EDGING AND CARPETING PLANTS 281 



all sorts of abominations in England that we never dream of 

 ornate tiles, fancy bricks, and even cast-iron intricate patterns. 

 They were always getting out of plumb or being cracked by frost 

 and I cannot understand why any one ever invented them or 

 ever found a purchaser. They are supposed to save the expense 

 of trimming box but their first cost is heavy and some of them have 

 to be carefully set in cement. Heaven defend us from their 

 hard lines and glaring colours and intricate ornamentation! The 

 motive behind all this tawdry art is display, whereas the only 

 sensible object of a dead edging is to save labour in weeding, by 

 sharply defining the walks. 



The only dead edging that pleased me in England was natural 

 stone. In some princely gardens I saw stone copings elaborated 

 by skilled workmen into designs of rare beauty, but I heard 

 sorrowful tales of their chipping and splitting from the action of 

 frost. But the best effect came from using rough-dressed stone of 

 the neighbourhood, setting the blocks in a fairly straight line, but 

 without bothering to make all the blocks the same length. In 

 the moist, cool climate of England lichens and algae soon obscure 

 the marks of the chisel, and the chinks are filled with precious little 

 flowers like the wall pepper, the Minorca sandwort, Kenilworth 

 ivy, etc., which bring the stone into a natural and loving relation 

 with the soil. And the prettiest feature of all is to see these stones 

 overgrown by some live edging, such as stonecrop, thyme, or bell- 

 flower. This type of edging is the one approved by William Robin- 

 son, and in describing it I have used many of his ideas and phrases. 



FLOWER EDGINGS FOR THE GARDEN 



But the most affecting loveliness, in my opinion, is that which 

 comes from the use of flowers for edging garden walks. Take, for 



