EDGINGS. 



93 



EDGINGS. 



and beds, are, Thyme ; the common 

 Heath ; Thrift, or Sea Pink ; Saxi- 

 frage of different kinds ; the Sweet 

 Aly'ssum ; and, in general, every 

 herbaceous plant that is of low com- 

 pact growth, and retains its leaves all 

 the year. Double edgings are some- 

 times formed, by planting a line of 

 evergreen plants next the walk, and 

 within it, at about six inches' distance, 

 a line of bulbous-rooted plants, such 

 as Crocuses, Snowdrops, Scillas, Hya- 

 cinths, Aconites, Dwarf Narcissus, 

 &c. In general, the great art in 

 planting and managing edgings is, to 

 keep a complete line of separation 

 between the gravel of the walk and 

 the soil of the border ; for which pur- 

 pose the plants in the edging must 

 always touch one another so closely 

 as never to let the gravel and the soil 

 come in contact. 



Edgings to beds and borders are 

 also formed of other materials, such 

 as lines of bricks, tiles, or slates, or 

 of narrow strips of stone, or even of 

 wood. In general, however, edgings 

 of this kind have a meagre appear- 

 ance, especially in small gardens, 

 though they have this advantage, 

 that they do not harbour snails, slugs, 

 or other vermin. In architectural 

 flower-gai-dens, near a house, where 

 the garden must necessarily partake 

 of the character of the architecture of 

 the building, stone or brick edgings 

 sre essentia], and they should be 

 formed of strips of curb-stone, bedded 

 on stone or brickwork, so as never to 

 sink. These stone edgings should 

 never be more than two or three 

 inches wide, and they should not 

 rise above the surface of the walk 

 more than two inches ; otherwise, 

 when they rise higher, unless the 

 walk be of more than the usual 

 breadth, they give it a sunken ap- 

 pearance, which is very unpleasant to 

 the eve. In forming edgings of brick, 

 the bricks should generally be placed 



in the ground endways ; and the best 

 effect is produced by using bricks that 

 have been moulded with round ends 

 on purpose. Edgings of tiles, to be 

 kept securely in their places, should 

 be set in concealed brickwork ; other- 

 wise they are apt to get out of place, 

 and to have a ragged and temporary 

 appearance. The same may be said 

 of edgings of slate; and, in general, 

 these kind of edgings are much im- 

 proved by a line of evergreen plants, 

 planted close to them on the bed, or 

 border side. Edgings of boards should 

 be of oak, for the sake of durability ; 

 and they should be kept securely in 

 their places by concealed posts, driven 

 into the ground, to which the boards 

 should be nailed, beneath the surface 

 of the walk. 



Much of the beauty of all gardens, 

 whether useful or ornamental, de- 

 pends on the neatness and high keep- 

 ing of the edgings ; for whatever may 

 be the state of the boundary fence of 

 the gravel or pavement of the walks, 

 and of the soil or plants of the bor- 

 ders, if the edgings have an uneven, 

 ragged appearance, or if the plants be 

 either too large or too small, the 

 garden will be at once felt to be in 

 bad keeping. 



Hitherto nothing has been said of 

 edgings of turf, because these are 

 chiefly applicable to pleasure-grounds. 

 To form them, the ground is first dug, 

 and then levelled, so as to be about 

 the intended height of the gravel, or 

 half an inch below it. It is then 

 firmly beaten, so that it may not sink 

 afterwards; and the turf, which should 

 be procured from a smooth, even, pas- 

 ture, is laid down, and rolled or beaten 

 with a broad flat mallet, fixed in a 

 long handle, called a turf-beater, so 

 as to be rendered perfectly firm and 

 even. The breadth of turf-edgings 

 should seldom be less than two feet, 

 because less than this width cannot 

 be conveniently mown. After the 



