FLOWER- GARDENS. 



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06 



FLOWER-GARDENS. 



are nearly hidden by the blossoms. 

 Gravel walks with stone edgings do 

 not form a good contrast, as the 

 colours of the gravel and the stone 

 are too near that of the dry soil of the 

 beds. 



All the different kinds of flower- 

 gardens may be reduced to the fol- 

 lowing : — 



The French garden, or parterre, 

 is formed of arabesques, or scroll- 

 work, or, as the French call it, 

 of embroidery of box, with plain 

 spaces of turf and gravel, the turf 

 prevailing. The box is kept low, 

 and there are but very few parts of 

 the arabesque figures in which flowers 

 or shrubs can be introduced. Those 

 plants that are used, are kept in re- 

 gular shape by cutting or clipping, 

 and little regard is had to flowers ; 

 the beauty of these gardens consisting 

 in the figures of the arabesques being 

 kept clear and distinct, and in the 

 pleasing effect produced on the eye by 

 masses of turf, in a country where 

 verdure is rare in the summer season. 

 These embroidered or arabesque gar- 

 dens originated in Italy and France, 

 and the}" are better adapted for warm 

 climates than for England : they are, 

 indeed, chiefly calculated for being 

 seen from the windows of the house, 

 and not for being walked in, like Eng- 

 lish flower-gardens. 



The ancient English flower-garden 

 is formed of beds, connected together 

 so as to form a regular or symme- 

 trical figure ; the beds being edged 

 with box, or sometimes with flower- 

 ing plants, and planted with herbace- 

 ous flowers, roses, and one or two 

 other kinds of low flowering shrubs. 

 The flowers in the beds are generally 

 mixed in such a manner, that some 

 may show blossom every month dur- 

 ing summer, and that some may re- 

 tain their leaves during winter. This 

 kind of garden should be surrounded 

 by a border of evergreen and decidu- 



ous shrubs, backed by low trees ; and 

 in the centre there should be a sun- 

 dial, a vase, a statue, or a basin and 

 fountain. 



The modern English flower-garden 

 has the groundwork of turf, on which 

 a system of beds are formed, in such 

 a manner as to constitute a symme- 

 trical figure ; or, if on a very large 

 scale, groups of figures. The French 

 flower-garden and the ancient English 

 garden were chiefly calculated for be- 

 ing seen from an elevated situation, 

 so as to show the whole at once ; but 

 the modern English flower-garden is 

 calculated to be walked through, and 

 seen by decrees. The beds are gene- 

 rally of roundish or curvilinear figures, 

 and they should never be of figures 

 with numerous narrow angles, or pro- 

 jecting points; because such parts can 

 never be properly covered with plants, 

 and therefore have always a bad effect. 

 These beds are sometimes planted with 

 a mixture of flowers alone, and some- 

 times with flowers and shrubs ; but 

 they are more generally planted, each 

 bed with one kind of flower, or one 

 kind of shrub, so as to produce masses 

 of colour, or of shades of colour, which 

 will harmonise with the masses in the 

 other beds. The spaces between the 

 beds should not he less than two feet, 

 for the convenience of walking and 

 mowing; and the surface of the beds 

 should never be much higher than 

 that of the turf, because, if they are, 

 they will appear like blotches on a 

 lawn. Besides, the plants in the 

 highest part of the bed (which should 

 be in the centre) will be drier than 

 those on the sides, — they will grow 

 with less vigour in dry seasons, and 

 with too much vigour in moist sea- 

 sons, if they are too much elevated ; 

 so that the plants in the garden will 

 never produce a uniform surface 

 throughout. Some beds in flower- 

 gardens of this description are entirely 

 filled with roses, which are often 



