The Flower Garden 
♦ 
PART I. 
THE GARDEN BEAUTIFUL. 
Throughout the whole world it would be difficult to find 
a fairer or more beautiful spot than a properly fashioned 
English flower garden. Its lovely green lawn, the envy of all 
visitors to these shores ; its wealth of beautiful trees and 
shrubs, and its array of charming hardy flowers, tastefully 
and artistically disposed in happy unison with each other, 
constitute a picture of supreme loveliness almost beyond 
the power of language to adequately describe. 
There is no doubt that the great secret of obtaining so 
admirable a result is to study primarily the question of pro- 
viding a suitable home for the various classes of hardy plants. 
Thus, if a speciality is to be made of alpines, of bog plants, 
of aquatics, of roses, of ferns, of hardy trees and shrubs, and 
so on, the gardener must, in fashioning the garden beautiful, 
first select the best sites for them, and then assimilate the 
general design of the whole to suit the requirements of the 
former. 
The primary features of the ideal garden beautiful, as 
fashioned to-day are, first of all, a good expanse of lawn cut 
up with as few beds as possible. A lawn always makes a 
fine feature in an English garden. Secondly, plenty of border 
space should be provided to grow hardy flowers and bulbs. 
Thirdly, ample space should be provided also for trees and 
shrubs, more especially those that flower. Fourthly, paths or 
walks should be as few as is consistent with actual require- 
ments for gaining access to important parts of the garden. 
In gardens of the larger type, grass walks are preferable to 
gravel paths in many parts thereof. In small gardens 
it is a mistake to waste so much valuable space in having 
B 
