74 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



As the ground is often steep, steps and little walls or protecting 

 corners are often wanted ; but whenever the native gardener wants 

 anything of this kind, he does not go through a circumlocution bureau 

 for inspiration and drawings to scale, but builds what he wants in a 

 simple ready way with the stone nearest at hand, and the result is 

 much better from a gardening point of view than more elaborate and 

 costly work. The island of Madeira is very instructive too in the 

 variety of its gardens ; every one I remember was distinct, and this 

 was owing to the owners being free to do as the ground invited them, 

 instead of following any fixed idea as to style, or leaving it to men 

 who are ready with similar plans for all sorts of positions. In France, 

 England, or Germany this could never happen, because owing to con- 

 formity about style and the use of book plans, we can usually tell 

 beforehand what sort of garden we are to see ! 



