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THE VILLA GARDENER. 



272 



is in the direction of east and west, or of north and south. A case can hardly 

 occur in which a flower-garden should be surrounded by trees : though, in 

 very exposed places, these may be introduced on the north, north-east, and 

 north-west sides ; but this should be at the distance of at least three times 

 their height from the boundary fence of the garden. Nothing contributes 

 more to the beauty of flowers than abundance of solar light, and the free 

 circulation round them of air. Even if trees are planted only on the north 

 side, but so near as to exclude the free action of reflected light from that side, 

 the flowers will be weak and drawn towards the sun. All near fences have a 

 tendency to produce this kind of etiolation, as any one may observe in the 

 case of plants growing on the south-side of a common hedge; and this etio- 

 lation is directly the reverse of that bushy, tufted, or spreading appearance^ 

 which always accompanies vigorous growth in open airy situations. The 

 outline of the flower-garden should always be such, as that on the first view 

 of the interior some general form may be recognised in the area ; for example, 

 it may approach to a circle, to a broad or narrow oval, to a square, to a 

 parallelogram, or to a triangle. A long narrow strip, either crooked or 

 straight, would not be satisfactory to the eye ; nor would a space, broad in 

 some places and narrow in others, here straight and there crooked, afford the 

 spectator half so great a degree of satisfaction, as he would experience if he 

 recognised some known and definite figure. Whether the boundary line be 

 regular or irregular is a matter of no consequence, with reference to this end ; 



