VARIOUS FLOWER GARDENS. 55 



The view shown is that of the south front of the house, show- 

 ing a little garden of stone-edged beds set in gravel. Beyond, 

 adorned only by the grand trees on it, the lawn spreads away to the 

 river bank, the river itself being spanned by the " Palladian Bridge," 

 built of stone and having a roof supported by rows of columns on 

 either side. This leads to the deer park, in which the ground rises 

 upwards to a considerable elevation, whilst along this slope another 

 informal avenue of Lebanon Cedars is a fine feature amid the great 

 beauty of native trees in abundance and of large size. An interesting 

 fact gathered in regard to the Cedars is that on an average once in ten 

 years they ripen a batch of good seed, which is sown for future 

 planting about the place. 



Looking eastwards from the house, the ground stretches away 

 almost as flat as a table, but this flatness has been delightfully 

 broken up by a series of well-arranged groups, chiefly of coniferous 

 or evergreen trees and shrubs margined in a pretty way with graceful 

 masses of Savin. A broad gravel walk at right angles to the east front 

 of the mansion, with lawn and fine trees on either side of it, extends 

 for 300 yards, and is terminated by a seat hedged round with Yew. 

 This bold walk and the shrub groups that break up the flatness of and 

 give distance to the fine expanse of lawn that extends to the waterside 

 are from the designs of Sir Richard Westmacott, who assisted the 

 Countess of Pembroke in planning the grounds. 



The second engraving shows well that portion of the house com- 

 manding the view of this broad walk, with its lawn and distant water, 

 whilst between the trees in the distance is seen the spire of Salisbury 

 Cathedral. Near the river a statue of Venus on the top of a column 

 stands in the centre of a little square formed by trees of the Italian 

 Cypress. The red Cedar was charming in some of the groups, its 

 branches laden with glaucous fruits, that appeared as a silvery sheen 

 cast over the tree. Yews, Hollies, and Evergreen Oaks, numerous and 

 fine, give perennial verdure to the grounds. Coniferous trees in 

 sheltered breaks and nooks are equally fine, a tree of Picea cephalonica 

 especially so, being nearly 100 ft. high, whilst many are growing with 

 great vigour. H. 



OFFINGTON. Ofifington is a very instructive garden, richly stored 

 and pretty too. Large collections are rarely in the hands of those 

 who have any thought for general effect, and no garden is more likely 

 to be inartistic than the one rich in plants, and it is rare to find a 

 pretty garden which is so full of beautiful things as this is. It is one 

 of those shore gardens in which there is much gain in point of 

 warmth and other conditions which allow the growing of plants 

 we have no chance of keeping in inland districts. The southern 

 and seashore district in one gives us all the conditions we could 



