THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, October 20, 1857. 
the bottom filled with Quercifoil, Sweet-scented, and the 
most continuous bloomers of the fancy Geraniums. 
Passing this the same walk leads onward, guarded 
now on the sides by columns of Irish Yew, until you 
come to the centre, whence radiate eight ray walks, this 
walk being one of them as far as I recollect. The 
centre bed is, I think, of an octagon shape, centred with 
a low antique bush of Yew, bordered with the Variegated 
Mint. At each augle opposite the centre of each walk 
is a large vase of scarlet Geraniums raised on a pe¬ 
destal, and between the walks on the opposite side 
of the circle are fine specimens chiefly of Myrtles and 
double Pomegranates in boxes. The walks are chiefly 
bounded by hedges of Laurel; one is bordered with 
columns of Yew cut into fantastic, grotesque shapes; 
one leads to the puzzle garden; one opens a fine view 
here; another leads to a particular object there. Each 
has its appropriate bordering, among which I was glad 
to recognise fine lines of the Marvel of Peru. 
Getting back to the eastward of the hanging-basket 
garden we find ourselves in a large square, graced with 
flue upright Cypresses, &c., and relieved and decorated 
with large standard and pyramidal specimens of scarlet 
Geraniums, &c. We rise some steps and get to the 
Box garden, the tracing being on red sand, and here a 
few only of the central beds are planted, as planting the 
scrolls and dots would have destroyed the uniqueness of 
the effect. A step higher and we are again on the green 
terrace in front of the bank. In passing, a man was 
cleaning and raking the sand in the Box garden, and 
Mr. Foggo said to him, “ Leave no heaps.” Young 
gardener, have you ever reflected on the neatness and 
prudent economy combined when at such work, unless in 
some extreme case, you “never make aheap,” and there¬ 
fore never require to fid-fad about its bottom afterwards? 
The Dahlia bank is very showy. Front row next the 
green terrace, E schscholtzia Californica; second row, 
purple Zelinda Dahlia; third row, scarlet Zelinda or 
Crystal Palace Scarlet , backed by rows of white, yellow, 
purple, &c. 
Beyond the end of this border and near the end of 
the terrace, where a fine gate opens into the park, are 
two little gardens—one on the west side, a panel slightly 
sunk, devoted to Verbenas, and one on the bank side, 
a garden composed of many little spots where many 
things are tried. Here we found the scarlet variegated 
Alma and many other things; but the most bewitching 
little bed of the lot was one planted with the now 
fashionable white Cerastium , dotted all over thinly with a 
scarlet Verbena, in the way of, but darker than, BarJcerii. 
Partaking somewhat of the circular form of the bank 
at the bottom of the staircase the broad avenues pass 
each other something like a St. Andrew’s cross. Thus, 
when you stand at the end of this grass terrace with the 
gate at your back, you look upon an avenue about a 
mile in length, with the large fountain in the centre of the 
line; but nearly a half of this avenue is beyond the 
gardens, running down into the valley, and climbing the 
face of the hill by a gradual ascent until it reaches an 
architectural termination, with no other seen boundary 
than the horizon. The sides of this avenue beyond the 
gardens are planted with Arbor-vitce, and I think 
Lombardy Poplars behind, to sustain the Italian cha¬ 
racter of the grounds. The architectural termination is 
a stone balustrade on each side, just keeping, as it were, 
out of the wood, with a wide opening in the centre, 
which may be a platform, a walk, or a road for anything 
you know; and, as the grass avenue does not rise so 
high as this platform, there is a flight of massive stone 
steps to reach it. I am not in the secret as to the 
objects of this arrangement; no doubt they were suf¬ 
ficient, and the very mystery and uncertainty in which 
the termination is shrouded would to many be a great 
attraction, whilst others, again, might wish that these 
35 
stone steps should not be seen, or be seen to lead to some¬ 
thing more definite, as a lofty archway or temple be¬ 
tween the balustrades, through which the horizon could 
be seen as now, presenting the hopes of a resting-place 
for those troubled with fatigue and inquisitiveness, and 
conjuring up to the imagination another series of terraces 
and fountains on the other side of the hill. 
Near this end of the bank, snugly embowered, is 
situated the Swiss cottage, and close to it, on the tail end 
of the bank, a large fernery has just been made; and 
here, again, genius is seen in the forming of the grotesque 
and romantic. Huge boles of trees hollow in the middle 
and split up the centre are lying and piled in every 
imaginable position, putting one in mind of the days of 
old, when the giants are said to have hurled Ossa on 
Pelion as easily as we should throw one snowball on the 
top of another. Where such numbers of such hollow 
trees could be got seemed a mystery. The Ferns were 
planted in and around them. A rustic cave-like summer¬ 
house had been formed with such trees and roots on 
about the highest point. In front of it was a little 
pond, and near it were some of the rarest specimens 
congregated. If found too shady all that will be re¬ 
quired will be to lop and cut away a little. Beautiful 
as Ferns are, they, to my eye, are rather dismal by 
themselves. I have no doubt but this will be lightened 
up with variegated Ivies, Periwinkles, &c. 
This fernery is close to the park paling boundary; but 
so planted out is it by Laurels that you have no idea of 
anything of the sort. In fact, from the time you enter 
until you get back again to the front of the house, you 
have no means of knowing where the pleasure grounds 
and park respectively meet, unless at the large fine gate 
at the end of the grass terrace. 
Emerging from this fernery we get upon the east side 
of the bank on a walk that skirts the conservatory lawn, 
and from a Swiss summer-house on this walk and various 
other points obtain fine peeps of the rising ground on 
the other side of the valley; but at length we reach the 
top of the walk, pass by the end of the balcony garden, 
the ribboned circles, the front of the conservatory, and 
get out at the gate at which we entered. 
And now, courteous reader, as we have gladly accepted 
the kind invitation of our conductor to rest and refresh our¬ 
selves in his comfortable parlour, we shall leave you to 
do the same elsewhere, hoping that, if you have been at 
all gratified with our gossipings, we shall have the 
pleasure of your company in glancing at some of the 
things I noticed in the great workshop, where are manu¬ 
factured not only the materials for all this embellish¬ 
ment, but the more necessary adjuncts for imparting 
richness and fulness to a gentleman’s table, 
R. Fish. 
Errata. — Window Gardening.— Page 24, first column, second 
paragraph, fifteenth line of that paragraph, repot should be repeat. 
Shrubland Park.— Page 18, first column, second line of second 
paragraph, Ipswich to Claydon, to should be or. Second column, 
first word in twentieth line from top, on should be or. Second column, 
sixth line from the bottom, “ the front is glass, and now,” &c., should 
be “ the front is glass, and new,” 
TREES. 
Tree Slaughter. —If anything could provoke a saint to ; 
wrath it is the frequent destruction of fine trees on the most 1 
frivolous pretences. Here a majestic Elm is sacrificed be¬ 
cause the dripping from its houghs moistens cheap shingles 
on some adjoining house, and compels a more speedy repair; 
there a barn is to be removed, and all the trees which stand 
in the line of its direct course must give way. A couple of 
rowdies, returning on a dark night from a winter revel, 
are upset against an Oak which projects into the road a foot 
or two; straightway the sapient selectmen of the town 
debate the case, and solemnly order that the tree, which has 
stood there since the memory of man, shall,be brought low, 
