34 THE BOOK OF GARDEN DESIGN 



quality. Such walks are always permissible and often 

 charming if they are made in deference to the natural 

 form of the ground. Divergence from the straight line 

 is necessary to avoid a group of trees, to skirt a piece of 

 water, or to embrace some particular view, but not for 

 the purpose of deceiving the visitor as to the extent of 

 the property. Twisted walks look very foolish in a 

 place which obviously possesses straight boundaries, and 

 however delightful it may be to lovers in the twilight 

 to linger thus lovingly on their homeward way, the 

 majority of us are merely annoyed by the mazelike con- 

 tortions which the average "landscape gardener" sees 

 fit to inflict upon us. So long as the curves are pleasing 

 to the eye, there is no need to make them equal, rather 

 the contrary ; the great point to avoid is the creation of 

 a hard line between two neighbouring bends. 



Grass forms a delightful edging to garden paths, but 

 it requires to be well kept, otherwise it is unsightly. To 

 afford facilities for mowing, a level breadth of turf suf- 

 ficient in width to accommodate the lawn-mower should 

 be laid along either side ; this is especially necessary if 

 sloping banks rise immediately from the sides of the 

 walk. In the wild garden, natural edgings, ground ivy, 

 cotoneaster, or St John's wort will look more appro- 

 priate than either mown turf or tiles. Walks and path- 

 ways must always be considered as part of design, but 

 their utility and convenience should be the first point 

 studied. It is disappointing to see in many places the 

 arid stretches of gravel, walks of more than necessary 

 width, and carriage sweeps large enough to turn a coach 

 and four : all this lessens the space available for turf and 

 flowers, and offers nothing in return, as the cost of up- 

 keep is in no way decreased. 



As a recent garden artist has declared, the lawn is the 

 heart of the British garden. It is the centre of the 

 social life which, in our too brief summer, is enacted out 



