FASHIONING THE GARDEN. 
5 
FASHIONING THE GARDEN. 
Having laid down the general principles of ensuring the 
garden beautiful, we will now proceed to deal with the 
actual practical details of laying out or fashioning a flower 
garden. 
Preliminary Steps. — Gardens vary much in confor- 
mation ; some are level ; some slightly sloping or uneven of 
surface ; and others more or less steep. The first step in 
forming a new garden should be to ascertain the levels of 
the site. Ground that is perfectly level is easy to manage. 
The beds, borders, lawn, paths, and shrubberies have only 
to be formed and planted, unless it be desired to create 
artificial undulations to give variety to the surface. Land 
that has a gentle slope may also be laid out without much 
difficulty, unless a level lawn or tennis court be desired, in 
which case the conformation of the land must be altered 
accordingly. Sites with a steep slope are more difficult to 
manage. In this case a terrace is a necessity around the 
residence, but it should be of ample width according to the 
size of the house, and steps will be needful to reach the 
lower ground. The lawn, again, below may be too steep, 
too, in which case a further terrace will be needed. The 
ground below may or may not be allowed its natural slope. 
The exact style to be adopted can only be determined by 
the actual fall of the land, and this is a case in which a 
practical landscape gardener should be consulted. Wher- 
ever possible, however, too many artificial terraces should 
be avoided, because they depreciate the natural beauty of 
a garden. It is wise, wherever possible, to have bold 
undulations rather than acute banks or terraces. 
Aspect. — Flower gardens must necessarily be of vary- 
ing aspects, according to the positions in which the road, 
or street, or square is laid out for building purposes. It is 
only those who can afford the luxury of a house in ample 
grounds that really have a choice in the matter. In the 
case of suburban gardens, those who are fond of garden- 
ing should be careful to avoid gardens that have large trees 
