608 



GEOMETRICAL FLOWER-GARDENS. 



pile of sufficient character or magnitude, 

 should be separated from the park or 

 pasture by a wall. In cases where this 

 accompaniment is not requisite, or cannot 

 well be applied, I prefer a more solid 

 fence to a flimsy one ; and a sunk fence, 

 I hold," he continues, "to be totally 

 irreconcilable to a shadow of taste." 



This style of gardening is that in which 

 the shape of the ground, of the beds, of 

 the walks, and even of the shrubs, is 

 regular or symmetrical, such as may 

 be formed on paper by a rule and com- 

 pass. The ground, if originally flat, 

 is reduced to a general level surface, 

 over which the beds or borders are distri- 

 buted so as to form figures either simply 

 regular — such as squares and parallelo- 

 grams — repeated one after another, or 

 squares and parallelograms, and circles 

 and ovals, or other curvilinear figures, so 

 arranged as to be symmetrical ; that is to 

 say, that one-half of the figure formed by 

 the whole shall correspond with the 

 other half. When the surface is natu- 

 rally irregular, or on a slope, it is thrown 

 into different levels, which are joined by 

 steep slopes, called terraces, generally 

 covered with turf, and ascended and 

 descended by stone steps." Here differing 

 from the terrace or architectural style, by 

 the absence of parapet walls, &c. " Each 

 of the levels is laid out either regularly 

 or symmetrically, in the same manner as 

 if the whole were only one bed ; but the 

 figures are, of course, smaller. Small 

 trees, or evergreen shrubs, are distributed 

 among the figures, and especially on each 

 side of the main walks ; and these trees 

 and shrubs ought, in strict accordance 

 with the style, to be cut or clipped into 

 regular shapes. In modern practice this 

 is generally neglected ; and its omission 

 is a defect, for cut trees are as essential 

 to the geometric style, as having the 

 ground cut or shaped into artificial sur- 

 faces." — Ladies' 1 Companion to the Flower- 

 Garden. 



The cutting here meant does not ex- 

 tend to the vagaries of the tonsile style 

 in its extreme points, for vegetable men, 

 monkeys, or peacocks, are not to be 

 thought of ; but globose-headed trees, or 

 those of a conical or pyramidal form, only 

 are tolerated ; and where the cypress will 

 thrive, and if a little care is taken in 

 training the Irish yew, or Swedish 



juniper, the two last will be attained 

 without much artificial effort. As the 

 orange will not stand our climate, Por- 

 tugal laurels, trained to single stems and 

 globose heads, are very properly used as 

 a substitute ; and these are in general 

 planted in lines by the sides of the prin- 

 cipal walks, or in the centre of patches of 

 grass, gravel, &c. 



The French style of laying out flower- 

 gardens is a modification of the Italian, 

 and was established by Le Notre during 

 the reign of Louis XI Y. The great aim 

 of the French artist was to display forms, 

 and lines, and intricate embroidered 

 figures, requiring great skill in transfer- 

 ring them from the plan to the ground. 

 They were originally less intended for 

 growing plants in them, than to show the 

 general design of the figures. Modern 

 improvements in planting flower-gardens, 

 aided by the greater amount of proper ma- 

 terials, arising from the introduction of so 

 many new plants, have nearly overturned 

 that taste, and now we find the most intri- 

 cate embroidered parterres planted, and 

 the colours of the flowers made to produce 

 the effect which former artists could only 

 imperfectly show, by employing sand, 

 earth, &c, of various shades. The num- 

 ber of plants with which our gardens are 

 now stored supplies us also with those of 

 proper heights and habits. It will readily 

 be understood, that for this style of par- 

 terre the plants must be chosen, in height, 

 in proportion to the size of the figure. 

 Plants of the most procumbent habit, 

 and producing the greatest quantity 

 of flowers, are to be preferred. The 

 flatness of the surface is to be relieved by 

 statuary, vases, fastigiate growing shrubs, 

 (such as the upright cypress,) or by 

 globose-headed oranges in vases, or their 

 substitute, Portugal laurels, trained to a 

 single stem, and their heads closely 

 pruned. 



The French parterre, with its scrolls of 

 box, and its smaller beds covered with 

 various-coloured sand, presented much 

 the same appearance in winter as it did 

 in summer, and was thus more permanent 

 in its effect. This, however, to a great 

 extent, is now considerably modified by 

 planting low-growing flowering plants for 

 a summer covering, having recourse to 

 the sand, in many cases, only before the 

 plants are established in spring, and after 



