24 THE NEW GARDENING 



angle of turf before the house, flanked by large vases 

 planted boldly with Hydrangeas, African Lilies (Agapan- 

 thus), or flaming Ivy-leaved Pelargoniums. A straight 

 walk should have led to an archway, forming a vista, 

 through which the shrubberies, the herbaceous borders, 

 and the scenery without could have been seen. 



We may remember that a vista has the effect of mag- 

 nifying. It gives an illusion of boundless space. The 

 same effect comes from winding paths and a slightly 

 arched area of turf. The garden-maker should suffer 

 nothing cramped close to a house, unless, indeed, he has 

 taken an isolated cottage for seclusion in which to write 

 a masterpiece. 



The formal element close to the house and the informal 

 a little way off can be pleasantly linked up by a rock 

 walk, made of irregular, flattish stones, between which 

 Stonecrops, Rockfoils, Alpine Pinks, and other dwarf 

 things are planted. This device will be found particularly 

 helpful in small places, where the principal part of the 

 garden lies at the back of the house. It might skirt a 

 rectangular piece of grass, and lead direct to an arch or 

 pergola. 



In large places, where the grounds surround the house, 

 there should be nothing save grass and trees close to the 

 principal windows ; but at distances ranging from a 

 hundred feet to a thousand there should be blocks of 

 colour, either in the form of shrubberies or herbaceous 

 borders, or both, with openings forming vistas to distant 

 scenery. 



My thought is this. In the small rectangular garden 

 the eye requires to be taken away from the bare confines, 

 where it will find nothing pleasing ; and immediately 

 caught by something definite, which not only gives it 

 pleasure, but serves as a guide to other features. However 



