and of 'Rural Improvement generally -, during 1839. 715 



hitherto appeared, to be sold at a price within the reach of every 

 gardener. * 



There is one part of a country residence in which almost 

 every gardener is called upon to display his taste, and that is, 

 in laying out flower-beds on a lawn, in a pleasure-ground, or in 

 a scene by itself, to be treated as a flower-garden. This the 

 gardener generally does under the direction, or, perhaps, with 

 the assistance, of the ladies of the family ; but seldom in such a 

 manner as not to be open to great objections. The utmost 

 pains seem to be taken to vary the form of the beds, in con- 

 sequence of which, we have not only circles, ovals, and other 

 regular figures, but hearts, Maltese crosses, stars, darts, com- 

 mas, figures like saddle-bags, kidney potatoes, leeches, tadpoles, 

 worms, anemone or ginger roots, pincushions, cloak-pins, and 

 various other figures, all in the same design, and each so isolated 

 from the others, as to be distinctly seen. Now, there is no ob- 

 jection to any of the figures mentioned, or to any other figures that 

 it is possible to conceive, provided they are worked up or asso- 

 ciated in such a manner as to form a connected, expressive, and 

 characteristic whole. It is only necessary to remember, that, 

 the greater the variety of figures, the greater will be the extent 

 of ground required to combine them into a whole ; because a 

 great number of peculiar figures, such as hearts, Maltese crosses, 

 &c, can only be formed into a whole by a great number of the 

 same figures, or by connecting them with simpler figures ; but 

 where only two or three forms are made use of, a connected 

 whole may be displayed in a very limited space, whether that 

 space have a regular or an irregular outline. In general it may 

 be observed, that the connexion and the size of the figures are 

 of much greater consequence than their shape; and hence the 

 most beautiful description of flower-garden, ericacetum, or of 

 American ground, or rosary, as we have shown in the Arbore- 

 tum Britannicum (vol. ii. p. 1 178.), may be made of circles alone. 

 As a further proof of this, we may refer to those beautiful places, 

 Norbiton Hall and Teddington Grove, described in p. 424. and 

 426. That the most beautiful and artistica! flower-gardens may be 

 laid out by ladies in as high a taste as by professed landscape- 

 gardeners, we have the evidence of those laid out by the late Lady 

 Farnborough, at Bromley Hill ; by Lady Grenville, at Dropmore ; 

 by Lady Boughton, at Hoole House ; by Mrs. Robert Phillips, 

 at Heybridge, near Cheadle ; and by various others. We do not 

 deny, however, that a certain degree of natural taste for the 

 beauty of lines and forms, as well as its cultivation, is necessary 

 to enable either a lady or a gardener to design such gardens as 

 those we have mentioned; but we maintain, that, with nothinn- 



* We have commenced with Repton's works, which were originally pub- 

 lished at 25/., but which may now be obtained for 1/. 10*. 



3b 2 



