November 8, 18C4. ] 



JOUENAL OP HOETICULTtTEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE. 



373 



formed the greater part of the dressed grounds ; the pagoda 

 standing in the acute angle opposite the base, and the sea- 

 horse pool and Jordan's pool, with their splendid fountains, 

 being on the south side of the triangle. Such, we think, 

 would be the best entrance for a stranger with little time to 

 spare, and who wished to carry away with him the prepon- 

 derating ideas of the vast and the magnificent as well as 

 the beautiful. 



But to obtain anything like a clear idea of the diversified 

 interest of Enville, we would advise the stranger to do just 

 what we will attempt to do with our readers — take them 

 with us, and enter by the same bronzed gates that admit 

 the general public (la), without going so far as the en- 

 trance (1), that leads to the mansion (2), as gardening 

 rather than architecture is our theme. 



Opposite the entrance is a rabbit-yard and aviary (3), 

 both in excellent condition, and furnishing endless amuse- 

 ment and instruction to those who, like Lady Stamford, are 

 partial to the study of such departments of natural history. 

 The interest of these places is greatly increased by the 

 rabbits not only having every convenience, but full oppor- 

 tunity for holeing and burrowing, and by many of the birds 

 showing off the brightness of their plumage to advantage 

 from being allowed ample space and protection among the 

 sombre Yews and other evergreens that separate these yards 

 from her ladyship's garden (6), and her dove-house (16), 

 which is equally sheltered and interesting. 



But as flowers are our object at present, we enter a walk 

 that runs northward again, separated by a wall from the road- 

 way, called the Bose walk, and beside it is a straight ribbon- 

 border (5). The wall is covered with Wistarias, Jasmines, 

 Honeysuckles, &c. Then climbing Boses are festooned, and 

 half-standard Boses in a line in front, the ribboning being then 

 Brilliant Geranium, Aurea floribunda Calceolaria, Lobelia 

 speciosa, and Cerastium next the grass verge. This border 

 was very nice as the first dish of the banquet. 



A turn to the left from the middle of that ribbon walk 

 brings lis to Lady Stamford's flower garden (6), behind 

 the aviary. This, though most simply arranged, is inter- 

 esting as almost the only attempt like combination or mass- 

 ing of groups to be found in these gardens. The garden 

 is centered by a large elevated basin fountain of the shell 

 pattern, surrounded by eight circular beds c i good size. 

 Four of these beds were filled with blue Lobelia, with a 

 broad edging of a pretty pink Verbena pegged down ; and 

 the other four, placed alternately with these, were filled 

 with Countess of Warwick and Christine Geraniums, and 

 three rows of Golden Chain next the grass. The Golden 

 Chain does admirably in these gardens. A horseshoe or 

 semicircular ribbon-border, next the Yews and evergreens, 

 surrounds the half of this garden, and was thus planted, 

 beginning at the grass : Lobelia speciosa, Aurea floribunda 

 Calceolaria, Emperor of the French Geranium, Hendersonii 

 Geranium, and standard Boses in front of the fine bank of 

 evergreens. 



This little garden is open to the walks on the north and 

 west sides, with the exception of some small circular beds 

 (represented thus in the plan ....), about 3.V feet in 

 diameter or less, at something like regular distances near 

 the sides of the walks, each centred with a Bose or Hurnea,, 

 and variously filled with bedding plants. There are several 

 hundreds of these small beds over the ground, and all we 

 saw were filled with great taste, though in some cases it 

 seemed to us that their absence would have been more 

 gratifying than their presence, as interfering with breadth 

 of view and confusing rather than giving repose to the eye. 



On the open side of this garden is a fine specimen of the 

 Venetian Sumach (Bhus cotinus), which, though perhaps not 

 more than 10 feet in height, is 89 feet in circumference of head, 

 and must have been a splendid sight when covered with its 

 feathery spikes of bloom. Though originally one plant, 

 some of its branches had bent themselves to the ground and 

 thrown up stems, but this is not seen without examination. 



From this garden a walk leads to the north front of the 

 mansion, passing the dove-house (16), itself backed by a 

 noble mass of Portugal Laurel, and fronted nearer the 

 mansion with a splendid plant of the same (15), that has 

 layered itself a little like the Sumach and is fully 200 feet in 

 circumference of head. This is paired on the other side of 

 the walk by a fine Ehododendron ponticum (14), the head 



of which is 185 feet in circumference as it sweeps the ground. 

 That is the measurement given to us as correct by one of 

 Mr. Craw's assistants. Our own measurement from stepping 

 round it made it 1 foot more. Just opposite the dove-house 

 is a fine Pm-ple Beech, with its branches sweeping the lawn, 

 and there are several other nice trees and masses of ever- 

 greens besides. Now, though flowers are attractive, place 

 them where you will, wo must own that we would rather 

 have seen none of these small beds by the sides of this walk 

 from the mansion, and for these reasons : Their smallnoss 

 detracts from the dignity of the mansion ; they tend to 

 fritter away by their very regularity, instead of enhance, 

 the magnificence of tho fine specimens of trees and gorgeous 

 masses of shrubs, moro picturesque than formal in their 

 outline, and by the eye being accustomed to flowers, though 

 in small masses, the visitors from the house would be less 

 astonished and delighted by the large circular masses of 

 bloom in Lady Stamford's garden, and in tho five or six 

 assemblages of these large circles that stretch in dif- 

 ferent departments, each with its own distinctive name, 

 from Lady Stamford's garden to tho conservatory pools, and 

 westward beyond the conservatory. If any possible im- 

 provement as to floral display is to be effected at Enville, it 

 will be done more by aiming at concentration than diffu- 

 sion — more by giving increased relief and repose, and there- 

 fore augmented variety, than by the bewildering repetition 

 that is apt to terminate in confused sameness. Great minds 

 there may be to whom nothing is impossible, but to the 

 most of us there is' a difficulty in comprehending and ana- 

 lysing the attractions of different objects when presented to 

 our view at one and the same time. 



Eeturning to the north-east side of Lady Stamford's 

 garden, we enter on a winding walk that leads to the con- 

 servatory pools (20), passing on tho left hand three of these 

 departments or gardens for flowers, grouped with largo 

 circles in the middle and small ones round the outside. In 

 the first department, containing a fine specimen of Piuus 

 macrocarpa (10), we counted twenty large circles, and about 

 the same number of smaller ones. We cannot even attempt 

 to describe the planting of these, or the 1G0 beds in all, 

 ranging from 18 to 23 feet in diameter, but we will ere long 

 give the planting of a few as an example. Tho second depart- 

 ment, among other evergreens has a fine specimen of Thuja 

 aurea (11), and a large Wistaria sinensis now trained 

 round hoops, and which generally blooms well. Tho plant 

 was formerly trained against the walls of an orangery which 

 has long been removed. 



On the right-hand side is ono of- the finest features of 

 Enville in a floral point of view, in the shape of the post-office 

 ribbon-border, so called because extending from Lady Stam- 

 ford's garden to that private entrance, running nearly 

 parallel with part of the straight ribbon-border already re- 

 ferred to (5). and with the private road, but so thoroughly 

 blocked out from both that you might well imagine there 

 were no such things near you. Beginning at tho grass 

 verge this border was planted as follows : Two rows of 

 Golden Chain Geranium ; a broad band of Lobelia speciosa 

 from seed; a fine row of Little David Geranium, dwarfer 

 and more free-floweririg than Tom Thumb ; a fine thick row 

 of Flower of the Day Geranium with the flowers nipped off; 

 a row of Perilla, with standard Boses at regular intervals ; 

 and the back row Hollyhocks, chiefly grown with a single 

 stem, and which showed to great advantage from the dark 

 mass of evergreens behind them, relieved, however, by the 

 varied hue of the finer-foliaged Hollies. Golden Chain 'was 

 thoroughly at home in the front belt, and to make this 

 three thousand good plants were required. This ribbon was 

 a gem. 



The pools to which we have now come are different, but 

 communicating with each other. All are well supplied with 

 waterfowl, and their banks are well fringed with plants, 

 chiefly Bhododendrons, Willows, Alder, &c, except the south 

 and west banks of the upper pool, which thus bring the 

 water in view from the conservatory. The east side of that 

 pool, besides the evergreens, was also fringed with some 

 herbaceous plants, as Variegated Balm and Variegated 

 Alyssum ; but any thoughts of their appositness for the 

 situation were dispelled by the proud demeanour of the 

 swans, who followed us all round the upper pool, no doubt 

 disputing our right to visit their domains. Between the 



