EMBELLISHMENTS. 
373 
kept well-mown or cut for the walks, and the edges pared ; 
the other, to surround the beds with edgings of verdure, as 
box, etc., or some more durable material, as tiles, or cut 
stone, the walks between being covered with gravel. The 
turf is certainly the most agreeable for walking upon in 
the heat of summer, and the dry part of the day ; while 
the gravelled flower-garden affords a dry footing at nearly 
all hours and seasons. 
The irregular flower-garden is surrounded by an irregu- 
lar belt of trees and ornamental shrubs of the choicest 
species, and the beds are varied in outline, as well as 
irregularly disposed, sometimes grouping together, some- 
times standing singly, but exhibiting no uniformity of 
arrangement. An idea of its general appearance may be 
gathered from the accompanying sketch (Fig. 70), which 
may be varied at pleasure. In it the irregular boundary 
of shrubs is shown at a , the flower-beds b, and the walks e. 
This kind of flower-garden would be a suitable accom- 
paniment to the house and grounds of an enthusiastic 
lover of the picturesque, whose residence is in the Rural 
Gothic style, and whose grounds are also eminently varied 
and picturesque. Or it might form a pretty termination 
to a distant walk in the pleasure-grounds, where it would 
be more necessary that the flower-garden should be in 
keeping w T ith the surrounding plantations and scenery than 
with the house. 
Where the flower-garden is a spot set apart, of arfy 
regular outline, not of large size, and especially where it is 
attached directly to the house, we think the effect is most 
satisfactory when the beds or walks are laid out in sym- 
metrical forms. Our reasons for this are these : the 
flower-garden, unlike distant portions of the pleasure- 
