288 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ Ilarch 20, 18!?0. 
and successfully utilised to take away the bareness which a flower 
garden or flower beds have in winter. It is surprising what a pleasing 
effect can be obtained in flower beds by the careful arrangement of 
shrubs in pots, and with what little trouble and expense, since they 
only require repotting once a year, and watering a little during the 
driest part of the summer. If this mode is not adopted a good effect 
can be obtained during all seasons of the year, whether the beds are 
filled with masses of brilliant flowers during summer or bare during the 
winter by the judicious distribution of dwarf specimen evergreens. 
Perhaps at this point in my paper the list of a few shrubs suitable 
-amongst others for one or both of the modes above mentioned may be 
of some interest and value to my readers ;—Andromeda fioribunda 
Yucca gloriosa. Erica carnea. Rhododendron hirsutum, the variegated 
Yew, the variegated Aucuba, Retinosporas, the Tamarisk-leaved Savin 
Pernettya mucronata, variegated Euonymus, Hollies of kinds, and 
Gaultheria procumbens. 
The beds of a flower garden should be symmetrical and correspond. 
The more simple the shape of the beds the easier are they to keep 
in order, and the better for exhibiting the arrangement of flowers. 
No beds should be made too large, as they then become difficult to 
attend to ; nor the space between too narrow, lest they become in time 
inaccessible or the flowers in the beds intermixed. Grass laid evenly in 
broad strips 2 feet 6 inches to 3 feet in width is the most effective 
division between flower beds, as it sets off the colours of the fioweiS 
best and imparts an air of unity to the whole design. 
Flower beds ought never to be scattered at random over a lawn, but 
should alwa^^s form some regular figure, except in the case of a few 
beds by the side of a walk. In designing a flower garden, regular 
figures such as squares, ovals, circles, parallelograms are much more 
effectively and easily filled, though the ground, by a judicious distribu¬ 
tion of beds, can be adapted to almost any shape. In conclusion, one 
golden rule should always be borne in mind by practical designers of a 
flower garden, and that is that the chief object of a flower garden is “to 
display flowers to the best advantage however ingenious, however 
tasteful a design may be, unless this golden rule is strictly adhered to it 
is of little or no worth. 
Rose Gaedens. 
I now come to the second leading department in my list, and this is 
the rosery, or Rose garden. In gardens of medium or large size Roses 
are often collected together and placed in a small separate space. This 
should be in a sunny position, but sheltered from the wind as much as 
possible, and severed from the lawn and the rest of the garden by a 
screen of shrubs, as it is as uninteresting in winter as it is brilliant in 
summer. The design of a rosery should be of some regular shape, the 
beds simple yet bold in their outlines. Circles, oblongs, ellipses, are 
perhaps the most useful. As regards the beds of the figure, on no account 
should acute angles or corners be allowed, as portions of the beds would 
be practically rendered useless, and the whole design or figure would 
appear meagre to the eye. Moreover, few plants could be inserted in 
them, and those but imperfectly. The beds at the same time should 
be suflSciently narrow, to allow the centre plants to be easily reached 
from either side of the bed, and for this reason oblong beds with the 
ends rounded off are perh.ips the most suitable. The greater the sim¬ 
plicity of the beds of a rosery, as in a flower garden, the more suitable 
are they for showing off the Roses. 
With reference to the walks of a rosery, the path round the outside 
of the figure should be of gravel, while the divisions between the beds 
of the figure should be of grass, 3 feet to 4 feet in width, or of gravel 
with Box edging, so that admirers of these beautiful flowers may easily 
examine or pick them. Grass, however, will always look better than 
gravel, and when it is used not more than one or two cross walks of 
gravel and an encircling one will be necessary. Great effect can be 
obtained by throwing across a walk at the entrance to a rosery a light 
covered archway made of wire, with some of the more beautiful 
climbers trained up it. Another most effective, and at the same time 
uncommon adjunct to a rosery, is a Rose house or temple. This is a 
structure having a light span roof, glazed nearly down to the ground at 
the sides, with ample facilities for ventilation, and if possible pipes for 
heating it in winter. Light iron pillars or arches can be erected inside 
for the support of the more tender climbers, and beds can be formed 
inside to receive and cher1>h the Tea-scented and other tender Roses. 
Before passing on to the next important department in a garden I would 
say that it would be an invidious task to attempt to give a list of Roses, 
considering that you all probably know many more kinds than I do 
myself ; but I would make this suggestion, that a very pretty effect can 
be obtained by placing one class or tribe in each bed, such as beds of 
Provence Roses, Hybrid Perpetual Roses, Hybrid China Roses, Bourben 
Roses, Moss Roses, or Noisette Roses. 
Kitchen Gardens. 
I should like now to say a few words on that most necessary depart¬ 
ment, the kitchen garden. Where practicable this should be within 
easy and direct communication of the rear of the house, and on no 
account—e.xcept in peculiar cases, such as town gardens—should it be 
necessary to go through the pleasure grounds in order to reach the 
kitchen garden. The reason of this is simple. The kitchen is generally 
at the back of a house, and the kitchen garden exists for the purpose of 
supplying vegetables and other necessaries used in the kitchen, and 
should therefore be as near it as possible. The stables should also be 
near, so that the refuse and manure may be readily carted to the 
ground. 
Perhaps the best shape for a kitchen garden is a parallelogram, the 
longest sides being from east to west in order that a greater length o^f 
wall facing south may be obtained. Any regular figure, if a parafielograns 
is not practicable by reason of either the space available or the forma¬ 
tion of the ground, is the most suitable for convenience sake ; the walks,, 
beds, and borders being in straight lines as much as possible and at 
right angles to each other. Every kitchen garden should be walled in 
at least on three sides ; firstly, in order that it may be warmer ; secondly, 
in order that the walls may be a means of growing many of the better 
kinds of fruit trees. The wall facing south should be built to a height 
of 12 feet with a coping projecting over 3 or 4 inches, the side walls the 
same height or a little lower, the wall facing north, if there is one, 5 or 
G feet. If, however, an entire enclosure is thought unnecessary, a hedge 
of Box or Yew kept to the uniform height of G or 7 feet will prove more 
picturesque. 
A border all round the inside of the kitchen garden is requisite, 
varying according to the size of the garden, from G to 12 or 14 feet 
these borders, however—and this is a matter very little thought of— 
should not have more than 3 feet of rich alluvial soil, as they thei> 
become unsuited to the growth of fruit trees since the roots pass away 
too far from light and air, two essential requisites to the healthy growth 
of a plant. A good plan is to place a layer of stones or rubbish below 
that depth. Perfect drainage is a matter of the utmost consequence in 
a kitchen garden, and one that must be also thought of if fruit trees or 
vegetables are to be grown with success. 
As a good deal of water is often required in a kitchen garden an 
open cistern or ornamental tank is advisable, or a pump with an open 
cistern, as water is much more suited for plant life after being weB 
exposed to the action of the atmosphere. At the back of the garden, or 
in some out of the way place close to the kitchen garden, there should 
be one or two sheds for tools and other uses, and a small yard accessible 
to a horse and cart for rubbish, manure, and the various composts used 
in planting. 
The next important question to which I would call your attention 
is that of water. This is an element of great beauty in a garden when 
treated with taste, and adds life with a certain degree of dignity to the 
scenery. In forming small sheets of water in a place of limited extend 
simplicity again should always be studied. Circular or octagonal basins, 
with or without fountains, are perhaps the best in formal gardens, 
while in the mixed or gardenesque style, where a closer approach bo 
Nature is sought, roundish or oblong pools are the most suitable. If, 
however, larger sheets of water are being treated—and now we come to 
lakes—then the shape may be more varied and irregular, so that tho 
whole may not be seen at the same time, and by a tasteful treatment 
of its terminations considerable indefiniteness may be obtained. 
Numerous or unnecessary curves or bays are, however, decidedly out of 
place, as they destroy the appearance of breadth except in large lakes, 
where a much bolder treatment may be adopted. 
Planting is another feature in relation to water which requires taste- 
and skill on the part of the landscape gardener to ensure success. What 
an amount of colouring and variety of scenery can be obtained by the 
careful and tasteful distribution of trees or shrubs, whether singly or 
in masses. A sheet of water entirely shaded by trees would tend to- 
render the water impure and stagnant, rob it of the glitter, the sparkle, 
the capacity for reflecting objects, which constitute some of the most 
agreeable attractions, while on the other hand a sheet of water without 
any planting would look crude, bare, and distasteful. It is then, as I 
said above, by the tasteful and approprAte planting of the margins 
of a lake that the many pleasing features of water can be effectively 
displayed. 
Smoothness in the finish of the banks is essential, the turf being laid 
i G to 8 inches below the margin, so that there may not be any hard line 
