22 



GENERAL FORMATION, &c, OF GARDENS. 



In regard to the situation of suburban 

 villa gardens, or where the property is of 

 limited extent, the subject will be made 

 more intelligible by giving a specimen or 

 two of such grounds generally ; and, as 

 examples of great merit, we extract Plate 

 I. from the " Encyclopaedia of Farm 

 and Villa Architecture," being, as Mr 

 Loudon informs us, a suburban villa of 

 two acres and half in extent, and within 

 a mile and a half of London, built and 

 laid out by an architect for his own resi- 

 dence. " In this plan, a is the main en- 

 trance ; b the entrance-portico of the 

 house ; c the kitchen and stable-court ; 

 d the stable and coach-house ; e a door in 

 the wall bounding the entrance-court, by 

 which the grounds may be entered with- 

 out passing through the house ; / a cir- 

 cular group to be filled with geraniums, 

 or other showy greenhouse plants, during 

 summer ; g a billiard-room, with a con- 

 cealed entrance in the back of an alcove 

 seat, the room lighted from the roof ; h 

 a rosary, in the shape of a horse-shoe, a 

 dial being placed in the centre ; * a basin, 

 with a bronze fountain in the centre, in 

 the form of a dolphin, which spouts up 

 water to a considerable height : the mar- 

 gin of the basin is of marble, surmounted 

 by pedestals and vases ; and the space of 

 lawn between it and the walk is varied 

 by choice herbaceous plants ; k rubbish- 

 ground, with gardener's working-sheds, 

 for pots, tools, &c, as well as for protect- 

 ing, during winter, the vases and statues, 

 which are set out in summer ; I a grotto, 

 having the appearance of a rock exter- 

 nally, and partially covered with ivy and 

 creepers ; m is an American garden, com- 

 prising a choice collection of shrubs and 

 plants, and ornamented with several se- 

 lect statues and vases, the pedestals of 

 which only remain during winter ; n is a 

 collection of herbaceous plants ; o sum- 

 mit of a wooded knoll, covered with an 

 open grove of pine trees ; p shady grass 

 walk for the hottest days of summer; 

 q wire-fence on the top of a concealed 

 wall, which admits an interesting view of 

 the country beyond; r wall and fruit 

 border facing the south ; s the gardener's 

 cottage ; t a plot devoted to aromatic 

 herbs ; u the melon ground, sunk three 

 feet beneath the general surface of the 

 garden, and surrounded by a hedge of 

 box ; v kitchen garden ; w a high knoll, 



with a steep side, covered with rock- work 

 and creepers on the west, and crowned 

 with a terminal statue of colossal dimen- 

 sions, from the antique, supported on a 

 pedestal of granite ; x fruit wall and 

 border, with western aspect; y octagon 

 bower, having in the centre a magnificent 

 bacchanalian vase, from the antique; ands 

 a descent of three steps from the drawing- 

 room to the garden." The part marked 

 with the polar needle is a small sheet of 

 water, the surface of which is nearly 

 twenty feet below the level of the walk 

 in front of the house ; or the same space 

 may be left as a grass lawn, as it is not 

 in all places that water can be obtained 

 or retained. The objects in laying out 

 the grounds of this villa were, to obtain a 

 sufficient extent of walks for all necessary 

 exercise and recreation within the boun- 

 dary wall ; to produce as much variety 

 as possible, independently of architectu- 

 ral beauty and distant scenery ; to include 

 a small kitchen garden ; to mature the 

 best hardy fruits ; and to display a col- 

 lection of the most select ornamental 

 trees, shrubs, and flowers. For this pur- 

 pose the more choice peaches and necta- 

 rines are placed on the wall r, having a 

 south aspect; the grapes to be covered 

 with glass, on the same wall, next the 

 gardener's house ; and figs, apricots, and 

 the more choice cherries, plums, and 

 pears on the wall x, having a western ex- 

 posure. Apples are distributed through 

 the grounds, and also such pears, plums, 

 and cherries as will bear in the climate 

 of London, on standards. One or two 

 specimens of walnuts, sweet chestnuts, 

 mulberries, quinces, medlars, azaroles, 

 true service, cornels, and similar fruit 

 trees are also distributed through the 

 grounds. There is a collection of rock 

 plants on the rocky precipice which forms 

 the steep side of the peninsula w; of 

 herbaceous plants in the circle n ; of 

 American trees, shrubs, and herbaceous 

 plants in the circle m ; of bulbs among 

 the rose-trees at h, and in the circle/, 

 among the pelargoniums ; both of which 

 are taken up when they have done flower- 

 ing, and the bed filled with box-trees, and 

 similar shady evergreens in pots. In 

 the other planted parts of the grounds 

 are select trees, shrubs, and flowers, 

 grouped so as to have all the species of 

 each genus at no great distance from 



