474 
THE COTTAGE GAEDENEB. 
March 24. 
One of the first principles to carry out in a new jilace 
is Privacy or Seclusion; without this being secured, in 
a tolerable degree, the highest embellishments cannot 
long prove satisfactory. Public promenades are another 
thing; there people go to see, and to be seen, for a 
short period. Of course, with the suburban villa privacy 
I is doubly important. As to country seats, their extent, 
and isolated character, by liberal planting, will almost, 
without extra pains, have this point secured to them. 
In laying out suburban grounds, therefore, the designer 
takes special care to examine well his boundary, in 
order to ascertain the bearing of unpleasant objects, 
and the direction of objects of interest wbich may be 
“brought in,” or appropriated, as our landscape men 
have termed it. If, for temporary purposes of shelter^ 
&c., the latter portions must be planted out, it should be 
with such ordinary or unimportant trees or shrubs as 
may, in a few years, be reduced in height, or cut clear 
away without regret. Our modern villas are, in the 
main, judiciously jdacod on elevations; and this is a 
ha2jpy circumstance for the planter, as be can occa¬ 
sionally call in views or vistas without causing leanness 
or exposure in the boundary—the planting, in such 
cases, being composed chiefly of low evergreens which 
will bear the knife. 
We would hero protest against what are termed belts 
of planting. Some planters seem to have but one idea 
on this head, by which a most disagreeable mannerism 
prevails; the perambulator of such grounds generally 
feels some desire to know what the character of the 
country may bo beyond this impenetrable screen ; but 
this is resolutely denied him. The walks, in such situ¬ 
ations, will frequently be found damp and ill-favoured 1 
whilst the verges of grass, if there be any, will become 
lank, weak, and of a poverty-stricken ajipoarance, for 
want of a proper circulation of air. Why men should 
fancy that boiindary planting should be of a continuous 
cbaracter, we are at a loss to imagine ; but they will tell 
you it is a “ shrubbery,” and that they think a sufliciont 
answer. Wo, however, do not find those long shrub- 
berries in the works of our best painters. As for belts 
of mere trees of deciduous cbaracter, they are even 
worse still; for where a place is severely limited on that 
side, such belts at once proclaim the severity of the 
limits to every stranger the moment he casts his eyes 
on them. These, when they have been simultaneously 
planted, in ago acquire the character, at a distance, of 
a row of gigantic pea-stakes, not only totally devoid of 
interest, but really oppressive to every cidtivated eye. 
In all these things it becomes the planter to make 
himsell quite “ at home” as to the individual character 
of the grounds, and the adjacent country or neighbour¬ 
hood, before he ventures to decide on his shrub masses 
or trees; keeping, of course, ever in view the mansion or 
house, with the impress sought to be given to the whole 
composition. 
Here we must direct attention, for a moment, to a 
principle of importance in all grounds, but doubly so 
when severely limited. 'J'his is what painters and land¬ 
scape gardeners term intricacy of outline. This applies 
to both the sky and the gi’ound lines, and is charac¬ 
terised by ever-varying curves, deep indentations, and 
even by abrupt breaks, leading the eye of the spe(!tator 
occasionally into recesses, the precise termination of 
which cannot at once be ascertained. The ajqdication 
of this principle to the general character of shrub-masses, 
plantations, &c., requires a mind well skilled in lines [ 
and forms. It is for the purpose of bringing this prin- ! 
ciple fully into play that we advised bold curves, some- i 
times even abruj)t, in walks, in our preceding article on | 
that i)ortion of the subject; for the style of planting will, ' 
of necessity, be ruled, in some degree, by the direction | 
and style of the walks. We have met with some jiersons i 
in our time, high up in the art, who have affected totally [ 
to despise the character of walks. This, we think, ought 
not to be; and the only thing that can justify them is 
the fact, that common-place ground-workmen, mere line- 
and-rule men, lay too much stress on walks. Be that 
as it may, wo return to the point—intricacy of outline; 
and advise that the designer stake out his marginal 
planting with spirit. i 
It is of immense importance, in hundreds of cases, to 
conceal or break tbe limits of a gai'den ; and as the prin¬ 
ciple of seclusion necessarily involves the use of hard 
lines, as fences or continuous planting, every skilful ap¬ 
pliance of the planner should bo l)rought into play; and j 
here planting stands pre-eminent. In order to get rid of 
dead lines where a tame level ju'cvails, recourse may be 
had to mounds or raised surfaces, jirovidcd such can be 
reconciled with the character of the interior plot, and 
the features beyond, if scon. Undulating surfaces of 
this character will bo incomplete without I'urnituro; and 
here again the judicious planter’s services are required. 
In low breaks wo have seen low ivy fences )>roducc a 
useful effect, and bebind, or about the elevated ])arts, 
trees of rapid growth and spiry forms may bo made to 
arise; thus marking a bold sky, and producing a bold 
ground outline, wbich, conjointly, will serve to draw the 
eye from minor defects. 
It must hero be advised, that in all grounds of a 
“dress” character, evergreens constitute the mn,jorily, 
perhaps, in tlio proportion of three to one. If this be 
correct as to larger grounds, how much more iinjiorlant 
in the grounds of the villa; or, indeed, any grounds 
bounded by the hard, dry, and cutting linos of walls, ; 
buildings, and the other unbearables of suburban re- J 
sidences. It will be necessary, in ciirrying one priiunpal ' 
perambulating walk round the exterior of the grounds, 
to approach, at intervals, very near the boundary line, < 
and this of necessity, not of choice; of course, tlie j 
skilful designer will take caro to make his nearest 
approaches where the best exterior features present ; 
themselves, if any must bo called in; indeed, it will 
occasionally be advisable to do so, when they are 
unobjectionable, and subserve tbe interior composition. 
In sucb situations low walls may be used ; perhaps the 
basement made massive wilh extra stones, bricks, iVc.; 
and here such things as Irish Ivy, l^eriwinkle. Ever¬ 
green Berberries, or even masses of the Bhododendron, , 
kej)! low by pegging down, may bo planted thickly, j 
