62 



ROYAL GARDENS 



private landing and bathing places. And among the woods 

 are many drives and paths, with here and there picturesque 

 summer and afternoon tea-houses. 



The old home of the Blachfords was modern and plain, 

 and not large enough for a royal residence. It was therefore 

 at once taken down, and the new mansion, from designs by 

 Mr. Thomas Cubitt, begun. This has been considerably added 

 to on more than one occasion. In style the house is domestic 

 Italian, and both the original pavilion, or centre block, and 

 subsequent additions have been carried out in accordance with 

 the tenets of the Palladian school of architecture. The result 

 is dignified and imposing, owing to proportions being well 

 kept and ornamentation being suitable and not excessive. A 

 similar style has been carried into the garden on the east front 

 of the house. The double terraces there, with balustrading, 

 statuary, fountains, vases and a pergola, with handsome flights 

 of steps leading down from the mansion to the park, are 

 fine examples of modern work on ornate and formal Italian 

 principles. 



Both Queen Victoria and Prince Consort soon became 

 very much attached to their home by the sea. Every detail 

 of the work was supervised by them. And an enormous 

 amount of tree-planting was done, much of it under direct 

 instructions of the royal pair. It is probable that no estate 

 in the country has such a varied collection of well-grown and, 

 in many cases, extremely rare trees as can be seen in park and 

 gardens at Osborne. Many of them are exotic, and could 

 only live in a few highly favoured parts of England. Here 

 they have thriven wonderfully, and in course of the sixty 

 years or so since they were planted have become thoroughly 

 at home, and have grown to exceptionally large sizes. As 

 bearing witness to the mildness of the climate, a fine example 

 of Camellia Japonica, close to the house, may be men- 

 tioned. This is a very large specimen, and is generally 

 covered with bloom from late winter till early summer. 

 Worthy of notice, too, an evergreen Beech (Fagus Cun- 

 ninghamia), which has grown here to the height of over 



