The Villa Garden. 637 



and to make up the flower-beds, than to try to make anything 

 grow in it without mending, for the loss of plants by death, to 

 say nothing of the loss of time, would soon exceed the cost of 

 a few tons of mould. 



The principal and first thing for consideration is the general 

 plan of the garden. Of course this would depend upon a 

 number of circumstances, such as size, position of the front 

 of the house with regard to the public road, whether it is to be 

 a detached or semi-detached house, or one of a block of houses 

 with means of exit on both sides, etc. As a rule, the south or 

 west aspect is preferred for the front of a house, and conse- 

 quently the flower garden or the principal part of it would be 

 between the house and the main road, or the back of the house 

 towards the road. We will take a detached house standing in 

 grounds about half an acre in extent, and facing south or west, 

 as the case may be, towards the main road. A portion of the 

 ground at the back of the house is usually set apart for grow- 

 ing a little fruit and a few vegetables, and the remainder, with 

 that in front and at the sides, is devoted to flowers and shrubs. 

 There will be sufficient space for a carriage-road in to the front 

 door on one side, and a secluded pathway to the back door on 

 the other, and a conservatory might be erected against the 

 south or west end of the house. But all these are details that 

 cannot be fixed for any one to act upon, as the local circum- 

 stances, surrounding premises, and tastes of owners, are as diffe- 

 rent as the number of places. The main thing is to make the 

 most of the site by properly planning out the ground, and 

 deciding upon a design before starting, and then in selecting 

 suitable plants to fill it. Shrubs with woolly or clammy 

 leaves should be avoided for planting near a dusty road, and 

 those, whether evergreen or deciduous, with smooth shining 

 leaves preferred, as they are much more readily cleansed by a 

 shower of rain. In a garden the size we have imagined, there 

 would be room for a belt of shrubs, faced with mixed borders, 

 around the circumference of the front garden, enclosing a lawn 

 with a few small beds, and a central shrub, or vase or fountain 

 and small basin, and a path past the conservatory, or west (or 

 south) end of the house, to the back garden. 



The planting of shrubs and small slow-growing ornamental 

 trees would depend upon the object in view, whether to make 

 the garden as secluded as possible, and shut out overlooking 

 neighbours, or to keep open some pleasant prospect. But 



