SUBU1U3AN KES1])KNCES. 61 



what of a peculiar character to all gardens of this kind, but still they allow 

 some latitude to taste. The style in which they are laid out, must, however, 

 depend in a great measure on the kind of garden the proprietor may be in 

 want of; but there are three principal points to be kept in view, to which 

 all the vai-ious kinds of suburban garden we shall describe may be referred, 

 viz. : — 



1. Economy in the first laying out and after-management. 



2. Profit as regards the produce. 



3. Ornament and enjoyment. 



90. Economy, when it is to be combined with neatness, and an agreeable 

 appearance, is, perhaps, most easily attained, by covering the greater part of 

 the surface of the ground with grass ; and a small garden of this kind might 

 be easily kept in order by tiie proprietor himself, or an ordinary man-servant, 

 or labom-er, by the aid of a mowing machine. There would thus be scarcely 

 any expense in the after-management, and, as a surface of grass when kept 

 regularly mown and swept, is always agreeable to the eye, and has a neat 

 appearance, the garden could be kept in excellent order at the least possible 

 expense. The laying out would also cost as little as possible, as there would 

 be no expense but levelling the ground, making the walks, covering the 

 centre bed with turf, or sowing it with grass-seeds, and planting a few trees 

 and shrubs. 



91. Profit from the garden of a small street house can scarcely be ex- 

 pected ; and, indeed, even where there is a large garden to a suburban villa, 

 almost the only saving that can be hoped for is in the article of fruit ; as the 

 vegetables grown in it generally cost more than they could be bought for from 

 a greengrocer. Thei'e is, however, a great pleasure in having vegetables 

 from one's own garden ; and, indeed, some vegetables are so much better 

 when quite fresh, that it is worth while to take the trouble of growing them. 

 Peas, young cabbages, and various kinds of greens, become tough and insipid 

 when they have been gathered for several days ; and it is a great convenience 

 for a cook to have parsley, mint, and other pot-herbs, always ready whenever 

 she may want them. A garden of this kind, however, as it must have a large 

 proportion of dug ground in it, requires a great deal of care to keep it in even 

 tolerable order, and it looks very untidy if it is neglected. 



92. Ornamental gardening is, however, the most expensive of all modes of 

 keeping a garden ; and, indeed, it is scarcely possible to keep even a small 

 ornamental garden in the highest state of order and neatness without a regu- 

 lar gardener, a reserve garden, and a green-house, or pits and frames. In the 

 neighbourhood of London, the best way is to contract with a nurseryman to 

 keep the garden in order, and full of flowers, at a given price per year ; but 

 as this takes away a great part of the pleasure of the proprietor and his family 

 in the garden (as we all like things of our own creation, better than what is 



^ done for us), a more agreeable plan is to have a gardener once a week to 

 keep the place in order ; and to fill the beds with green-house plants 

 purchased from tlie people who hawk them about in the streets. If the 

 soil and situation are tolerably good, these plants will grow luxuriantly, and 

 produce abundance of flowers from May till September or October, when the 

 plants will be killed by the frost. 



We shall now give a few examples of the best manner of laying out and 

 planting suburban gardens, economically, profitably, and ornamentally. 



