92 



OLD AND NEW. 



of deer, all contribute to make 

 the finest pictures. One of these 

 avenues, nearly two miles long, 

 leads to a loft}' monument erected 

 on a height in honour of the last 

 Duke of Bridgewater. There are 

 splendid beech trees towering 

 giants, lifting their grey, pillared 

 trunks to enormous heights, 

 where the birds are happy in the 

 greenery among the slender 

 branches stretched towards the 

 sky, while moss and lichen gather 

 about their feet. Then there are 

 majestic limes near the house, 

 planted, as men say, by Elizabeth 

 herself, but really known to have 

 begun their budding when Charles 

 II. was king. Many another 

 splendid tree is here also, and 

 looking round, you say that in 

 this place have lived men who 

 loved and knew the beauties of 

 the sylvan world, and planted 

 that others might enjoy. 



The reader will already have divined that the gardens are 

 of equal beauty and interest in that fair setting. Several styles 

 of gardening will be discovered, and it is pleasant to find a 

 character preserved in keeping with the old English aspect of 

 the house, a* for example in the Monks' Garden, reminiscent of 

 the Bonshommes of former times. Here, therefore, is to be 

 learned the lesson of appropriateness. Then we come to a 

 quaint enclosed parterre surrounded by trees, which lend 

 additional character to it, where rhododendrons are used 

 with moderate freedom. A certain distinctive character is 

 discerned in the conifer hedge, and we say to ourselves that 

 the good box-edgings have very marked value, and that the 

 creepers vesting the stone pillar add a feature that we like to 

 find in gardens. A verdure-clad pillar, an old dial, or mossy 

 urn filled with (lowers, standing, perhaps, in the open, or 

 decked with sunlight through the trees, is far more appropriate 

 in some situations than a gleaming statue or sculptured marble 

 vase. But, just as the old eclectics chose their principles from 

 the teaching of many schools, so can the modern gardener select 

 his features from the best characters of many styles. Ashridge, 



Copyright. 



THE SUNDIAL. 



" Country Life." 



Cofjrngni. 



THE FERNERY. 



for example, has its Italian garden, lying on the east side 

 of the house, very gay with many blossoms, and including 

 delightful borders of hardy flowers also. 



One great feature of the place is in its cloister-like alleys, 

 or corridors if such a word may be applied to a garden which 

 lead from one part to another, and are cool retreats from hot 

 summer suns. They are clothed, of course, with climbers, and 

 have quite a character of their own. 



Then, again, as in so many English gardens, we find 

 the yew a very conspicuous and handsome feature. There 

 are nob'e specimens near the house, and certainly no tree is 

 more impressive than some ancient yew its gnarled trunk 

 twisted, as it were, in its warfare with a hundred storms, 

 from which it has emerged a sturdy veteran to delight us 

 with its dense growth and character, and the deep shadows it 

 casts upon the turf. Leaving the "yew tree's shade," we 

 meet the same tree in another form round the skating-pond at 

 Ashridge. Here it forms a fine hedge, well kept, dense, even, 

 and extending for a considerable distance. The lawns, again, 

 are delightful. Now a great glory of many of our best gardens, 



envied by those who visit them 

 from other lands, is in tln>M 

 stretches of velvety turf, 

 which set off the house to such 

 advantage, and which in many 

 cases have a most attractive 

 effect, enhancing the value ot 

 everything else by investing 

 the whole with simplicity anJ 

 dignity of character. 



Another particularly 

 charming feature of Ashridge 

 is the fern glade, leading to the 

 grotto, where ferns luxuriate 

 in prodigal profusion, making 

 a fairy bower, leafy, cool, 

 and satisfying. Ashridge in 

 short, is full of interest for 

 the lover of gardening, who 

 will feel the charm of its 

 varied garden features, its 

 ancient trees and clipped 

 yews, and its many other 

 beauties. The Earl and 

 Countess Brownlow are both 

 interested in the charms of the 

 garden, the arts of the home, 

 and the things that are tlu 

 beauty of country life, and 

 Ashridge has gained very 

 much under their care. 



1 Country Life." 



