386 Modern Gardening in Russia. 



tempted to vary the straight line, by planting single trees on 

 each side of the serpentine walks. This did not please ; for 

 though the Empress could not exactly direct them what 

 they ought to do, yet she felt convinced in her own mind, 

 that what they had done was not right. At a small distance 

 from the garden there was a brook, of which the water mean- 

 dered in a very pleasing style ; before she left the country re- 

 sidence, which was about the first of September, she ordered 

 a walk to be made on the side of the brook. This was com- 

 pleted, and in the spring of the year she went to see what had 

 been done, and found they had made a walk on the side of 

 the brook, but had kept it parallel with the brook, and had 

 planted single trees at equal distances on each side of the walk. 

 On her coming up to it she said, " No ; this will not do ; 

 this is not what I wanted." On finding she could have no- 

 thing done to her mind, she determined to have a person 

 from England to lay out her garden. John Busch, of 

 Hackney, was the person who was engaged to come out to 

 Russia for this purpose; he was preferred on account of 

 speaking the German language. In the year 1771 he gave 

 up his concerns at Hackney, with the nursery and foreign 

 correspondence, to Messrs. Loddiges. k ! In the year 1772 he 

 commenced his first work, though not at Tzarsco Celo, but 

 on a hill about five miles nearer town, called Pulkova. In 

 1774 the Empress paid her first visit to this place. On en- 

 tering the garden, and seeing a shady gravel walk, which was 

 planted on each side, and winding, she appeared struck with 

 surprise, and said, " This is what I wanted." This walk 

 led to a fine lawn, with gravel walks round it, which seemed 

 to strike her still more forcibly, and she again said, " This is 

 what I have long wished to have." 



The following year the Tzarsco Gardens were given to the 

 charge of John Busch, who carried on the work till the year 

 1789, when he left the service and went to England. His 

 son, Joseph Busch, succeeded him, and went on with the 

 work that was left unfinished, the garden not being finished 

 during the reign of Catharine. The Emperor Paul, who 

 succeeded Catharine, preferred straight walks and clipped 

 trees. The late Emperor, Alexander the First, was fond 

 of both styles. Clipped trees are still continued at Tzarsco, 

 and other places. The Emperor, however, does not suffer 

 any of the old trees to be touched, only such as have been 

 planted by his own direction. Carriage roads being intro- 

 duced intersecting the walks, make the gardens rather unplea- 

 sant to walk in, as one must always be on the look-out in case 



