GARDEN DESIGN IN SPAIN 



283 



a most interesting courtyard garden with a central stone pavilion and four 

 pools surrounded by a parterre laid out in regular forms with hedges of box 

 and narrow pathways. Rising on the slope of a hill not far from the monas- 

 tery is the Casita de Abajo, built for Prince Charles ia 1770. The gardens 

 are not extensive, but well worth a visit. A high cypress hedge forms an 

 effective background to the entrance, and in front of the house is an 

 almost square formal garden, with pools of water reflecting bright masses 

 of colour in the box-edged beds. 



Within a day's journey of Madrid are the famous summer palaces of 



Aranjuez and La 



Granja. The larger 

 of the two palaces 

 was one of the ex- 

 travagances of 

 Charles III. It is 

 an oasis in the wil- 

 derness. The Tagus 

 and the Xarama, 

 meeting almost be- 

 neath the palace 

 walls, keep its island 

 garden fresh and 

 verdant even 

 through a burning 

 Spanish summer. 

 The fine old Eng- 

 lish oaks and elms 



were brought over by Philip II.. They still attract as much notice in 

 Spain as a grove of palm or prickly pears would at Hampton Court. 

 The gardens remain as we see them portrayed in the pictures of Velasquez 

 in the Museum at Madrid, and as they were described by Lady Fanshawe, 

 wife of the English Ambassador, during the reign of Philip IV. Long 

 shady avenues of planes and elms lead through closely planted woods 

 and have been the scene of countless intrigues both in politics and 

 love. 



The Chateau of La Granja occupies the site of a shooting lodge built 



SECRET FOUNTAINS AND HEDGES OF MYRTLE. 



