5S THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



Wilton. — One of the glories of Wilton is its fine Lebanon Cedars, 

 the tree having been extensively planted here at the time of its first 

 introduction, and although later years have witnessed a great thinning 

 of its ranks, enough remain to form the most prominent feature of the 

 place. The Wilton Cedars are older than those at Goodwood or 

 Warwick, and although mighty ones have fallen, some still remain, 

 whilst numerous young ones are growing up to take the place of those 

 that fall victims to the storms. Whilst the present wise policy of 

 frequent planting is continued, there will be no break in the history of 

 this tree at Wilton. The finest old specimen has a grand bole about 

 15 ft. up to the point of branching and of fairly even diameter 

 throughout its length of main stem, which girths fully 24 ft. A stem 

 of greater girth entirely enshrouded in Ivy stands near by, the tree 

 having perished in a storm some years ago. A noble evergreen Oak 

 near the Cedars has a stem that girths 19 ft., and at one time it had a 

 head of branches spreading quite lOO yards in circumference, but a giant 

 Cedar in its fall broke away a large portion of this Oak on one side. 

 It is a magnificent tree in perfect health, and bids fair to grow out of 

 its present disfigured state. Near this tree, and on the west side or 

 library front of the house, is an Italian garden, and beyond it a long 

 vista terminated by a stone structure called Holbein's Porch. A fine 

 Chamaerops Fortunei stands near, this also being a plant out of the 

 first introduced batch. It has been outside for seventy years, is not 

 so tall as some younger specimens we have seen, but its stem is 

 unusually thick and denotes great age. 



The view shown is that of the south front of the house, show- 

 ing a little garden of stone-edged beds set in gravel. Beyond, 

 adorned only by the grand trees on it, the lawn spreads away to the 

 river bank, the river itself being spanned by the " Palladian Bridge," 

 built of stone and having a roof supported by rows of columns on 

 either side. This leads to the deer park, in which the ground rises 

 upwards to a considerable elevation, whilst along this slope another 

 informal avenue of Lebanon Cedars is a fine feature amid the great 

 beauty of native trees in abundance and of large size. An interesting 

 fact gathered in regard to the Cedars is that on an average once in ten 

 years they ripen a batch of good seed, which is sown for future 

 planting about the place. 



Looking eastwards from the house, the ground stretches away 

 almost as flat as a table, but this flatness has been delightfully 

 broken up by a series of well-arranged groups, chiefly of coniferous 

 or evergreen trees and shrubs margined in a pretty way with graceful 

 masses of Savin. A broad gravel walk at right angles to the east front 

 of the mansion, with lawn and fine trees on either side of it, extends 

 for 300 yards, and is terminated by a seat hedged round with Yew. 



