The Canaiiian hlorticultiirist. 



I 19 



A FEW HINTS ON LANDSCAPE GARDENING. IV. 



H E distance from the main 

 road at which a house is 

 to be built should be 

 j^'overned b}' its size and 

 by the extent of the 

 grounds by which it is surround- 

 ed. Similar considerations also 

 govern the disposal of the ap- 

 proach, or carriage drive, by which 

 access is had to it from the main 

 road, and both these considerations 

 are too often entirely lost sight of by 

 those who plan their own grounds. 



Manifestly in the case of small vil- 

 lage and citv lots it would be in poor 

 taste- to attempt to introduce those 

 curves in walks and drives which 

 grace the park-like surroundings of 

 an elegant country seat ; and, indeed, 

 in most such cases the straight lines 

 are the most suitable because most 

 economical of space, and encroaching 

 least upon the precious green sward. 

 Unfortunately, many a fine man- 

 sion, owing to a lack of taste on the 

 part of the owner, is built so near to 

 the road that no opportunit}^ is left 

 for the beautiful in the arrangement 

 of the grounds, and the house itself 

 appears to the greatest disadvantage ; 

 and all this notwithstanding the 

 possession of broad acres which the 

 wealthy proprietor might have drawn 

 upon to extend his house grounds. 

 Where, however, they are admissible, 

 gentle curves in the walks and drives 

 are more in keeping with our modern 

 ideas of taste than the straight lines, 

 and the stiff geometric style of gar- 

 dening of the ancients. Our model 

 is nature itself, in which we see the 



curve predominates, and the trees 

 and shrubs are not in straight lines, 

 but grouped in ever varying shapes 

 and forms. In such a case, then, the 

 disposal of the approach is a study, 

 and should be made to enter the 

 grounds amid dense groups of forest 

 trees and shrubs, so arranged as to 

 conceal the house itself until the best 

 point of view is reached, after which 

 there should be little to attract the 

 eye away from this object. But 

 though curves are desirable they 

 should not be introduced too freely 

 or without at least some apparent 

 reason ; as, for instance, a group of 

 shrubbery, a large tree, or perhaps 

 an elevation, about which an easy 

 ascent is desirable. 



It is recommended that the en- 

 trance from the public road be not 

 too abrupt, but at an easy angle, so 

 as to give the approach as much 

 importance as possible. It is also 

 important that the carriage way 

 should not skirt the boundary too 

 closely, for that would betray the 

 limit of the estate, and impart a sense 

 of confinement, which is not in good 

 taste ; indeed, all such division lines 

 should be concealed from view as 

 much as possible, not by stiff, formal 

 rows of evergreens or other trees, 

 but by groups so aranged as to con- 

 ceal objectionable features when 

 viewed in passing, or from the win- 

 dows of the house. And just here 

 another important point should not 

 be overlooked, viz., that these clumps 

 of trees and shrubs be also so dis- 

 posed as to leave open to view. 



