GARDENS OLD AND Nhli/. 



said to have been formed in the style of the gardens at 

 Hampton Court. 



" What of the yew ? " asks Dr. Conan Doyle in anothtr 

 relation. "The yew was grown in England!" Much, 

 indeed, in our shires have we of the dark ancestral yew, the 

 yew that "changes not in any gale," and yet, its dark 

 steadfastness notwithstanding, whereof the poet exclaims, 

 " Thy gloom is kindled at the tips ! " Yes, the careful 

 watcher of the yew will discern the seasons' change in that 

 dark foliage, and we have observed, too, in this series of 

 garden studies, how this "ductile yew," though rising often 

 in its native grandeur and ruggedness, is yet subdued with 

 endless variety as the handmaid of architecture. At Holme 

 Lacy, the ancient sentinels of the park, seared and dark with 

 the branding of many a summer sun, seem scarce akin to the 

 trim hedges that neighbour the mansion. They stretch forth 

 their arms in sturdy freedom ; these are shaped by the cunning 



garden beauty, and no better illustration of what we have 

 said can be found than in the gardens at Holme Lacy. Here 

 the deep colour and protecting shade of the hedges are in the 

 happiest union with gay beds of herbaceous flowers. A forest 

 of foxgloves, delphiniums, and other tall plants send up their 

 glorious spires of blossom from the mixed borders, and their 

 effect is wonderfully intensified by the colour of the background. 

 Thus we mark how the character is strengthened with good 

 and distinctive effect. 



Note how the dense hedge separates the long garden 

 of hardy flowers from the more formal garden of ribbon and 

 other bedding. There is no gainsaying the fact that this 

 "bedded-out" garden is remarkably beautiful in situation, 

 colour, and special features ; and it is certainly most 

 interesting to find the two great families of plants growing 

 side by side in one garden the geraniums and other bright 

 summer flowers dear to many gardeners, and possessing a 



Cofyiighl. 



THE GREAT YEW HEDGE. 



" Country Life." 



hand of art, to subserve the gardener's need. The-e are many 

 splendid yew hedges in England ; we have seen not a few in 

 these pages ; but we may go far before we find any to surpass 

 in beauty and variety the yew hedges of Holme Lacy. Some 

 idea may be formed of the extent of them if we say that two 

 men are occupied six weeks in cutting them once. Several of 

 them are of great height and thickness, and all are remarkably 

 dense and of fine colour. The greater hedges, moreover, 

 have that quaint billowy aspect which adds so much to 

 their charm. 



We have marked two great uses for a yew hedge in a 

 garden apart from the inestimable value of the hedge as such 

 the shelter it will give to tender growths or open flower 

 gardens, enabling many beautiful things to flourish in situations 

 where they could not succeed without shelter, and the value 

 of the hedge, by colour and form, as the background to flowers, 

 enhancing and enforcing their beauties of hue and growth. 

 We have often found the yew hedge playing this part in 



very real attractiveness of their own, and in the other 

 the sweet and homely perennials thrown into relief by 

 their sombre background. Such striking effects of contrast 

 are found in very few places. The yew hedge has its 

 great value also in increasing the effectiveness of the sweet 

 rose garden. 



The foliage at Holme Lucy is remarkably fine. The 

 visitor discovers this at the very entrance gate, where great 

 dins and other trees overhang the way. It is a sylvan land, 

 and many varieties of forest trees are found in the park ; 

 and the contrasting tones of oak, elm, ash, beech, and 

 cedar, and of not a few fine coniferous trees are remarkably 

 beautiful. 



The noble old yews have already been alluded to. The 

 splendid "Monarch Oak" on the ridge of the park has a 

 circumference of 2ift. loin, at jft. from the ground, and the 

 " Trysting Tree" is grander still. The undulating character 

 of the ground and the rich green of the turf complete a picture 



