86 GARDENS: THEIR FORM AND DESIGN 



style of having several wide flights of steps to lead to a 

 grass platform. From here the beauty of a parterre or a 

 water garden was seen to advantage. 1 1 should be noticed 

 that the outline of the steps is distinctly architectural, and 



carefully thought out. 

 The half-circles, corners, 

 or bends had often to 

 be strengthened with 

 treillage-work, for grass 

 steps, we know, are 

 difficult to keep trim 

 and neat. At the back 

 of the platform was 

 usually a high treillage 

 fence, holding back a 

 nut or beech plantation, 

 as we see them at Ver- 

 sailles. Here, again, 

 were an infinity of twists 

 and bends, with half- 

 circles, too, at intervals, 

 and the ground-plan of 

 such a fence shows 

 many nooks thus 

 formed, where a statue, 

 or perhaps a bay-tree in 

 a tub, or a garden seat 

 wouldlookwelI(Fig. 64). 

 We find another delightful feature in foreign gardens. 

 It goes by the name of a berceau, or " gallery." There 

 are many interesting ones in old prints of Swedish and 

 Italian gardens. But, before we discuss them, it may be 

 well to learn all we can from that excellent example of a 

 plain gallery alluded to earlier in this chapter, the one 

 made of lime-trees near Kensington Palace, The trees. 



Fig. 63. 



