NoVEMnER 13. 
COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION. 
lias several Indian canoes, hammocks, and swings sus¬ 
pended amongst these trees, with which the visitors, on 
the Exhibition days, in July, amuse themselves. In a 
corner, between this grove and the garden, is a very fine 
specimen of Paulovnia iinperialis. It has shown flower- 
buds, Mr. Edmonds informed me, several years, and was 
then in bud when I saw it, but the autumnal frosts 
always cut them off before they expand. This is a great 
disappointment, for the flowers are produced in spikes, 
like our Horse Chesnut, and as large as a Gloxinia ; 
the same form, and of a pale blue colour. (I was once 
told, by the lady of II. 11. Kerr, Esq., that she had seen 
it dowering admirably in the gardens near Lisbon.) 
Beyond this grove of trees, there is a short avenue of 
magnificent Cedars of Lebanon {Cedrut! Lihaniis). They 
are the most remarkable trees I ever saw. I have seen 
as large trees, but none that had their branches so close 
to the ground, spreading over and covering so large a 
space. This uncommon circumstance added greatly to 
their majestic grandeur. They were in dower, and the 
little, stumpy, greenish-white, incipient cones might 
easily have been imagined to be some of the elfin tribe, 
arrayed in martial ranks, ready to march to battle. 
Turning the corner of the house, we had a view of a 
small, winding lake, backed on the other side by a dense 
mass of trees, chiefiy large Elms. Between the lake and 
the bouse is a tolerable expanse of lawn. Walking over 
it, my olfactory nerves were agreeably refreshed by a 
pleasant perfume. I wondered where it came from, but 
soon found out it arose from our feet pressing upon the 
common Chamomile, which grew plentifully amongst 
the grass. Every body ought to have this dwarf, 
fragrant herb on their lawn. I was told it was always 
green in the driest of summers, when the grass was quite 
brown, with the hot sun above and the dry soil beneath. 
There are several sweet-scented, close-growing plants, 
tliat might be sown with the grass seeds with advantage ; 
the wild 'rhyme, for instance. 'They bear close cutting 
as well as any grass, and their scent is agreeable and 
refreshing. Opposite the corner of the house, on the 
lawn, is a very large, handsome Catalpa tree, which 
flowers freely every year. It is remarkable that this 
fine-flowering tree is iiot more common. 
Proceeding round the house, we came to the carriage 
entrance, 'i’he Villa, on this side, has a somewhat 
sombre appearance, which is heightened by another lot 
of the dark Cedars of Lebanon, two of which over-top it 
in height, and nearly touch the windows with their 
spreading branches. They form here another avenue, 
but are not such fine trees as those on the other side of 
the house. On one side there is a row of Lime trees, 
'i’liey have been formed into arches with a happy effect. 
A walk leads the visitor to a lofty mound, formed with 
the soil dug out of the space occupied by the lake. From 
this mound there are several interesting views, both of 
grounds of the Villa and the surrounding country. In 
the distance the Surrey Hills are seen. A little further 
on we came to a rustic tower, formed of the trunks of 
Fir trees, from the top of which the Crystal Palace bursts 
upon the view. 
A large piece of ground, beyond,this tower, has been 
taken in from the park, for the purpose of enclosing a 
noble specimen of Platanus Orientalis, the Eastern 
Plane tree. It is nearly 100 feet high, and its branches 
cover a space ninety feet in diameter. The walk 
winds on from this tree towards our starting-point. 
I observed, as we travelled on, an ancient Cherry- 
tree, no doubt the inhabitant, some centuries back, of 
some fruit-garden. Its trunk was decayed, and in the 
centre a Birch tree had, parasite-like, settled in the 
hollow, taken root, and is now usurping the place and 
sucking out the life of the Cherry-tree. A few paces 
further may be seen a remarkable Lombardy Poplar, 
encumbered with another parasite, the Ivy, which has 
100 
so completely clothed it, that only a few twigs of the 
Poplar can be seen above. Beyond that is a grove of 
very large Hollies, perhaps the loftiest in this country ^ 
One I measured to be fifty feet high. Beyond this i 
Holly grove there are some remarkable clusters of Rho¬ 
dodendrons, which encroach so much upon the walks 
that it has been necessary to remove the walks backwards i 
several feet several times. 'I'hey are full of bud, and \ 
must make a grand show when in full flower. ^ 
'The walks bring the visitor to the lawn again, and the , 
first object ho sees is a noble specimen ot the Pimts I 
Lamhertiana, said to be the oldest in Britain, and also a j 
fair tree of Abies Douglassii, unquestionably the hand- i 
somest of the Spruce Fir tribe. Here we arrived again . 
to the ground covering Cedars. At the end of the : 
avenue, farthest from the house, there is a kind of an , 
alcove. It is nearly circular, and the seats are of stone, I 
or, ])erhaps, marble. I was told they were the identical I 
seats used in the Senate House at Rome, when she was j 
mistress of the world. Upon these seats sat the world- 
famed Cicero, the eloquent Brutus, and all the great men 
of that great era. 
I have only now to notice a lofty Yew hedge, inclosing 
a walk that leads to the kitchen-garden. A finer 
example of a Yew hedge does not exist. 
'Tlie kitchen-garden is spacious, and well stocked with 
fruit-trees. 'Tliere are some excellently-trained Peaches ; 
and Nectarines, and the general management does credit 
to the gardener. Mi*. Edmonds. 
Behind the long range of houses there are several 
small houses and pits, used to raise plants for the front 
stages of tlie greenhouse, and to stow away, during 
winter, the immense number of bedding-plants used for 
the beds in tlie flower-garden. 
In one low bouse, I observed a select collection of 
Orchids, in robust health. 
Such are the gardens and pleasure-grounds belonging 
to this unpretending villa mansion. If any of our 
readers have half as much pleasure in reading as I have 
had in writing this brief, and, I must say, imperfect, 
account of them, I shall not think my labour in vain; 
but I say—Go and see for yourselves, but not on a Show 
day ; go about June or July, if you wish to see it in 
perfection. ” 'T Appleby. 
Nectarines anu Peaches may he cultivated as 
follows ;—'Trained to walls ; and for that purpose, walls 
with S.S.W. or S.E. aspects are required; trained to 
trellises, in a Peach-house, with or without fire-heat; 
trained to trellises, uuder glass lights, after the system ot 
Mr. Ker; and as buslies, in pots, or tubs, in Orchard- 
houses. In small gardens, where there are no eligible 
walls, and in situations where the soil and climate are 
unfavourable, this is a most successful and agreeable 
mode of culture, at present ouly in its infancy; for, as with 
Apricots, large Peach and Nectarine-trees may be grown 
in boxes, and abundance of fruit always secured, as a ! 
climate of a well-lniilt Orchard-hoiise is spring-frost- ; 
proof. As large pots are, in some districts, difficult to , 
procure, I 7nay mention a very simple mode of making | 
“tubs,” or bo.xes, for these trees. Some well-seasoned i 
boards of Memel Heal, one inch thick, should be pro- j 
cured, and strongly nailed together so as to make a box l 
two feet over and fifteen inches deep. Deal of the > 
same thickness should be cut into bars, two inches wide, . 
and nailed on the bottom about half-an-inch asunder; ‘ 
this will allow the roots to penetrate into the soil of the 
border. The boxes should be painted and dried before 
the trees are placed in them. A box of this kind will 
sustain a goodly-sized tree, if it has the usual annual 
surface-dressings, for seven years, or more. I need 
scarcely mention, that good “ hoart-of-Onk” will last 
longer than the best deal boards.— Rivers’ Fruit ; 
Catalogue, , 
