62 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



of all sympathy with the surrounding country, whereas the landscape 

 and sylvan beauty of a pretty country might often be reflected, so to 

 say, in the home landscape. It might indeed often tell us what to do 

 as regards grouping, and kinds of trees and the natural character of 

 the ground even give hints as to ground work in gardens. Stonelands 

 is characteristic of the small manor house of the woodland district of 

 Sussex, with its groups of Scotch Firs behind the house and in intimate 

 connection with the farm buildings near. The house, too, is of a good 

 Sussex kind with bright sunny windows, stone, pretty in colour, big 

 chimneys, and there is a small terrace necessary from the lie of the 

 ground, which also cuts off the house from the road to the farm 

 buildings near. 



GOLDER'S HlLL.^Places where there are simple conditions for 

 beauty in design and planting are rare, and it is all the more pleasing 

 to meet with an example of artistic treatment of a garden almost in 

 London, on the western border of Hampstead Heath. As regards design 

 and views, it is the prettiest of town gardens, and the conditions of its 

 beauty are so simple that there is little to be said about them ; an 

 open lawn rolling up to the house, groups of fine trees, and wide and 

 distant views over the country, the whole suggestive of good effect 

 from simple hardy materials both in trees and flowers, but the elevation 

 is such that no half hardy exotics are likely to succeed, and therefore 

 hardy things give us our best chances of success. 



A sunken fence separates the lawn from some park-like meadow 

 \vith fine Oaks and Firs ; and beyond, the country north of London 

 opens up, without any building visible on either side or in the fore- 

 ground. From almost every other point of view these trees seem to 

 form a picturesque group, and afford a welcome shade in summer. 

 In front of the house is an open lawn, which one can get on to at once 

 from any point. Being on a gentle rise, some would no doubt have 

 urged this as a reason for making some kind of fortification in the 

 shape of walls, which would have destroyed the repose, verdure, and 

 the freedom of the spot. Now the only drawback if drawback it be 

 to such perfect freedom and breadth of airy foreground is the fact 

 that it offers a temptation to unthinking people to dot it over with 

 shrubs, or evergreen trees, and many places, well laid out, are spoiled 

 by this thoughtless dotting about of objects of poor form. The 

 question of flowers is the greatest difficulty, because people are so well 

 accustomed to have all their flowers gathered in front of the house, that 

 if abundant provision is not made for them elsewhere, the carpet is 

 apt, some day or other, to be dissected into a number of ugly flower- 

 beds. The best way to guard against this in lawn gardens is to pro- 

 vide abundance of simple beds elsewhere which, half seen peeping 

 through the trees, or met with in groups here and there at no great 



