88 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
October 9, 1886. 
GRASMERE, BYFLEET. 
In his interesting garden of hardy flowers, and 
flowering and foliage trees and shrubs, in which so 
many rare and beautiful things from different parts of 
the globe are brought together, Mr. Joseph Stevens has 
relied entirely on his own judgment in selecting suit¬ 
able situations in the open ground for his plants, and 
not made any provision for nursing them under glass 
at times as many do. That this is the best course to 
pursue is proven by the many rare plants which have 
done well under Mr. Stevens’s unwavering treatment, 
while they have been frequently lost by those who 
protect them in winter. Among such we noted Aralia 
Maximowiczii, a really handsome and tropical-looking 
plant, which has here attained a height of 8 ft. ; Aralia 
pentaphylla, with leaves something like those of the 
Virginian Creeper, which is now a busli some 10 ft. • 
across, and many Bamboos and other plants usually 
considered subjects for culture under glass. In front 
of the pretty cottage residence of Grasmere is an 
irregular raised bank, which would delight the eye of 
any lover of 
Wild Gardening, 
And which no one could fail to call beautiful. In pro¬ 
minent positions in the front portion some choice Ferns 
are planted, and behind them, as an undergrowth, 
rises some beautiful Bracken, 8 ft. or 9 ft. in height, 
with here and there a dense cluster of the double rose- 
coloured bramble, and the gay scarlet-fruited Rosa 
canina, above and behind them still being some golden 
Hollies, the graceful Linden tree, and other tall shrubs, 
the whole forming a pretty piece of natural gardening, 
and one, too, which takes care of itself. 
On the other side of the house is the lawn, on which 
are some noble conifers, each standing out singly, and 
with plenty of room for them to form themselves 
perfectly on all sides. The most noteworthy are 
Cupressus Lawsoniana gracilis, a grand specimen some 
20 ft. in height; C. L. erecta viridis, Abies lasiocarpa, 
A. nobilis, the golden Thuja Vervieneana, Cedrus 
atlantica, Wellingtonia gigantea, Araucaria imbricata, 
Cryptomeria japonica, Cephalotaxus Fortunei, and 
Libocedrus decurrens. All these are grand objects, but 
the last is one of the finest specimens of its kind we 
have ever seen ; it is 30 ft. in height, and has a forked 
stem, which is about 4 ft. in circumference at the base. 
Besides these large specimens of conifers, small ones of 
every obtainable kind are planted near them, and when 
they all assume their characteristic growths, they will 
be very beautiful and interesting to both plantsmen 
and botanists. Joining the Pinetum is the meadow, 
and round it runs 
The Herbaceous Plant Garden, 
Which also contains specimens of rare trees and shrubs, 
many of them not yet generally known in this country. 
For example, we noted many varieties of Laurel, from 
that with a leaf only 1 in. in length to the variety 
known as macrophyllus, with leaves as large as an 
India-rubber plant ; of the sweet Chestnut (Castanea 
vesca), the Fern-leaved variety, the variegated, the 
jagged leaved, and another beautiful kind (Castanea 
filicifolia) with the usual broad leaves on the lower part 
of the shoots, but with those at the point narrow, 
pendulous, whip-like, and very elegant; and so on, 
throughout, most of our well-known trees Mr. Stevens 
has of each curious varieties and rare abnormal forms. 
In 
The Hardy Flower Garden 
The Delphiniums, Phloxes, Paeonies, Irises, Funkias, 
and other showy things, which, awhile ago, made such 
a display are now almost over, and their places taken 
hy that chaste and pretty white Pyrethrum uligi- 
nosum, the perennial Sunflowers, the Solidagos, the 
Michaelmas Daisies, autumn Crocus, &c. which with 
the many other autumn flowers make still a good 
show. Of the Asters as seen at Grasmere, A. amellus 
and A. Bessaribicus have many hundreds of bluish 
mauve flowers; A. Chapmanni is a fine large pale blue; 
A. coccineus, rosy magenta; and A. dumosus, A. 
horizontalis, and A. Reevesii, pretty small lavender- 
flowered kinds. Of the Solidagos (Golden Rod) S. 
nemoralis, S. Riddelii, S. stricta, S. cassia, and S. 
odora, have all bright yellow flowers, the last named 
being very fragrant. Among the other plants in 
flower in the borders and among the pretty Fern- 
planted rockeries, we noticed some fine clumps of 
Pampas Grass, Sedum spectabile, the rose and crimson 
varieties ; Statice latifolia, Eucomis punctata, Achillea 
Ptarmica flore pleno, Campanulas, two or three species, 
Matricaria inodora flore plena, Oxalis Boweana, double 
and single Helianthus, Tradescantia virginica, many 
kinds of Heaths, Polygonum Brunonis, P. vaccinifolium, 
some Pentstemons, Veronica novae boracensis, many late 
Roses, Rosa rugosa, red and white varieties being very 
pretty in front ; a very large and showily flowered 
collection of Althea frutex of all colours, and both single 
and double ; Althea grandiflora with bright salmon 
flowers which was figured from the Grasmere plant ; A. 
cannalina, 12 ft. across, with hundreds of rose-coloured 
flowers ; and, still, a very respectable sprinkling of 
Anemones which, by planting at the end of April and 
beginning of May, Mr. Stevens succeeds in keeping 
back until the end of the summer and autumn, a plan 
■which others might well adopt by planting a portion 
of their roots in April. 
Ivy-clad Arches 
Here and there over the walks are turned broad bower¬ 
like arches, densely clad with Ivy of different kinds, 
and in a secluded part of the garden a very tropical 
looking effect is given by training the common Clematis 
(Travellers’ Joy) over a number of tall trunks of tree 
Fern (not living), forming, as it were, a large summer¬ 
house supported on many quaint pillars, and beautiful 
even now that the flowers have passed, as they are 
succeeded bj T a dense covering of their flossy seeds. 
At the extreme end of the walk a long row of all the 
varieties of autumn Crowns (Colchicum), make a very 
fine show, the pale rose, white, tassellated, and crimson 
varieties, being in flower in great quantities. Here we 
come to 
The Kitchen and Fruit Garden, 
which is walled in on a curious plan of Mr. Stevens’s, 
the walls enclosing the square instead of being built 
straight, are laid zig-zag, in angles of about 12 ft., so 
that different aspects are given for planting different 
trees, more wall surface afforded, and the greatest 
amount of protection secured ; both sides of the walls 
are planted with Peaches, Nectarines, Pears, Apricots, 
&c., and this season the crops have been very fine, a 
good lot of large and well-ripened Peaches and Nec¬ 
tarines remaining still on the trees. At intervals, too, 
on the walls trained Gooseberries are planted, and 
these are trained straight up or turned back according 
as they are required to fill the narrow spaces allotted 
to them ; in this way they fruit very profusely, some 
of them having a surface of 8 ft. in height and 2 ft. in 
width, which was densely laden with fruits this season. 
The Gooseberry is a favourite fruit here, and in the 
garden outside the walls here, there are over 200 kinds 
planted. 
The New t Garden. 
The new garden in front of the house has its centre 
planted with fine beds of Asparagus, the feathery 
plumes of which harmonise well with the flowering 
plants and shrubs. The fence which encloses it is 
covered with rambling Roses, American Blackberries, 
and other useful and elegant trailers, the borders being 
chiefly occupied by a fine collection of variegated and 
coloured-leaved plants, which look as pleasant as flowers 
all the year round. Here are the many varieties of 
variegated Euonymus, several kinds of coloured-leaved 
Elseagnus, the golden and the variegated Elder, three 
kinds of variegated Box, several of Privet, Deutzia 
gracilis variegata, Cerasus Lauro-cerasus variegata, 
Wiegelia hortensis argentea, Osmanthus illicifolius 
variegatus, Bambusa Fortunei, many gold and silver 
Retinosporas and other conifers, variegated Laurestinus, 
variegated Snowberry, and variegated many other 
things, all pretty, effective, and useful even for cutting, 
for a vase of coloured and elegant foliages in the house 
is very charming if loosely and tastefully arranged. 
Even the innumerable variegated Ivies are formed into 
bushes. The arborescent kinds, of course, naturally 
adapt themselves to this mode of growth, and the 
others, by training to stakes and carefully cutting-in, 
may soon be got to make bushes too. At Grasmere 
there is also a good 
Collection of Hollies, 
And a great number of fine-flowering shrubs, among 
which we noticed Cercis canadensis, Lespedezia bicolor, 
Diplopappus chrysophyllus, many Wiegelias, of which 
W. nivea is the purest white, and a full collection of 
Acacias and white and scarlet double and single Thorns. 
Among other striking plants may be mentioned Poly- 
gonium euspidatum, some 15 ft. in diameter, the points 
laden with white seeds which replaced the myriads of 
flowers ; Spirrea Lindleyana, almost as large, with its 
long white’ plumes ; and S. arisefolia, which makes 
beautiful bushes with pendulous white flowers. Pyrus 
Maulei also is grown in great quantity. In summer it 
is lovely with its scarlet flowers, aud now the bushes 
are covered with yellow fruits, which are here made 
into a delicious preserve, so that the handsome shrub, 
it will be seen, lends itself to do double duty. There 
is no doubt that the neighbourhood of Weybridge is 
favourable to outdoor gardening, and the favourable 
situation is made the most of by Mr. Stevens’s plan of 
planting carefully and then letting alone. 
--- 
OUR GARDEN. 
I read in your interesting columns from week to 
week of the lovely retreats and plant-growing establish¬ 
ments of what I call the cognoscenti of the gardening 
world, but have not noticed many allusions to those of 
the more humble fraternity. Now, with your kind 
indulgence, I will describe in as few words as possible 
“Our Garden.” When I say “our,” I allude to my 
father and self; and, in fairness, I must say that doubt¬ 
less the success which has attended our unpretentious 
gardening operations is due in a great measure to his 
long association with Flora’s domains. Now, that 
avaricious individual, the builder, after rearing our 
small villa, has left us ‘ ‘ All that piece or parcel of 
ground containing by admeasurement some 30 by 
20 ft. ” This is our garden ; yes, and there are 
thousands who are compelled to rest content with 
the same small mercies. To such an one I say, “ Do 
not let even this small portion diverge into a veritable 
morass of weeds ! Utilise every inch by cultivating a 
few simple plants and vegetables, which will please 
the eye and satisfy the taste.” To the best of my 
humble ability I will give a few illustrations of the 
modus opcrandi connected with our efforts, which will 
no doubt assist and enlighten others. 
Our principal invaders are the feline community 
(I wish Sir Charles Warren would turn his animose 
warfare in thi3 direction); but we have successfully 
combated against their depredations with a double row 
of twine stretched from nail to nail a few inches from 
the top of the fence round the entire garden, and 
filling up the interstices between the palings with wire 
netting. True they can jump up easily from the 
adjacent gardens, but the difficulty is to alight on 
terra firria the other side — the string balks them, and 
nine times out of ten they turn tail ; if they are rash 
enough to venture they describe a somersault not very 
satisfactory to themselves. A circular bed in the 
centre, ovals at either end, and a continuous border right 
round, intersected with an 18-in. path, is our simple 
design. I contend that nothing beats the pretty flint 
stones for keeping up the borders in small gardens ; 
tiles are expensive, wood rots quickly, and Box requires 
a lot of attention to keep it nice. An edging throughout 
of the old-fashioned London Pride, next the flints, 
interspersed with Dactylis glomerata variegata, 
dibbled in singly, forms a substantial and effective 
bordering. 
About a square yard at the end, on either side, is 
designated our kitchen garden, devoted to some half- 
dozen Rhubarb stools, Radishes, and Lettuces (when in 
season), and a couple of rows of Mint, Parsley, &c. (our 
neighbours are aware of the fact); while the bottom 
fence is covered with Tomatos, that on one side is en¬ 
veloped with Chrysanthemums, and the other with 
Scarlet Runners (what more pleasing and profitable). 
Two equal lengths of stout wire, supported_on wooden 
gibbets top and bottom of the fence, and strings 
attached to them, forms a good support for the beans. 
In the centre bed, Indian-corn towers some 6 ft. or 
7 ft. above the Marguerites (four varieties) and Heli- 
chrysums. The same flower, Phlox Drummondii (in 
all their glorious hues), and Asters in the two oval 
beds ; while Gaillardias, Cornflowers, Sweet Peas, 
Petunias, Pentstemons, Mignonette, Castor Oil, Nico- 
tiana, a couple of Cactus Dahlias, and a gigantic Sun¬ 
flower, not forgetting Calceolarias and Pelargoniums, 
all mingle together in harmonious contrast round the 
outskirting borders ; and, although all through the 
summer we have cut heavily to furnish some half dozen 
vases and bric-a-brac, and bouquets and button-holes 
for ourselves and friends, yet now we have plenty ot 
bloom to last up till the Chrysanthemums come in. I 
must make allusion to Nicotiana affinis, it is certainly 
one of the most disreputable looking objects during the 
day ; but, iu the early morning aud evening, opening 
