270 



JOUBNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ October 4, 1877. 



the common term of plant to them, bat it is inappropriate, for 

 they are veritable shrubs 4 or 5 feet high and as much in 

 diameter. So perfect in 6very point are they that one hesi- 

 tates to criticise, but duty compels me to say that the arrange- 

 ment is a mistake ; the formal aspect of such long lines robs 

 the scene of that grace which it ought to possess, anl which 

 might be so easily imparted to it by throwing the Camellias 

 into clamps — some standing out in largs circles upon the turf, 

 others spreading backwards in long flowing curves to meet and 

 U-nd with the shrub borders behind. The scene would then be 

 magnificent and unique, few if any gardens in this country con- 

 taining such a numbsr of Camellias growing in the open air. 



Beyond the rows of Camellias the lawn opens out into a bold 

 ascending semicircular expanse on one hand and downwards 

 over slopes on the other. Numerous shrubs and trees fringe 

 the boundaries and stand out upon the turf. Mary of them 



are excellent specimens, notably some Camellias arranged with 

 the happiest effect in a bold group upon the semicircular 

 lawn. Here too are Rhododendrons, many of them seedlings 

 of arborenm and other species raised by Mr. BoEcawen, and 

 bearing the impress of his handiwork in the large foliage and 

 vigorous growth peculiar to all the Lamorran seedlings. Some 

 dwarf Fan Palms planted out here are in excellent health, and 

 are evidently making steady progress upwards. One day they 

 will no doubt be regarded as a feature of prime importance. 

 They are worthy of all care, and it is matter for regret that 

 the largest of them all — a really fine Chamaerop3 Fortunei — is 

 almost lost to view in an odd angular nook, which might 

 easily be opened out and converted into a semicircle. A 

 much more prominent position has been given to a remark- 

 able specimen of what I believe to be Aeacia dealbata, nearly 

 30 feet high. In making this statement I am well aware that 



rig. e3. — Teegothsax. 



exception will probably be taken to it; there, however, stands 

 the tree — an undoubted Acacia, and my attention was called 

 to it as a fine example of the Green Wattle Mimosa — A. affinis. 

 Whether it may ever be proved to be another variety is not, I 

 thiDk, so important as the actual fact of an Antipodean Acacia 

 having attained to such proportions in the open air. 



Many varieties of Conifers planted near this lawn with choice 

 deciduous trees have thriven, but the growth is becoming sadly 

 crowded. Another evil that is telling upon some of the best 

 specimens is a want of adequate shelter, the growth being per- 

 fectly healthy till it gets above the surrounding trees and then 

 it dies — killed by cold winds, and, of course, the tree is spoilt. 

 Picea Nordmanniana, Btill unscathed, is very handsome ; Picea 

 Webbiana is not healthy, and is bearing cones freely ; Pinus 

 pseudo-strobus, with pendant clusters of very long foliage, is 

 distinct and striking ; it is worthy of culture wherever it will 

 grow as it does here, but unfortunately it is rather tender, 

 which accounts for it being so seldom seen. A Pinus Monte- 

 zuma? exhibited in a striking degree the effects of frequent 

 removal in its stunted, weakly, ehrub-like growth. When a 

 tree of 12 feet and upwards is transplanted it requires four or 

 five years before it is thoroughly established in its new quarters, 

 repeated liftings affecting it so much as to gradually change 

 its character from a fast-growing timber tree to a stunted 

 shrubby nondescript, hence the importance of care and sound 



jadgment in the selection of the permanent position of a tree 

 and in planting it there when quite young. 



A walk winding among Ehrubs leads upwards and onwards 

 to one of the most important features of the gardens — an ex- 

 tensive lawn on a gentle slope with enclosing belts of shrubs, 

 which sweep downwards from a broad walk at the top in bold 

 curves, gradually converging till they meet and blend with 

 other shrubs, clothing the side of a valley which this lawn 

 commands. The broad walk along the top is a quarter of a 

 mile in length in a Btraight line, having a seat of massiva 

 slabs of granite at one end, and at the other a piece of statuary, 

 very ineffective when viewed from the seat, and which might 

 advantageously be replaced by an obelisk or a group of statuary 

 bolder and more massive in character. Midway and slightly 

 back from the walk stands a rustic cottage overlooking the 

 whole of the lawn and the valley down to which it trends. The 

 valley forms a charming vista, stretching away for a consider- 

 able distance with wooded slopes rising in the form of an 

 irregalar semicircle at its lower extremity; its only blemish a 

 clump of timber stretching across the valley, spoiling the 

 grace of its flowing lines, and causing one to turn with regret 

 from the contemplation of a scene that but for it would be 

 most beautiful. It was a happy thought which prompted the 

 artist to put no shrub groups on this lawn, the wide unbroken 

 expanse of turf imparting a dignified aspect that is eminently 



