58 



GARDENS OLD AND NEW. 



Its character is disclosed by the pictures. In the red brick 

 walls, lofty \vindn\vs, cupola-crowned turrets, and twisted 

 gables, there is exceeding charm and very great interest. 

 The moat is dry, but spanned by a beautiful bridge, and the 

 hollow below is clothed with turf, and made bright and 

 gay with summer flowers. This is part of the scheme of 

 colour adornment that beautifies the whole surroundings of 

 this sumptuous abode. Within, the apartments are of noble 

 propnrtions, flooded with light through the storied panes of 

 lofty transomed windows, richly panelled with oak, hung with 

 tapestry and fine portraits, adorned with marvellous ceilings, 

 and furnished in the finest taste. It is from their windows 

 that we look over the great gardens and tiie park. It is a 

 realm of ordered delight, delectable to look upon through these 

 mullioned windows, and doubly pleasant when we think of the 

 long line of Englishmen and Englishwomen who have founu 

 their pleasure in beautiful gardens here before. Blomefieid, 

 the Norfolk historian, speaks of an "elegant wilderness" as 



or, more truly, created, the remarkably attractive garden we 

 depict a garden eminently successful in its kind. There are 

 the close-clipped hedges, topiary features of unexaggerated form, 

 yews standing like sentinels at regular stations, busts, urns, 

 and basins of the classic school. Such a disposition of the 

 garden is manifestly appropriate. But, formal though the garden 

 is, its formality is not that of stiffness. There is now no 

 character of a "wilderness," and the features are all 

 such as attract, without disturbing the pleasant artistic culm. 

 The lovely trees of varied foliage and growth that rise 

 behind, and the delightful shrubberies, impart a special 

 charm to the gardens. Nor does the extreme form of precise 

 and yet fanciful carpet bedJing here find any illustration. We 

 see at Blickling merely the strongly marked character that is 

 required to give distinction and effect, imparted by a master 

 hand. 



The principal flower garden, which is about an acre and 

 a-half in extent, was begun by the eighth Marquess of Lothian 



Copyright. 



THE EAST FKONT. 



"Country Life." 



having been among the attractions of Blickling in his time. But 

 the place, after ripening for 200 years, has reached fruition in 

 these days, and it is impossible to imagine anything more 

 beautiful than the gorgeous feasts of colour spread out 

 beneath these venerable walls. Recent years have seen 

 vast improvements made. The eighth Marquess of Lothian 

 was an enthusiastic lover of the garden, and did much to 

 beautify the surroundings of his fair and winsome abode, 

 and his widow, Constance, Marchioness of Lothian, carried 

 on the delightful work he began. 



It is a happy circumstance, to be observed in relation to 

 Blickling, that the gardens and house are in perfect accord. 

 We find the same in the case of all the beautiful gardens 

 we describe. In no other way can satisfaction be achieved, 

 and the judicious hand at Blickling, recognising the need for 

 enclosure, cherishing all the charms of the flower world, 

 realising the value of the umbrageous background, and wel- 

 coming the adornments of the architect and sculptor, developed, 



and completed by his widow. It is in a sheltered situation, and 

 great labour was expended upon its formation, the ground being 

 excavated, and a terrace wall raised to surround it. The 

 judicious lady who carried on the work is an ardent admirer of 

 hardy flowers, and her taste in the decorative use of them never 

 wavered in the times when formal bedding was at its height. 

 The result is that the garden is filled with colour and fragrance, 

 and that roses, pinks, carnations, lilies, bulbous rlosvers, and a 

 host of other beautiful things, bloom in rich profusion. The 

 design is bold and picturesque. Beds of simple character, 

 disposed for broad effects, have been chosen, and the principal 

 purpose has evidently been to give lavish effects of colour. 

 The surrounding terraces are very fine, and command most 

 attractive and interesting views both within and without. The 

 fountain-basin and some of the statues in the garden were 

 brought from the stately Elizabethan mansion of Oxnead Hall, 

 in the vicinity, now a ruin, its principal portions having been 

 pulled down long ago. Oxnead was the home of the Pastons, 



