XXXVlll. 



Gardens for Small Country Houses. 



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the ground ' The entrance path is square with the road, and the house door cuts 

 acrossTn angle formed by the meeting of the main block and the office wmg^ The 

 house standing dSgonany to the road, allows of a longer extension of the flower- 

 borders and the drcular garden at the end than could otherwise have been put 

 u?on the site Kitchen%arden and orchard are convemently placed, and the 



^^"^^wiiTn l^^i.T^:^.TSi^^^:yv^^^^ without individuality, ^the designer 

 has a free hand, but will be wise in choosing something ^^at is defimte so as 

 to give that precious quahty of character. It can on y be created by simphcity of 

 • by doing one thing at a time as well and distinctly as possible, and so avoiding 

 plexity and confusion. For instance, if it is desired to treat the. ground of a small 

 site of about an acre and a-half as a garden of hardy flowers it may be conveniently 

 laid out as in Fig. xxii. The lawn next the terrace has a shady retreat at each end 



and the wide turt 

 path leading to 

 the further cross 

 path gives the im- 

 pression of the 

 whole space being 

 given to pleasure 

 garden, while there 

 are still two good 

 plots for kitchen 

 garden, completely 

 screened, on each 

 side, and space for 

 a play lawn 

 between the house 

 and the road. 

 Tennis players 

 prefer a ground 

 whose longer axis 

 runs north and 

 south, but in this 

 case the exigencies 

 of the site oblige 



the lawn to run east and west. Such a garden can be worked by a single-handed 

 gardener, with possibly occasional help at pressing times. The green parlours on 

 the front lawn are made with weeping elm, a tree not so much used as it deserves. 

 A shght framework of something like split chestnut is wanted at first to guide 

 the branches laterally to form the roof. As they grow, and then hang down the 

 sides, a complete shelter is formed in a few years. 



Yew and holly hedges, such as are shown in this garden, are necessarily costly. 

 The best size to plant, in the case of yew, is from two and a-half feet to three feet, 

 at a cost of five pounds a hundred, putting them eighteen inches apart. Holly of the 

 same height would cost a little more, but the price would be about the same for 

 bushy plants a little under two feet high — a good size to begin with. To make a 

 thick hedge, well furnished to the bottom, yew should have its yearly growth tipped 

 at the ends by at least one-third of the length. Hollies will not want any trimming 

 for the first few years. Such hedges, in favourable conditions, would take from 



FIG. XXVni. — ^THE DORMY HOUSE,' WALTON HEATH: APPROACH FROM GOLF CLUB. 



