401 



JOURNAL OF HOKTICDLTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



I Maj 23, 1876. 



month 5°, 7°, 10°, and one night my thermometer registered 

 12° of frost. — Wii. LoTEL. 



BELVOIK CASTLE.— No. 1. 



THE SEAT OF THE DUKE OF RUTLAND. 



This princely residence stands on the brow of a lofty hill, 

 surrounded by a vast expanse of level country. It is seven 

 miles from Grantham, and four and a half miles from Bottes- 

 forJ, where there is a station on the Great Northern Railway. 

 The Castle was founded by Robert de Todeni, a Norman noble, 

 standard-bearer to William the Conqueror, who gave him 

 with many other lordships that of Belvoir. In the reign of 

 Henry VIII. these estates passed by marriage into the family 

 of Manners, who have held them ever since. It would hardly 

 further the interests of horticulture to trace in detail the 

 various mutations that Belvoir Castle underwent before the 

 erection of the present stately edi0ce. In the feudal times, in 

 the Wars of the Roses, and in the troubled times of Charles I., 

 it was frequently garrisoned, its commanding military position 

 naturally rendering it a station of great importance. At the 

 commencement of the present century successive attempts at 

 modernising had nearly reduced the style and character of the 

 Castle to that of an ordinary hall. When the father of the pre- 

 sent noble Duke attained his majority one of his first objects was 

 the rebuilding of the castle of his ancestors, or rather restoring 

 it to its appropriate character. At an outlay of £200,000 this 

 gigantic work had nearly been completed in 1816, when, on 

 the 2Gl,h of October in that year, a fire broke out, which re- 



cimens of Magnolia grandidora ; Chimonanthua fragrans, a 

 lovely climber with fragrant flowers ; Lonicera fragrantissima ; 

 double Chinese Peach, which at the time of my visit (April 19th) 

 was covered with its charming flowers ; Forsjthia snspensa, 

 Spirrea pruniflora flore-plena, and other fine wall plants. 



But it was the spring flowers I more especially went to 

 Belvoir to behold, and therefore we will leave these elevated 

 positions and hasten away to what is called the Castle Garden. 

 It is not often the lot of ordinary mortals to behold such an 

 earthly paradise after a spell of winterly weather equal to 

 what we had the week before Easter. Only five or six days 

 before I saw this bla^e of beauty the flowers and flower beds 

 were buried 14 inches deep in snow, and the remaining snow- 

 drifts in many parts of the grounds told their own tale. 

 Besides the fall of snow there had been a stinging frost of 10'. 

 Yet notwithstanding the heavy snow and biting frost, the 

 spring flowers were blooming as fresh and beautiful as if there 

 had been nothing but sunshine for many a day previous. 

 i From what Mr. Ingram had stated in a note a few days before 

 ! my visit I expected to find the flower gardens a complete 

 ' wreck, but such was not the ease. These favourite pets of 

 j Mr. Ingram appear to rise superior to all vicissitudes of 

 I weather, and in spite of frost, snow, or rain, the plants grow 

 ; and bloom with the utmost freedom. 



j For broad and general effect Mr. Ingram depends on the 

 simplest materials. The generality of the plants employed 

 are such as will flourish by the side of any country cottage. 

 Arabis and Aubrietia, Wallflowers, Oxlips, and Pansies are 

 grown in large quantities, and Myosotis diseitiflora stands 



1 , Erioa carnea. 



2, Arabis albida. 



3, Anbrietis. 



4, Golden Pyrethram. 



Fig. 109. 



B, Erica carnea. 

 6, Golden Thjme. 



7, Aabrietia. 



8, Oslips. 



9, Bellis (Daisy) aucnbfflfolia. 

 10, isedom acre aurea. 



duced the magnificent structure to a blackened ruin. Portions, 

 however, of the Castle escaped, as the south-west and the 

 south-east fronts, and the beautiful chapel. At the time of 

 this conflagration the Castle contained collections of works of 

 art and vertu that could scarcely be surpassed by any private 

 mansion in Europe. Many valuable pictures by the old masters 

 were consumed, and much of the costly furniture. 



The Castle on the north overlooks the wide and fertile 

 valley of Belvoir that embraces parts of Lincolnshire, Leicester- 

 shire, and Northamptonshire. Tall spires of ancient churches 

 mark the sites of towns and villages — Bottesford and Newark 

 are the most conspicuous — and in the distance in a command- 

 ing position is a fine view of Harlaston Hall. On a clear day 

 may be seen the towers of Lincoln Minster at a distance of 

 thirty miles. The range Of limestone hills, part of the Back- 

 bone of Lincolnshire as it is called, bound the view to the east, 

 but being wooded and broken diversity and interest is given to 

 the landscape. On the south the hills attain a greater elevation, 

 extensive woods clothe those more immediately contiguous 

 and partly fill the valley. Broad open park like glades break 

 the uniformity of the expanse of wood, and the river, which 

 sweeps boldly through the valley, greatly improves the beauty 

 of the scene from the Castle terraces. Westward the eye ranges 

 over parts of Nottinghamshire and a series of wooded heights 

 in Leicestershire that seem to stretch away and unite with the 

 distant range of Charnwood Forest. From the terraces ex- 

 tensive views of thirty miles are obtained in different directions, 

 and 174 towns and villages have been counted within the circle 

 of its horizon. On the south side of the Castle there are three 

 terraces, and the ascent to them is by a noble flight of stone 

 steps. The second terrace contains a quaint garden filled like 

 the other portions of the ornamental gardens with spring- 

 flowering plants. The walls of this garden are clothed with 

 climbing plants in fine condition. There are magnificent spe- 



pre-eminent ; its bright, delicate, azure blue flowers are really 

 charming. Mr. Ingram has been engaged for many years in 

 improving the Arabis and Aubrietia, and he has succeeded in 

 bringing these beautiful harbingers of spring to a state of 

 high perfection. I noticed the former had short stout flower 

 stalks supporting broad trusses of bloom, while the latter 

 were covered with a profusion of nearly bright purple flowers 

 that almost obscured the foliage. Mr. Ingram has also a 

 variety of Aubrietia almost pink, though the blooms are not 

 large, and it flowers rather late. There were also thou- 

 sands of Primroses, Polyanthuses, and Oxlips varying in 

 colour from the various shades of cream and yellow to a 

 glowing crimson. The Oxlips are a speciality, for of these 

 there is a large and varied collection ; some of them with tall 

 flower stems, and others with the habit of the common Prim- 

 rose. Wallflowers are remarkable for their dwarf habit, for 

 they are scarcely a foot high and one mass of bloom. Another 

 most striking plant used for its bronzy purple foliage was 

 Heuchera lucida, used extensively as an edging plant. I have 

 not seen it employed before, but it is very effective and a 

 great favourite at Belvoir. Daisies also hold an honourable 

 position, both the plain-leaved and Daisy aucubaefolia; these 

 may be counted by thousands. Of Saxifragas every conceiv- 

 able form and variety U brought into use, and Sedum 

 glaucnm, Sedum acre, and S. acre aureum grow with the 

 freedom of common weeds. Among dwarf shrubs Ericas are 

 the most useful. Erica carnea was very effective and striking, 

 and another white variety was also turned to good account. 



I must now make a few remarks on the style of bedding-out, 

 and we will take our standpoint at the Castle Garden. Carpet 

 bedding finds favour at Belvoir, and for that purpose Sedums, 

 Saxifragas, and similar close-growing plants are employed, 

 while over them, standing thinly, there are such plants as 

 Erica carnea. Tulips, and Hyacinths. In this garden there are , 



