SOILS AND CULTIVATION IN THE FLOWER GARDEN 401 



and soil, save that to get good soil for the formation of beds, we must 

 go where the good soil is ; whereas for the bottoms of roads and paths, 

 the support of banks, base of terraces or mounds, much saving may be 

 effected by getting what we want in the nearest possible place, never 

 fearing to make a hollow if need be, as that can be so easily planted 

 with some free-growing tree or shrub ; the hardy Pines, like Scotch, 

 Corsican, and Silver Firs, being excellent for this, as they thrive in 

 almost any earth, and often on surfaces from which the whole bed of 

 fertile soil has been removed. 



Apart from essential groundwork, there is the diversifying of ground 

 artificially, as may be seen in our parks, owing to the false idea that 

 you cannot make level ground picturesque with planting. Proof that 

 this is not impossible may be seen in many a level country planted by 

 Nature, as in the forest plain and in many a park and pleasure ground 

 both in Germany, France, and Britain. Trees are given to us to get 

 this very variety of broken surface, and the idea that to make a place 

 picturesque we must imitate — and usually badly imitate — naturally 

 diversified ground is most inartistic. No doubt broken ground has 

 many charms, but so has the fertile plain, and the best way is to 

 accept and enhance the beauty of each variety of surface. To do so is 

 the planter's true work. In cities and suburbs there is often occasion 

 to conceal ugly objects, and earth, if to spare, may be used well and 

 wisely in raising at once the base of a plantation of young trees ; but 

 an enormous amount of labour given to making artificial mounds 

 might be saved without any loss, and with much gain to garden 

 design. 



There are yet certain landscape gardeners who make mounds or 

 earth-pimples everywhere, regardless of the growth of the plants. If 

 people would only spend more on good planting and less on trying 

 to " diversify," as they call it, the surface, it would be better for our 

 gardens. In many cases when planting time comes, so much effort 

 has been spent on needless groundwork, that there are no means to 

 spare for the best work of all in garden making, namely, good planting. 

 But any one can make earth dumplings of the sort we see too many 

 of, while planting to give enduring and beautiful effects requires a 

 knowledge of trees and shrubs. 



In our public parks the mania for foolish groundwork may be 

 often seen, one of its results being the burial of the tree base, surrounded, 

 perhaps, with a brick-lined pit-hole, as in St. James's Park. Shooting 

 earth and rubbish to fill up the hollows on such a precious space as 

 Hampstead Heath is common, and as the surrounding district is busy 

 in building, these attempts are, we fear, often the result of findiijg a 

 shoot for earth and rubbish. Therefore the bringing in of such rubbish 

 should be absolutely forbidden, as the only effect of this filling up of 



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