348 HOW TO SEE ENGLISH GARDENS 



I travelled fast I did not see even one tenth of the most important 

 estates. The experience was infinitely more delightful than con- 

 centrating on London, as most Americans do. It is pleasanter 

 and more instructive to have a theme in travelling than to do 

 ordinary sight-seeing. If you take gardens for your theme, it may 

 rest you more than anything else, and you will get nearly, if not 

 quite, as much history, architecture, and general sight-seeing, as 

 the unthinking mob. 



The ideal way to see gardens is by automobile. Railroads 

 and cabs are a thorn in the flesh, because the former touch only 

 the outskirts of a place and the long cab journeys to country seats 

 are slow and costly. Moreover, the road views are better than 

 those from the car windows. Finally, the Automobile Association 

 in England really does things. Its sign in front of an inn means 

 such comfort and hospitality as Americans only can appreciate, 

 for we have nothing like them. When you have breakfasted in 

 the garden back of the inn at Burford or slept in the oak room at 

 Chiddingfold (twelfth century), you really pity from the bottom 

 of your heart the mob of Americans who are sweltering in London. 



No matter where you are, the "Garden Annual" will give 

 you a list of all the beautiful estates in that locality or country. 

 And in every locality there is a nurseryman or florist who will tell 

 you which is the best place to see and how to see it with the least 

 trouble. From horticulturists, also, you will hear about the big 

 flower shows, of which the two most important are those at the 

 Temple and Holland House. There is an endless succession of 

 flower shows in all parts of the country, and they are usually 

 crowded with fashionable people. If you are an enthusiast on 

 shows you can get a full list from one of the gardening papers, for 

 most of them publish calendars. 



