426 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
f May 24,1888. 
form of eighty half-yearly volumes of the Cottage Gardener and Journal 
of Horticulture, I find the descriptions to which I refer were the result 
of a visit towards the early part of May, 1875. My run down to Belvoir 
was in the early part of May, 1888, and it came alx)ut in this w-ay. Not 
long ago, as some readers may remember, a provincial nurserjnnan 
prevailed on me to introduce him to the Homes of Flowers and of 
Fh’uit, Messrs. Cannell’s and Mr. Ladds’ establishments at Swanley. So 
pleased was he with the day out, and feeling himself, as he intimated, 
somewhat indebted to me, like an independent man that he is, 
began casting about to see in what way he could be level with me, and 
get out of my debt. Of course, he was never in it ; but that was his 
way of putting the matter, and it suited me very well. INIy friend, 
travelling somewhat widely, and having many good friends, including 
the Duke of Rutland’s talented gardener, Mr. W. Ingram, I had a 
summons to arrive at Grantham Station at i).15 A.ii., on, as it proved, 
a bright May morning, and I should be met and escorted to Belvoir. 
But how was that to be done ? The 7.40 a.m. from King’s Cross does 
not stop at Grantham, and to cross ton miles of London and reach the 
Great Northern Terminus at 5.15 in the morning was no joke to a late 
risoriand bad walker ; but I had to be at Grantham all the same at the 
scene was enchanting. And all this done for the gratification of one 
man—the Duke I No, it was done by the Duke and Mr. Ingram, as a 
work of pleasure to them no doubt, but the beauty to be shared fully, 
freely, and every day without let or hindrance by the people. No wonder 
the ducal family is popular in the neighbourhood and for miles around. 
But I am going too fast, and had better begin at the beginning. 
Mr. Ingram received us with great courtsey, and soon made us at 
home in his embowered residence ; and it is a treat of no ordinary 
kind to spend a few hours w'ith a gardener who has travelled so far, 
and whose attainments are so widely recognised. As a geologist he 
may fairly be described as the leader among gardeners, and he appears 
to be as conversant with what is beneath the soil and the disposition of 
the strata almost everywhere as with the vegetation on its surface. 
His knowledge of the science of rocks and soils has been of no small 
value, both in the formation of rockeries and the arrangement of plants 
and trees, as well as culturally. In the creation of his effects and the 
conduct of its work he does not grope his way experimentally, but goes 
direct to his object. No grotesque conglomerations are perpetrated in 
the formation of “ rockwork ” on the slopes which constitute the 
attraction of the place, but he hides his art in the close alliance with 
Fig. 5G.—belvoir CASTLE. 
appointed time. One of those happy thoughts that seem occasionally to 
be born to the lame and the lazy came to the rescue, and an inner voice 
suggested, Why not go down to I’eterborough the previous afternoon, 
see the Conifers at Orton Longueville, spend the night with Mr. A. 
Harding there, and go on by the 8.30 in the morning, which is due at 
Grantham exactly at 9.15 ? The plan w.as carried out, and we measured 
trees, and had a very good time in the garden till the nightingale’s trill 
interrupted the work. How the measuring was done, with the heights 
determined, will perhaps be told another day. We must first go to 
Belvoir. 
The drive from Grantham is seven or eight miles ; that is the 
aristocratic way, and leads through a pleasant district to the front 
entrance to the Castle ; but as we were not aristocrats, and as the 
Nottingham train was waiting, rve went on to Redmile, a seventeen 
minutes’ journey, and entered the demesne by the back door, so to say, 
after a drive I was told of two miles, but I think a pedestrian would 
vote them long ones. The route is through a flat country, the Vale of 
Belvoir, across which the north-east wind rushes keenly in spring, 
retarding the growth of the grass and the trees. It is a cold late tract 
of land, and the outlook somewhat dreary, but when we mount the hill 
on which the Castle stands and descend the southern slope, which is 
further protected by a thick hanging wood, the change is almost 
startling. It is winter on one side the promontory and the irecs leafless, 
summer on the other, with Rhododendrons blooming and flowers, 
flowers everywhere ; borders filled with them, beds crowded to over¬ 
flowing, rocks sparkling with colour ; and as the sun streamed through 
the trees, and the shadows waxed and waned from fleeting clouds, the 
Nature. When he prepares mounds for alpines for their culture solely, he 
aims not at the picturesque, but considers their requirements. There are 
examples of what may be said to be the useful and also of the ornamental 
in rockery mounds, both answering their purpose, the former unpreten¬ 
tious and agreeable, the latter equally unpretentious, yet imposing. 
We first enter the home ganlen, an enclosure of an acre or two in 
front of the chief range of glass. This is a fine type of an herbaceous 
garden of the olden time. The space is occupied with beds of varying 
length and about 4 feet wide, the level expanse being broken here and 
there by elevations for alp)ines. The species and varieties of border and 
alpine plants are very numeious. Many old familiar kinds are there, 
and others less familiar, but all appropriate to their positions, each in 
f urn revealing its attractions, and the whole rendering the garden in¬ 
teresting, and more or less beautiful, according to the season, all the year 
round. Here is a rough jotting of a few plants just as we find them, 
and they fairly represent the diversity of the garden. Each has space 
for displaying its character, while the strong are not allowed to overrun 
the weaker and crush them out of existence in an uneq' al struggle for 
supremacy :— 
Doronicums austriacum and plantagineum ; Pyrethrums, double and 
single ; Chrysanthemums tmptens, fine for summer and autumn bloom¬ 
ing ; Alyssums saxatile and argenteum ; Pinks, Cloves, and Picotees in 
great variety ; Camp.anulas Hendersoni, glomerata, and G F. Wilson ; 
Anemones stellata, blanda, apenniiia, Robinsoniana, very beautiful; 
Morina longifolia ; Eryngium giganteum ; Phlox frondosa, Nelsoni; 
Erigerons macranthum and grandiflorum ; Erysimum pulchellum ; 
Paeonies in variety ; Delphiniums Belladonna and nudicaule ; Lychnis 
