CHAPTER XIV 



LAEGE AND SMALL GARDENS 



A well done villa garden — A small town garden — Two delightful 

 gardens of small size — Twenty acres within the walls— A large 

 country house and its garden — Terrace — Lawn— Parterre — 

 Freegarden^Kitchen garden — Buildings — Ornamental orchard 

 — Instructive mixed gardens — Mr. Wilson's at Wisley — A 

 window garden. 



The size of a garden lias very little to do ■vvitii its 

 merit. It is merely an accident relating to tlie cir- 

 cumstances of the owner. It is the size of his heart 

 and brain and goodwill that will make his garden 

 either delightful or dull, as the case may be, and either 

 leave it at the usual monotonous dead-level, or raise it, 

 in whatever degree may be, towards that of a work of 

 fine art. If a man knows much, it is more difficult 

 for him to deal with a small space than a larger, for 

 he will have to make the more sacrifice ; but if he is 

 wise he will at once make up his mind about what he 

 will let go, and how he may best treat the restricted 

 space. Some years ago I visited a small garden 

 attached to a vLUa on the outskirts of a watering-place 

 on the south coast. In ordinary hands it would have 

 been a perfectly commonplace thing, with the usual 



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