46 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEX. 



and Greece. The rough wall of the peasant, which prevented the 

 earth from being washed away, and gave a little depth on the stony 

 hillside, became, in the garden of the wealthy man, the built terrace, 

 structurally right, and necessary whether men gardened for pleasure 

 or for profit. Having got their ground level through terracing, it was 

 the rule to plant with beautiful things Olive-trees for profit, and 

 Cypress for shade. If anybody will compare such effects with the 

 common debased English planting of the flower-garden, where 

 everything is hard and flat and nothing is allowed on the walls, he will 

 at once see a vital difference. 



PENSHURST. There is no more essential charm for a garden than 

 that it should be itself in character and not be a copy of gardens near 

 it or elsewhere. This merit belongs to Penshurst, and the network 

 of orchard trees and tall summer flowers beneath them which make 

 up much of the flower gardening there. Much of the ground between 

 the kitchen garden and the house is thrown into squares and strips, 

 which shelter and divide the space, and most of this space between 

 the hedges is planted with fruit trees, and walks very often Grass 

 walks running between them. The remaining spaces are planted 

 with flowers, from beds of Carnations to mixed borders of tall 

 herbaceous plants and Lilies. Foxgloves are at home here, and in 

 rather broad masses under the trees their effect is charming the 

 shade and mystery of the overhead growth give them something of the 

 look they have in woods. The lines of border after border are broken 

 by the trees, and the effect is very soft and different from what it so 

 often is, while the colour tells splendidly in the case of masses of 

 Orange Lily. The growth is free, and there is no such thing as prim- 

 ness, which greatly helps the effect. Groups of Acanthus look well 

 here, and Delphinium, Meadow Sweet, giant Scabious, and many a 

 hardy flower are refreshing to see. 



But Penshurst is an example of the many gardens (new and old) 

 where the reaction from the hardness of bedding out and the winter 

 bareness of it have led people to do away with flower beds near the 

 house. It is not the old way to clear everything away but shaven 

 Grass near a beautiful old house, nor is it the true way, but it is now 

 a common one, and it gets rid of much of the ugliness of beds. 



But there are ways of putting flowers in charming modesty about 

 a house as well as that of digging up in early summer ugly grave-like 

 beds for them. In the old days flowers clustered round the house, and 

 were the better for its shelter, warmth, and colour. Long before the 

 massing system, with all its garishness, was discovered, flowers were 

 planted for many generations in quiet ways about old English houses. 

 It is right that the main entrance and park side of a great house should 

 be frank and open, but to make the house bare all round for the sake 



