The round the house, or on terraces below it, where some lovely 

 Position background of mountain, wood, or water was waiting to set 

 of Scotch them off. But in the search for shelter these walled gardens 

 Gardens are ^ ten P^ced at a considerable distance. Of course there 

 are many exceptions, such as the well-known Balcarres and 

 Balcaskie ; at the latter the windows open on to a wonderful 

 parterre of colour, which makes, with a fine Cedar and the sea 

 in the distance, a delightful picture. The Rose garden 

 enclosed in a low Yew hedge (of which a picture is given in 

 "Rose Notes") and the terraces with their walls and wide buttresses, 

 giving the cosiest of corners for delicate plants or creepers, are 

 also at hand. In the case of many of the grand old fortified 

 castles in which Scotland is so rich, the garden, though it is 

 generally kept within its own walls, adjoins the Castle itself, 

 and gains the immense advantage, as at Cawdor or Kellie, 

 among many others which come into one's mind, of a back- 

 ground of high grey stone towers and turrets. But, as a 

 rule, the small gardens prove how much can be well grown 

 without either walls or high hedges, and make the most 

 consequently of the natural features of the landscape. The 

 garden of Camp Cottage, Comrie (of which a sketch will 

 be found in this section), is a good example of what I mean. 

 On all sides the view is open, and clumps of Blue Delphiniums 

 and Madonna Lilies in the summer, or of Tiger Lilies and 

 Michaelmas Daisies in the autumn, are seen against the purples 

 and blues of the mountains, and borders of Phlox and Bocconia 

 stand out against some distant buttress of grey rock. 



But once the walled gardens are entered, all regrets as to 

 their position vanish in delight at the sights within. They 

 have wonderful features of their own, and are seldom, owing 



56 



