GARDENS OLD AND 



has ruled the adornment and 

 maintenance of Clevedon Court. 

 Its chief charm is in that ter- 

 raced character of its garden, 

 to which allusion has been 

 made. The configuration of 

 the land dictated the special 

 form, and we may go far 

 indeed before we find terraces 

 so beautiful as these. There 

 are terraces both above and 

 below, for the house stands in 

 the midst of the steep slope, 

 and the effect is doubly charm- 

 ing. The artistic merits of a 

 terrace have been disputed by 

 some gardeners, but they can- 

 not be gainsaid when they 

 are displayed in such a situation 

 and manner as we discover 

 here. It will not be inappro- 

 priate to quote what Mr. 

 Blomfield and Mr. Thomas say 

 in defence of terraces in their 

 volume, "The Formal Garden 

 in England " : " The terrace is 

 admitted, even by the land- 

 scapist, to be desirable near 

 the house. In the first place 

 it presents to the eye a solid 

 foundation for the house to 

 start from, and gives the house 

 itself greater importance by 

 raising it above the level of the 

 adjacent grounds, and 

 again it is healthier. 

 There is something 

 uncomfortable in the 

 idea of a house placed 

 flat on the ground 

 or down in a hole. 

 It need not be 

 necessarily damp, 

 but one always 

 imagines that it will, 

 and that the timber will 

 decay and the plaster 

 moulder, and rats run 

 over the floor ; but 

 when the house starts 

 from a terrace it at 

 least looks dry and the 

 house enables you to 

 see the garden." 



But Clevedon 

 Court is neither flat 

 on the ground nor 

 down in a hole, 

 and an excellent idea of 

 the garden beauty can 

 be gathered from the 

 accompanying illustra- 

 tions. 1 he appropriate 

 terraces which have 

 grown out of this 

 condition are dis- 

 tinguished by the 

 special character and 

 are the glory of the 

 place. Mossy and 

 picturesque walls 

 support these fine ter- 

 races. They combine 

 luxuriant richness in 

 plant and flower life, 

 adorning tin- grass 



FROM TERRACE TO TERRACE. 



Country Lije. 



A FLOWER BORDER. 



' Cvuntry Lije 



and garlanding the walls, with 

 hedges and the trimness of 

 well - clipped, smooth - shaven 

 lawns. It cannot be forgotten 

 that a garden must be appro- 

 priate, not only to the house, 

 but to the situation. What is 

 suitable on the crest or the 

 slope of a hill might be alto- 

 gether out of place on a flat, 

 though even in such conditions 

 it would be easy to point out 

 low terraces that are a success. 

 Generally speaking, however, 

 it is true to say that a terrace 

 cannot be a triumph unless 

 there be the initial advantage 

 of a slope. But the character 

 of terraces also varies very 

 much. These at Clevedon 

 have little in common with the 

 romantic terrace at Haddon, 

 but are just as beautiful 

 Where we cannot go wrong is 

 in adorning our terraces with 

 green turf, a multitude of 

 flowers, and sometimes with 

 the shadowing of trees, with 

 walls never bare, and parapets 

 and balustrades touched with 

 the greens of mosses. To 

 linger on these terraces, look- 

 ing out over the landscape, is a 

 true delight, and no place could 

 be more attractive for 

 a quiet game of bowls. 

 When a pastime such 

 as this famous diver- 

 sion of old times can 

 be enshrined in such 

 scenes as these we 

 cannot wonder at its 

 new popularity. 



As our pictures 

 reveal, Clevedon 

 Court is a leafy place 

 with masses of foliage 

 garlanding everything 

 with richness, but 

 flowers are also 

 abundant, and contrast 

 their splendour with the 

 dark hues of conifers 

 and evergreens. 

 Arches of roses perfume 

 the air as we walk- 

 along, vases of fragrant 

 flowers flank the 

 pathway, and tall yews 

 cast their shadows 

 over the greenest of 

 turf. Light and 

 shadow are here 

 singularly effective in 

 their charm of variety. 

 But to describe further 

 what is so well 

 depicted is unneces- 

 sary here. Clevedon 

 Court, in the general 

 character of its gardens, 

 is scarcely excelled in 

 England, and few 

 places are more beau- 

 tiful than this delightful 

 Somersetshire home. 



