Woodland Drives and Grass IValks 95 



hardy shrubs and carpets of plants as a foreground 

 to the woodland picture. 



Here and there, as at Penrhyn, are some beautiful 

 glades of wild Fern coming near the drives, and there 

 is a lovely example at Powys of what our native plants 

 do in the foreground of a really picturesque drive. 

 But by a little forethought we may easily get finer 

 things in this way from Thorns, Foxglove, or Willow 

 herb, wide sheets of large Ferns with breaks of Wild 

 Roses, large rambling colonies of Sweet Brier, lovely 

 fields of native Heaths, double Furze as well as the 

 single kind, Broom on poor banks and Partridge Berry 

 in half-shady places — a host of beautiful things that 

 would spread about and give excellent covert as well 

 as pretty effects. 



Of regularly formed roads— those made of gravel, 

 flint, or other stone— there are three times too many 

 in most country seats. It is wise economy to reduce 

 these to the real needs of the place. All places are the 

 uglier for being beset with gate lodges, which are 

 usually ugly in themselves and lead to needless cutting 

 up of beautiful ground, the increase of gates, and the 

 springing up of the iron fiend in every direction. As 

 the artistic and true way is to reduce as much as possible 

 these needless drives often made for mere show, or to 

 save five minutes, let those we keep be as good in 

 grade and view as we can make them, and have as 

 many picturesque charms as we may give them. 



We never have enough of Grass walks and drives. 



