20 



GENERAL FORMATION, &c, OF GARDENS. 



In considering the subject of situation, 

 it is proper to remark that convenience 

 to the mansion and offices is all very well, 

 so far as regards places of inconsiderable 

 extent, and where the kitchen garden is 

 to be in the mixed style — that is, having 

 flowers cultivated in the borders in juxta- 

 position with culinary vegetables. But 

 in large establishments, where nothing 

 should be seen from the mansion but 

 park, lawn, and flower-garden scenery, 

 the kitchen garden should not only be 

 removed from the house, but should be 

 placed as near to the boundary of the 

 park as is compatible with other arrange- 

 ments, that it may be as little in the way 

 of ulterior alterations and improvements 

 as possible ; and also that access to it, ' 

 both for carting and for the laboui'ers 

 employed, may be had without these 

 having to pass through the park or plea- 

 sure-grounds. This is exemplified in the 

 kitchen garden at Chats worth, which is 

 near the boundary of the park ; and the 

 situation chosen by ourselves for the new 

 gardens at Dalkeith is also upon its mar- 

 gin, so that all communication, except 

 that from the family, is made direct from 

 the public road. An ill-placed garden, 

 like an ill-placed house, will ever be a 

 source of annoyance to the owner, as 

 neither can be removed without great 

 expense, and a loss of enjoyment for a 

 number of years. 



These remarks, as we have already 

 noticed, are applicable to places of great 

 extent only. With villa residences the 

 case is different; in these the kitchen 

 garden may be attached to the offices, so 

 that a free communication may take 

 place between the kitchen, the stables, 

 and the garden, but without interfering 

 with either the entrance or the lawn 

 fronts. " In general," says Mr Loudon, 

 in reference to small places, " it is desir- 

 able to have the kitchen garden close to 

 the stable offices, so as to make some use 

 of the walls of the latter for training fruit 

 trees, and to shorten all the lines of com- 

 munication for servants, as also the walk 

 to the garden from the lawn front. 

 Wherever it is practicable," in such 

 places, "the farm should adjoin the kit- 

 chen garden, and, as it were, follow in 

 the train of offices and useful appendages. 

 In this view of the general arrangement 

 of a villa and its offices, it appears that 



all the latter should be placed on one 

 side of the dwelling-house, so as to leave 

 the three other sides free. Wherever 

 three sides of the dwelling-house are not 

 free to be disposed of as the combined 

 judgment of the landscape-gardener and 

 architect may direct, either the case must 

 be anomalous, or some gross fault must 

 have been committed. We would strongly 

 recommend this to be kept in view both 

 by architects and their employers as a 

 leading principle in determining the posi- 

 tion of the offices " and garden " relative 

 to that of the house." 



Many bad situations have been chosen 

 merely because the soil happened to be 

 good in them. No doubt a good natural 

 soil is greatly to be desired, and proves a 

 considerable saving of expense ; but, not- 

 withstanding this, an eligible site should 

 not be sacrificed to this point of soil, 

 as soil can be artificially made, or the 

 bad may be removed and good substi- 

 tuted. The older gardeners depended 

 much upon soil; and to this may be 

 traced the origin of many situations 

 which have been abandoned, and of 

 others which, although they remain, 

 have been a source of annoyance for ages. 



Another mistake frequently fallen into 

 in the selection of a site for a garden, is 

 that of choosing a low and consequently 

 a damp one, under the mistaken notion 

 of having shelter from winds, &c. Such 

 situations are condemned by almost 

 all writers on the subject, although 

 adopted by most of them in practice. 

 Dr Darwin in his " Phytologia," Pro- 

 fessor Bradley, Lawrence, Switzer, Aber- 

 crombie, Forsyth, Nicol, &c, all agree in 

 urging the avoiding low situations. For- 

 syth (Treatise on Fruit Trees, p. 286) 

 says, if the garden " be situated in a bot- 

 tom, the wind will have the less effect 

 upon it; but then damps and fogs will 

 be very prejudicial to the fruit and other 

 crops." Switzer says, ( Pract. Fruit 

 Gard.) avoid low situations and bottoms 

 of valleys, because there is often a sour- 

 ness in the earth that cannot be eradi- 

 cated; and in this uncertain climate of 

 ours heavy fogs and mists occur, which 

 hang so long on the fruit and leaves in 

 low situations that not only vegetation is 

 retarded, but also the ripening of the 

 fruit." And Dr Darwin (Phytologia, 

 sect. 15) makes the following truly prac- 



