I2 4 ENGLISH PLEASURE GARDENS 



extending along three sides, while a wall of stucco and 

 the conservatory form the fourth. On one side the 

 hedge is of clipped yew, while the other two are of 

 rhododendrons allowed to grow freely. Along each of 

 these three sides runs a walk about eight feet wide, 

 supported by a stone retaining wall and raised three 

 steps above the level of the parterre ; opening from 

 this walk are vine-covered arbours shading wooden 

 benches commanding the whole enclosure. Two of 

 these arbours are semicircular in plan with arched tops, 

 while two are rectangular and flat-topped. The gar- 

 den sides are left open so that "the owner's friends 

 sitting in the same may the freelier see and behold 

 the beauty of the garden to their great delight." 

 The The main body of this garden is divided by the two 



principal cross paths into quarters, subdivided into knots, 

 while outside runs a border laid out in elaborate geo- 

 metrical patterns. But it must be remembered that any 

 stiffness of effect is far less apparent in reality than in 

 the plan, since actually the garden is never seen from a 

 bird's-eye point of view. Flowing lines give freedom 

 and variety to borders which if severely rectangular 

 might appear set and uninteresting ; and miniature 

 hedges, enclosing the different arrangements of flowers 

 in distinct divisions, make it possible to mass the colours 

 more or less separately. The subdivisions are marked by 

 borders of Berberis Darwinii, Colorcaster Hookeriana, 



