INTRODUCTION. 



they mantle the earth with fresh green carpets in the midst 

 of winter ; and " succulent " plants in endless variety, 

 which yield not in beauty to those of America or the Cape, 

 though frequently smaller than the very mosses of our bogs, 

 and which, in losing the stature of their lowland brethren, 

 ■ have replaced their horrid spines with silvery spottings and 

 lacings : in a word, they embrace nearly every type of the 

 plant-life of northern and temperate climes, chastened in 

 tone and diminished in size, and infinitely more attractive to 

 the human eye than any other known—" a veil of strange 

 intermediate being ; which breathes, but has no voice ; moves, 

 but cannot leave its appointed place ; passes through life with- 

 out consciousness, to • death without bitterness ; wears the 

 beauty of youth without its passion; and decUnes to the 

 weakness of age without its regret." 



With reference to the merits of this and allied types of 

 gardening as compared with those commonly in vogue, 

 there can be little doubt in the minds of all who give the 

 subject any thought. On the one hand, we have sweetest 

 communion with nature ; on the other, the process which is 

 conunonly called " bedding out " presents to us simply the 

 best possible appliance for stealing from nature every grace 

 of form, beauty of colour, and vital interest. The genius of 

 cretinism itself could hardly delight in anything more taste- 

 less or ignoble than the absurd daubs of colour that every 

 summer flare in the neighbourhood of nearly every country- 

 house in Western Europe. Enter the garden of a rich 

 amateur, who spends a small fortune on his flowers, say in 

 the neighbourhood of Liverpool or Lyons. You find orchids 

 from Mexico and the Eastern Archipelago; the beauties 

 of the Flora of New Holland as healthy as ever they were 

 in their native homes; tropical fruits perfect in flavour 



