566 



LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 



Union of gance, which form the constituent parts of a country 

 lhc "'"- residence. 



a '" ' ^ e Mansion and Offices first demand attention, 



as the central feature of art and refinement. What re- 



denini;. 



Mansion lutes to the design of these groups of buildings, be- 

 nd office*, longs to ARC IIITECTUKE; but the situation, aspect, style, 

 and accompaniments, are within our province. 



In determining the situation, a great variety of cir- 

 cumstances, some of a general, and others of a local 

 or peculiar nature, require to be taken into considera- 

 tion. Natural shelter, dry subsoil, the view of the house 

 as seen from a distance, and distant prospect, be- 

 long to the former ; and removal from the boundary or 

 a public road, suitableness of the adjoining grounds 

 for tlie garden scenes which accompany mansions, trees 

 already there, or so situated as to aid the effect, &c. be- 

 long to the latter. 



The aspect of the principal roonjs deserves particu- 

 lar attention in every case, buf more particularly in 

 bleak or exposed situations. The south-east is, most 

 commonly, the best for Britain ; and the south, and 

 due east, the next best. The south-west Mr. Rep- 

 ton considers the worst, because from that quarter it 

 rains oftener than from any other ; and the windows 

 are dimmed, and the views obstructed, by the slightest 

 shower, which will not be perceptible in the windows 

 facing the south or east. A north aspect is gloomy, 

 because deprived of sunshine; but it deserves to be re- 

 marked, that woods and other verdant objects look 

 best when viewed from rooms so placed, because all 

 plants are most luxuriant on the side next the sun. 

 " The aspect due east/' Mr. Repton considers " near- 

 ly as bad as the north, because there the sun only shines 

 while we are in bed ; And the aspect due west is in- 

 tolerable, from the excess of sun dazzling the eye 

 through the greatest part of the day. From hence we 

 may conclude, that a square house, placed with its 

 front duly opposite to the cardinal points, will have 

 one good and three bad aspects." Fragments on Land- 

 scape Gardening, SfC. p. 108. 



A mansion for the country, if a mere square or ob- 

 long, will thus be deficient in point of aspect, and cer- 

 tainly in picturesque beauty, or variety of external 

 forms, lights, and shades. An irregular plan, com- 

 posed with a combined view to the situation, distant 

 views, best aspects to the principal rooms, effect from 

 different distant points, and as forming a whole with 

 the groups of domestic offices, and other masonic ap- 

 pendages or erections, will therefore be the best ; and 

 as the genius of the Gothic style of architecture is bet- 

 ter adapted for this irregularity than the simplicity of 

 the Grecian, or the regularity of the Roman manners, 

 it has been justly considered that the Gothic is, on the 

 whole, the best style for country residences. Another 

 advantage of an irregular style is, that it readily ad- 

 mits of additions in almost any direction. 



Convenience, as well as effect, require that every 

 house ought to have an entrance and a garden front ; 

 and, in general cases, neither the latter, nor the views 

 from the principal rooms, should be seen fully and 

 completely, but from the windows and garden scenery. 

 Not to attend to this, is to destroy their contrasted ef- 

 fect, and cloy the appetite by disclosing all, or the 

 greatest part of the beauties at once. The landscape 

 which forms the back ground to a mansion, the trees 

 which group with it, and the architectural terrace wliich 



forms its base, are to be considered as its accompani- Union of 

 incuts, and influenced more or less by its. style. The th 

 classic pine and cedar should^ccompany the Greek and a 

 Roman architecture, and the hardy fir, the oA, or the 

 lofty ash, the baronial castle. 



2. Terrace, Garden, and Conservator;/. We observ- Terrace, 

 ed, when treating of ground, and under the ancient garden, and 

 style, that the design of the terrace must be jointly in- c n rvat - 

 fluenced by the magnitude and style of the house, the ' 

 views from its windows, (that is, from the eye of a per- 

 son seated in the middle of the principal rooms) and 



the views of the house from a distance. In almost 

 every case, more or less of architectural productions will 

 enter into these compositions. The level or levels will 

 be supported partly by grassy slopes, but chiefly by 

 bevelled walls harmonising with the lines and forms of 

 the house. These, in the Gothic style, may be furnish- 

 ed by battlements, gateways, oriels, pinnacles, &c.; or, 

 on a very great scale, watch towers may form very pic- 

 turesque, characteristic, and useful additions. The . 

 Grecian style may, in like manner, be finished by pa- 

 rapets, balustrades, and other Roman appendages. 



The grounds enclosed by the terrace walks are ge- 

 nerally laid out in what may be termed terrace gardens, 

 or borders of low select evergreen shrubs, roses, and 

 flowers, and in a convenient place was formerly added a 

 bowling-green. Connected with this scene, and with 

 the library, or some other public room, should be placed 

 the conservatory; which, in the present improved state 

 of horticultural architecture, and chiefly by the inven- 

 tion of a solid iron sash bar, may be formed of any 

 shape, extent, and dimension ; and so as thus to admit 

 the full growth of the plants, c. * 



3. Flower Garden and Green-house. When all the Flower gar- 

 hot-houses, that are not mere forcing-houses, are at- den aml 

 tached to the conservatory, so as to form one extensive ^ rei 

 range, which is much the most desirable mode, the 

 green-house may be placed in the flower-garden ; and 



both should be at no great distance from the terrace. 

 There are various styles of flower-gardens ; from those 

 combining some degree of picturesque beauty, to the 

 Dutch parterre, laid out in parallelograms or oblong 

 beds. See HORTICULTURE. 



4. Winter Garden and Hot-houses. The name sug- Winter gar- 

 gests the proper trees, shrubs, and flowering plants of den and 

 this scene. Where the pine, camelia, rose,, exotic hot houses, 

 and plant stoves are not placed in the kitchen-garden, 



or arranged in connection with the conservatory en suite 

 with the principal rooms, they may be placed in the 

 winter-garden, and connected by a glazed passage 

 with the house. The arrangement of plants in the 

 stoves and winter-garden, may either be natural, that 

 is, in groups of each kind, in imitation of natural 

 scenery, or according to Jussieu's Si/sterna Naturae. Al- 

 most any arrangement is better than the common mix- 

 ture, in which the only guide is the height of .the 

 plants. 



The Kitchen Garden should be placed near to, and Kitchen 

 connected with the winter-garden, with concealed en- 8 atl ' en - 

 trances and roads leading to the domestic offices for cu- 

 linary purposes, and to the stables and farm buildings 

 for manure. In these, if not otherwise disposed of, 

 may be placed the forcing-houses. For what concerns 

 the design of kitchen-gardens and orchards, see HOR- 

 TICULTURE. 



These scenes, in the ancient style, with massy stone 



* See Remarks m the Construction of Hot-houses," &c. 4to. 181 7 ; and " Sketches for Curvilinear Hot-limises" 1810 ; Harding v St. 

 Jns inreet. The bar, leading to so important an improvement, is manufactured by \V. and D. Bailey, 272, Holborn, London, 



