 and which is an abundant bloomer. Mrs. Pollock was also 

 well represented, and, indeed, all sections of Pelargoniums 

 and other bedding plants, not the least interesting to me being 



some beds of Calceolaria Anrea fioribundo entirely free from 

 disease and dead or half-dead plants. 



Below this geometric garden the ground was covered with 

 irregular groups of Pinuses and shrubs, with ample glades of 

 well-shaven lawn between, the whole being intersected with 

 walks so arranged as not to mar the character of repose which 

 reigned in the planting. To the westward the masses of 

 shrubs were more dense and the declivity more steep, though 

 at the same time broken and irregular ; while at the bottom 

 a piece of water stretched for a considerable distance, forming 

 in that direction the boundary between the dressed grounds 

 and the park, which, I ought to add, was formed in the same 

 short space of time as the mansion and garden, and yet it 

 seemed complete. By retaining trees which existed in suitable 

 places, planting others where wanted, levelling ground, and re- 

 moving hedgerows and other obstacles, with the aid of a healthy 

 sward which sprung up, it had the appearance of a park formed 

 some centuries ago. 



Connected with the mansion at the south-eastern corner is 

 a conservatory 72 feet long by about 30 feet wide, but as it was 

 undergoing alterations at the time I was there, the plants that 

 usually adorn it were in a suitable span-roofed house in the 

 garden. The mansion itself is one of those to which a mixture 

 of red brick and Bath stone gives a showy appearance. The 

 approach to it is on the north side ; and by the side of the 

 carriage road some noble specimens of Cupressus maorocarpa, 

 Wellingtonia, Pinus I'ouglasii, and other favourites were 

 planted ; while in another part of the ground the same and 

 other kinds of trees were to be met with in numbers, and now 

 and then that very important ornament to our lawns in autumn, 

 the Pampas Grass. On one plant upwards of one hundred 

 spikes of bloom were making their appearance, giving unmis- 

 takeable evidence that the severe January frost, so destructive 

 at many places, had not done much harm at Lilliesden. 



Connected with the pleasure ground and lawn on the north- 

 western side is the kitchen garden, which has the advantage 

 of being situated on ground which is level, or nearly so. Quarters 

 of healthy vegetables attested that they had been generously 

 dealt with, and under judicious management the wall trees were 

 yielding abundant crops. Perhaps, if anything was wanting to 

 give this garden more importance, it was a greater height in 

 the walls. 



Passing on to the plot where the glass houses are arranged, 

 I found that these consisted of several houses and pits, but 

 having been erected at various times, and the original intention 

 of only a moderate number having been departed from, the ad- 

 ditions found necessary have consequently given a less uniform 

 character to the whole than would have been the case had a 

 proper plan been decided on at first. The contents of the 

 houses and pits, however, were in all cases good. There were 

 excellent Grapes in one, in another the fruit which had been- 

 cut was equally good, while a third presented a good prospect 

 for winter supply. In one of the houses I observed fruit of the 

 variety known as Marchioness of Hastings, with white berries 

 much like Golden Hamburgh, and in excellent order, while a 

 late black variety seemed equally well grown. Mr. liecord had 

 received it for Lady Downe's, but it was certainly not that va- 

 riety, but one midway between the Alicante and West's St. 

 Peter's, as it in some degree resembled both ; still, as localities 

 alter the character of Grapes, it may probably be referable to 

 some well-known kind. 'The Black Hamburgh and Mill Hill 

 Hamburgh were both represented, and the health of each at- 

 tested the care bestowed on them by those entrusted with their 

 management. In another house devoted to early forcing was 

 an excellent crop of Melons ripening off, also a number of plants 

 of Queen Anne's Pocket Melon, upon which when again brought 

 into notice Mr. Record was one of the first to report in this 

 Journal; an inner compartment, that might be kept still 

 warmer if required, contained some young plants of Cucumbers 

 turned out ready for fruiting in midwinter. A large span-roofed 

 house was gay with plants intended for the conservatory, 

 amongst which were some well-grown Fuchsias of the best 

 kinds, of which I noticed Gipsy Girl, Conspicna, Schiller, 

 Guiding Star, Lady Heytesbury, and Albertii, as being parti- 

 cularly good, or well-grown. Liliums, Tritonia aurea, and other 

 plants, were equally abundant ; and not the least interesting 

 were some plants of Tree Mignonette nearly T) feet high, in 

 good health and tlower. Outside this house there was a fine 

 lot of Camellias, Azaleas, and other plants for winter and 

 spring use. A stove contained specimens of the most remark- 

 able flowering and fine-foliaged plants ; and several pits, more or 

 less occupied by the crops of the season, formed another featnie 



