September 27, 1883. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER, 
275 
these radiating walks are eight beds edged with ornamental tiles, and 
filled with gold and silver Pelargoniums, mixed with purple and yellow 
Violas. The wirework of this temple is also covered principally with 
varieties of Clematises. Large oval-shaped beds, in which single 
Dahlias are the prominent autumn flowers, are appropriately placed ; 
and there are beds of Roses, the plants raised from cuttings and the 
growths pegged down. Nothing could be more satisfactory than the 
condition of these, and they must produce a wealth of fine blooms 
throughout the summer. There is also a row of standard Roses on 
raised grass mounds outside, and parallel with the low wall of the flower 
garden ; this method of arranging having probably been adopted with 
the object of rendering the Roses visible from the windows of the Castle. 
The dressed grounds now under notice are as admirably kept as the flower 
garden, and form an agreeable link between that beautiful enclosure 
and the part next to be referred to. 
THE PLEASURE GROUNDS. 
Southward from the flower garden and Castle these are most 
pleasantly situated. They resemble a wilderness of vegetation traversed 
by sound and excellently kept walks, over which the arching branches 
form a canopy of foliage. Under the dense shade of the deciduous trees 
it is noticeable how well the common Box thrives ; there are bushes of 
all sizes of it, also large masses of Yews, Portugal Laurels, and other 
THE KITCHEN GARDENS. 
We say “gardens” advisedly, for there are several enclosures ; 
indeed, we never saw such a great extent of walls on the same space of 
ground, nearly a mile in length being covered with fruit trees. Pro¬ 
minent among these are Fig trees, which cover more than 100 yards run 
of wall, clothing it from base to summit, excellent in health and laden 
with fruit, the varieties being Brown Turkey, Castle Kennedy, and 
Brunswick ; and on another w r all near the gardener’s cottage a fine tree of 
the latter covers a length of CO or 70 feet of wall. The walks are neatly- 
edged with Box, and the borders fringed with Parsley—splendid rows of 
Lee’s Matchless, which would gladden the many gardeners, especially 
near towns, who experience such great difficulty in maintaining a supply 
of this indispensable herb. Well-formed pyramid fruit trees and well- 
furnished quarters of vegetables also arrest attention in this department, 
as do some rows of Scarlet Runners about 20 feet high, necessitating the 
use of tall garden steps to gather the abundant produce ; and in striking 
contrast is a lowly bed, not often seen in gardens, of Cranberries. As 
might be expected, these are in a cool moist position, and growing in a 
compost of peat and vegetable matter. They are bearing freely, and th$ 
fruit is much appreciated in the Castle. 
GLASS STRUCTURES. 
These are rather numerous, there being upwards of twenty of them,, 
Fig. 54.—LONGFORD CASTLE. 
evergreens. This is a delightful retreat on a sultry day, and the more 
so since a trout stream winds through it alive with fish and spanned 
by appropriate bridges. This stream unites at its exit with the rushing 
waters of the Avon. These pleasure grounds are extensive, and at one 
part there is a “ clearance ”—an open expanse of turf known as the 
“old garden.” Here is a very fine example of the Judas Tree, Cercis 
Siliquastrum, a still finer bush 20 feet in diameter of Chimonanthus 
praecox, and a specimen of Catalpa syringrefolia. The Deciduous Cypress 
also thrives well here, one specimen standing alone on the turf ; but 
another a short distance from it among the trees being about 100 feet 
high, and the stem 8 feet in circumference 4 feet from the ground. 
Seats and summer-houses here and there render this part of the grounds 
additionally enjoyable. The walks are edged with flints, and between 
them and the shrubs are continuous lines of Snowdrops and Daffodils 
associated with Periwinkles, and the effect in their season must be very 
attractive ; these and other bulbous plants, also the Periwinkle, thriving, 
like Ivy, in the densest shade. There is little that is gardenesque in 
these pleasure grounds—their charm lies in their semi-wildness ; yet it 
is very apparent they are not neglected, but in their cleanliness receive 
the same attentive care on the part of the gardener as every other depart¬ 
ment does that is in his charge, and form a conspicuous feature of this 
fine demesne. 
some small, others large, but all useful and well stocked throughout. 
Near the gardener’s cottage a square of sloping ground is occupied with 
a series of pits and houses running east and west. First are two Melon 
and Pine-sucker pits, then a lean-to Pine pit in two divisions, next 
following in the order named a three-quarter span range, comprising- 
early Peach and Pine stove, the latter containing good fruiting plants of 
Smooth Cayenne, Charlotte Rothschild, Black Jamaica, and Queen ; an 
Orange and Camellia house 24 feet wide, with large specimens in the 
best of health ; a pit for the preparation of decorative plants of the 
usual popular kinds, all admirably grown ; a Melon, Cucumber, and 
Strawberry house in three divisions, the late Melons being of the most 
promising character, and the Strawberries (now, of course, outside and 
3000 in number) being in a thoroughly satisfactory state. Other plant 
pits follow, one division containing Gardenias planted out, and others 
accommodating healthy stocks of Eucharises, Tree Carnations, Callas, 
Echeveria retusa—in fact, all kinds of plants for house and conservatory 
embellishment. 
In another enclosure we find a range of vineries in two divisions, with 
Lord Napier Nectarine and Passiflora edulis fruiting on the back wall. 
The Vines in one, being struck and planted out in 1882, will carry a few 
bunches next year ; the other, a mixed house of Alicante, Black Ham¬ 
burgh, Madresfield Court, Mrs. Pince, and Gros Colman, affording 
