28 GARDEN DESIGN 



lawns of England — I mean the flower- 

 garden at Shrubland Park, laid out by 

 Sir Charles Barry, of which I have 

 recently altered the plan and which I 

 planted with graceful life where I found 

 bare walls. 



We will assume that the main terrace 

 lines here are right, as the place stands 

 on a bluff, and speak of a secondary evil 

 of this formal gardening, which arose, 

 I think, about the time Barry laid out 

 Shrubland. That was that the walls of 

 the house or garden were not to be 

 graced by plants, and that to secure 

 the keeping of the design, coloured 

 gravels were to take the place of 

 flowers. This rule, as is well known, 

 has been carried out in many gardens — 

 it was rigid here. I see it in some of 

 the new gardens, and in asking at Worth 

 Park why a long terra -cotta wall had 

 not climbers on it, was told the designer 

 would not allow it ! 



