3 ° 
HERBACEOUS GARDEN 
A couple of brick steps not set at the right 
angle to the paths leading to them, or a path 
of bricks to a garden tank that has not been 
set in line with the house wall near, are fearful 
eyesores. One garden, carefully designed at 
great expense by a well-known architect, is a 
source of great irritation to its owners. A 
centre had been arranged with a sundial and 
an enclosed space, with vistas through yew 
arches to tall specimen trees at both ends and 
on each hand. Something was wrong, and it 
was only discovered after some years, and when 
the yews had grown into fine hedges, that the 
line of the house ran slightly off the straight ; 
and though all the rest is quite correct in 
measurement, this one fatal mistake can never 
be put right. 
A garden planned on formal lines needs to 
be very accurate and correct. Some of the 
newest gardens are really little gems of archi- 
tectural design ; but unless home-made, and in 
a country where stone may easily be obtained, 
are exceedingly costly. And, though very 
beautiful, the setting is too expensive for most 
lovers of herbaceous plants. I will only men- 
tion one of these, which is carried out in small 
clumpy bricks beautifully laid in the form of 
the half of an amphitheatre, on the side of a 
