IN MY LADY'S GARDEN 



the hands of the builder and the ordinary gardener, and so 

 becomes just like all the other gardens in the neighbour- 

 hood, commonplace and dull to a degree. 



Not only will the real garden reflect Nature, and also the 

 individual taste of its possessor, but it will contain many 

 plants which suit its position, aspect, and soil, and conse- 

 quently do well in it ; the stereotyped effect of scarlet 

 geranium, blue lobelia, and pyrethrums will not content its 

 owner, who will study the many beautiful aspects of vegeta- 

 tion which are possible in a garden during the seasons. The 

 present is the best time to pause and do this, for Nature is 

 now in the full glory of summer, the delicate tints of spring 

 are past, and the wealth of rich colouring which autumn 

 brings will soon be here. 



The first consideration should be to suit the garden to the 

 style of the house. The stately gardens which surround the 

 castle are entirely out of place near a cottage ; but in every 

 case the surroundings of the habitation should be such as 

 will melt naturally into the landscape, not stand uncomfort- 

 ably apart from it. In travelling abroad we are often struck 

 by the bareness of the houses to be seen from the railway, 

 which appear to have been set down by chance in their 

 present position, but might, like the painted toys we played 

 with in childhood, be equally well placed on any other 

 square of the carpet, if they could be moved about in a 

 similar way. This is not much the case in England, 

 however, where many homes, both stately and modest, nestle 

 happily amongst the trees, and even cottages are wreathed 

 with roses ; yet there is still room for improvement, this 

 especially being the case in new or suburban districts, where 

 the handiwork of the builder is still too much en Evidence 

 and the stiff conventionality of the gardens, each a copy of 

 the next, is painful to the eye. 



Flowering shrubs of many beautiful varieties might well 

 take the places now filled by stiff euonymus, box, conifers, 

 privet, yews, and other non-blossoming plants, which too 

 often fill our gardens ; climbers might be used in profusion, 

 not only on the house, but also to wreathe arches, pergolas, 



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