THEIR GENERAL ARRANGEMENT, &c. 



609 



they have ceased to flourish in autumn. 

 The arabesques or scroll-work of box 

 must, however, remain the same. Our 

 present mode of furnishing such parterres 

 is to produce effect during three or four 

 months only, whereas, according to the 

 original design, they remain permanently 

 the same. Notwithstanding the ridicule 

 that has been attempted to be cast on 

 this style of gardening, there is an agree- 

 able association between it, as exemplified 

 in some of our largest and best gardens, 

 and the parterres of summer flowering 

 plants with which it is brought in contrast. 

 This is strikingly exemplified at Drum- 

 lanrig Castle, and elsewhere, where both 

 modes are carried out upon an extensive 

 scale. The little flower-garden on the 

 east front of Newbattle Abbey furnishes a 

 good example of embroidered scroll- w r ork 

 brought into contact with beds of flowers. 



The French term parterre is derived, 

 according to James, in his now rare 

 translation of Le Sieur Alexander le 

 Blond's work, entitled, " The Theory and 

 Practice of Gardening," from the Latin 

 word partire ; but it seems to have a 

 nearer relation to the Latin compound 

 par and terra — a level, even piece of 

 ground — and does not even seem to imply 

 any particular decoration or style with 

 which it may be furnished and laid out ; 

 in fact, in its most limited sense, it means 

 a division or plot of ground, which with 

 us is in general called the parterre or 

 flower-garden. Parterres are of various 

 kinds, the most simple of all being the 

 bowling-green, and the most elaborate 

 those of curious figures and embroidery ; 

 while an intermediate description of 

 them consists in shell and scroll-work, 

 with sand alleys between them. 



Sir William Temple has long ago laid 

 down their form and proportions, and 

 observes that an oblong figure is the 

 most proper ; and Switzer says the length 

 ought to be " two and a half times greater 

 than the breadth, or something more;" 

 and finds fault with many French designs, 

 (especially those that are in James's 

 work,) as being much too short for their 

 breadth. 



The French garden or parterre is de- 

 scribed by Mrs Loudon as being formed 

 of " arabesques or scroll-work — or, as the 

 French call it, embroidery of box — with 

 plain spaces of turf or gravel, the turf 



VOL. I. 



prevailing. The box is kept low, and 

 there are but very few parts of the ara- 

 besque figures in which flowers or shrubs 

 can be introduced. Those plants that are 

 used are kept in regular shape by cutting 

 or clipping, and little regard is had to 

 flowers — the beauty of these gardens con- 

 sisting in the figure of the arabesque 

 being kept clear and distinct, and in the 

 pleasing effect produced on the eye by 

 masses of turf, in a country where ver- 

 dure is rare in the summer season. 

 Those embroidered or arabesque gardens 

 originated in Italy and France, and they 

 are better adapted to warm climates than 

 to England. They are, indeed, chiefly 

 calculated to be seen from the windows of 

 the house, and not for being walked in, 

 like English flower-gardens." Some very 

 good specimens of this style of planting 

 a parterre occur in the flower-gardens at 

 Holland House.— ( Vide Plate XXIV.) 



These parterres are in general laid out 

 on fine turf — a thing not often met with 

 on the Continent ; and in default of that, 

 gravel, sand, or powdered materials of 

 various colours. 



We have elsewhere observed that this 

 style became general in France during 

 the luxurious reign of Louis XIV., at 

 which period most of the then known 

 arts of design were much encouraged ; at 

 the same time, it is somewhat singular 

 that such a style should have been at all 

 adopted in a country in which turf suc- 

 ceeds so ill, and in which gravel is seldom 

 to be met with. With these two mate- 

 rials it was much better adapted to 

 England ; and, therefore, the French 

 gardens laid out in the latter country 

 (few specimens of which now exist) were 

 in their day admitted to be far better 

 kept than those of the country in which 

 the style originated, or rather was in part 

 copied from the Italian, and improved 

 upon by Le Notre. These parterres con- 

 sisted of turf beds, dug beds edged with 

 box, and embroidered or scroll work, 

 formed chiefly of dwarf box, from a foot 

 or more in breadth, till it gradually 

 tapered to a point at the termination of 

 the scroll — although in some cases it 

 terminated obtusely, according to the 

 figure represented. The broader parts of 

 the dug beds only contained plants, and 

 these were in general of low growth, 

 planted in rows and at equal distances. 



4 h 



