Copse Hill, Wimbledon House. 115 



ornamental shrubs, grow exceedingly well. On leaving this 

 shrubbery, the rising ground is nearly covered with forest trees; 

 and here a fine opportunity is offered for an undergrowth of 

 the common laurel, kept full, and pruned to the height of about 

 5 ft., as exhibited so beautifully at Claremont, and which would 

 add great beauty to this part of the grounds. Lady Cottenham 

 is excessively fond of the flower-garden, and His Lordship has 

 made a great improvement at the bottom of the park, in front of 

 the house, by grubbing up an old wood, and laying it down 

 into pasture. 



Wimbledon House ; Mrs. Marryatt, — I was anxious to see 

 this place, having heard and read so much about it ; but, unfor- 

 tunately, the day was wet and far advanced before I could reach 

 it : however, I saw enough to convince me that the character of 

 the place is kept up quite equal to your description of it in the 

 spring of 1834 (Vol. X. p. 337.)' The flower-garden was in a 

 high state of perfection ; and some alterations were in progress, 

 which, when finished, will still heighten its beauties. Were I 

 permitted to make one observation with respect to the straight 

 walk which leads from the house to the flower-garden, it would 

 be, that, instead of the row of elms on each side, I should pre- 

 fer a shrubbery, which, as a matter of taste, I think would be 

 more in unison with the clumps, and with the handsome row of 

 vases which stand on each side of the walk : besides, in the 

 course of a few years, the elms will destroy the possibility of 

 keeping up in the clumps that display of floral beauty which 

 might be with ease accomplished if they were more exposed to 

 the light. I regretted leaving this place vi^ithout being fully 

 gratified in seeing all that was to be seen ; which being under- 

 stood by Mr. Redding, the gardener, he kindly told me that, at 

 any future period, when I found it convenient to give him a call, 

 he should be happy to accompany me round the whole. 



During these excursions to the places above named, I could 

 not help contrasting the state of gardening in general at the 

 present period, with what it was only twenty years ago; and 

 particularly in that department of it which is connected with 

 floriculture, which has taken rapid strides indeed. The intro- 

 duction of the great variety of hardy handsome flowering plants 

 within the above period, together with the practice of partially ac- 

 climatising many others of great beauty, form an epoch such as, 

 perhaps, was never calculated upon ; and the mode now almost 

 generally adopted of planting in masses, it must be acknow- 

 ledged, produces a far more striking effect than that of planting 

 in mixtures, as wasMone formerly. While much of beauty is thus 

 added to the flower-garden, it has, also, been the means of ac- 

 celerating the art of propagating. Formerly, a gardener might 

 rest satisfied in the possession of two or three plants of a kind ; 



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