482 Principles of Landscape- Gardening 



door to everlasting life." (Gard. Mag., 1842, p. 617.) Far be it from us to 

 dispute the justness of this taste, relative to those who hold particular opinions ; 

 for our own part we prefer the decorated churchyard, but we would no more 

 decorate it in the manner of a flower-garden, than we would dress a mourner 

 in the same manner as a bride or a bridegroom. 



We shall show at the end of this article the mode in which we think trees 

 and shrubs ought to be introduced in new churchyards, and for those already 

 long occupied we shall give a few general directions. 



Suppose a walk to be formed immediately within the boundary, leaving a 

 border, regular or irregular in width, as the state of the graves and grave- 

 stones may admit, then a few trees may be scattered along each side of 

 it, singly, so as to form a running foreground to the interior of the church- 

 yard, and to break the formality of the boundary fence. As the walk may 

 be supposed to be very irregular in direction and in width, the distance be- 

 tween the trees should be irregular also ; and occasionally two trees, or a tree 

 and a shrub, or a tree and a honeysuckle or other climber, may be planted 

 in one hole. In the interior of the compartments, where the ground is already 

 so completely filled up that there is no chance of any other graves being formed, 

 a few trees and shrubs may be so placed as to group with some of the more 

 conspicuous of the gravestones, and along the cross green paths one or two 

 trees may be planted at the angles or turns of the walk, by way of accounting 

 for these turns. But, whether in planting in the interior or along the green 

 paths, care must be taken to preserve lengthened glades or vistas to be seen 

 from the main gravel walks. These vistas should not extend from one boundary 

 wall to the other, so as to show everywhere the length and breadth of the 

 ground, but should rather terminate in an apparent mass of trees or bushes, 

 or in a view of the church, so as to leave abundant exercise for the imagina- 

 tion. Along the boundary fence, if a wall, which is generally the case, we 

 would plant creepers, evergreen and deciduous, but chiefly the different kinds 

 of ivy, as being evergreen, and Virginian creeper, 7?hus radicans, &c., which, 

 like the ivy, adhere to the wall, and consequently require little care. Where 

 the expense of training was not an object, we would introduce roses, mag- 

 nolias, laurustinus, C'ydonia japonica, Chimonanthus fragrans, and various 

 other shrubs, deciduous and evergreen, adapted for walls. Where the fence 

 was a thorn hedge, we would measure it into regular spaces, so as to train up 

 shoots from the top of the hedge at regular distances, in order to form arti- 

 ficial heads, round or square, at such places ; or we would train up a single 

 stem, and graft on each a different kind of thorn, or other rosaceous tree or 

 shrub. On a holly hedge we would graft variegated hollies, and on a yew 

 hedge the golden yew, which makes such a splendid appearance grafted on 

 the common yew at Elvaston Castle. If we had to plant a holly hedge or a 

 yew hedge round a churchyard, we would form piers or pilasters at regular 

 distances in both, which should be carried up higher than the hedge, and 

 terminate in balls. The piers, in the one case, should be variegated hollies, 

 and in the other variegated yews. If we had to plant a hawthorn hedge, we 

 would form the piers of green holly. 



Where a churchyard, though long in use, was not yet filled up, we should 

 take care to plant no trees and shrubs, the permanent effect of which was 

 essential, in situations where they would have to be removed when a grave 

 was dug. We should place them chiefly along the walks, at such distances as 

 to leave room for one or two graves between every two trees. 



In few or no cases would we plant large-growing deciduous timber trees in 

 churchyards, such as the oak, ash, elm, beech, white or black Italian poplar, 

 Huntingdon willow, alder, sycamore, &c. ; because, from the size they attain, 

 they would interfere with the effect of the church and of the monuments. 

 We should confine ourselves to low-growing trees, and, where only a few could 

 be planted, to evergreens of fastigiate forms. 



Want of Monuments. — Monuments form a great source of beauty and interest 

 in churchyards, and it is gratifying to observe, in the neighbourhood of the 



