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JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
October  31,  1901. 
Fernwood,  near  Birmingham. 
Among  the  numerous  residential  domains  situate  within  at 
least  a  ten  miles  circuit  of  Birmingham,  Fernwood,  the  property 
of  Alfred  Antrobus,  Esq.,  is  undoubtedly  one  of  the  most  charm¬ 
ing  and  desirable.  It  is  located  in  the  pleasant  pastoral 
suburban  district  of  New  Oscott,  and  can  be  readily  reached  by  a 
five  miles  ride  from  Birmingham  on  the  Midland  Railway  by 
alighting  at  Chester  Road  station,  en  route  for  Sutton  Coldfield. 
This  compact,  wooded,  and  pastoral  estate  of  about  fifty 
acres  was  purchased  by  Mr.  Antrobus  chiefly  with  the  view  to 
build  a  residence,  and  devote  a  portion  of  it  to  landscape  garden¬ 
ing  purposes.  The  portion  selected  for  the  purposes  in  question 
was  what  may  be  termed  a  sandhill,  and  of  so  uninviting  a  cha¬ 
racter  that  a  less  courageous  speculator  than  the  purchaser  would 
have  seriously  hesitated  ere  resolving  to  attempt  “to  make  the 
desert  smile,”  and  more  than  one  long-resident  friendly  neigh¬ 
bour  hintingly  opined  that  the  astute  newcomer  was  “  gone  daft  ” 
The  drive  assumes  a  serpentine  direction,  thus  aiding  the  ascent 
of  the  hill  throughout,  the  gradations  being  three  in  number, 
and  are  insensibly  hidden  from  each  other. 
Rhododendrons,  Berberis  (Mahonia),  with  Male  and  Lady 
Ferns,  Polystichums,  &c.,  line  the  second  half  of  the  drive,  the 
summit  of  whose  banks  are  furnished  with  tall  old  Oak  trees, 
Spanish  Chestnuts,  Larch,  Scotch  Pines,  without  unduly  shading 
the  plants  beneath.  Section  number  three  is  still  more  diverse, 
the  banks  on  either  side  being  clothed  with  masses  of  luxuriant 
Ferns  growing  amongst  the  terraced  rockery,  in  association  with 
hosts  of  spring  flowering  bulbous  plants,  and  colonies  of  the 
pretty  Cashmerian  Primulas.  Varieties  of  Ivy,  Honeysuckle, 
Clematis,  and  other  suitable  climbers  are  trained  upon  the 
branches  and  trunks  of  some  of  the  trees. 
Arriving  at  the  end  of  the  carriage  drive,  the  visitor  is  con¬ 
fronted  by  the  handsome  residence,  the  representation  of  which 
does  not  do  justice  to  its  architectural  proportions,  inasmuch  as 
a  presentment  taken  from  the  spacious  lawn  would  have  afforded 
a  better  idea  of  its  handsome  fa9ade.  Besides  the  .  handsome 
Araucaria  seen  in'  the  illustration,  the  bushy  shrubs  in  front  of 
FERNWOOD,  THE  RESIDENCE  OF  A.  ANTROBUS,  ESQ. 
in  entertaining  such  a  project,  and  this  was  further  emphasised 
when  cart-loads  of  pebbles  and  stones  were  spread  over  the  sandy 
surface  of  the  steeply  sloping  ground  with  the  view  of  consolidat¬ 
ing  and  keeping  it  cool  for  planting  punposes.  One  farm  rustic 
declared  that  it  was  the  first  time  he  had  seen  stones  used  as 
“  muck  ”  before  ! 
One  of  the  most  important  and  greatest  of  the  undertakings 
was  the  formation  of  the  picturesque  and  unique  carriage  drive, 
upwards  of  300  yards  in  length,  which  necessitated  throughout 
the  major  portion  of  the  hill  a  deep  cutting  to  secure  an  easy 
approach.  The  origin  of  the  nomen Fernwood  ”  initiated  from 
the  fact  that  a  large  area  of  the  hillside,  bordering  closely  on  the 
left-hand  side  of  the  carriage  drive,  is  a  forest  of  apparently 
upwards  of  two  acres  of  tall  trees,  planted  about  130  years  ago, 
and  a  considerable  portion  of  it  undergrowthed  with  Bracken 
Fern. 
In  reverting  to  the  carriage  drive,  and  commencing  at  the 
lodge  entrance,  the  visitor  is  confronted  by  a  beautiful  avenue 
of  tall  and  well  furnished  Cupressus,  fronted  at  intervals  with 
luxuriant  bushy  plants  of  that  hardy  Bamboo,  Arundinaria 
falcata,  which  lends  grace  to  the  formal  contour  of  the  Cypresses. 
the  vinery  and  greenhouse  are  dwarfed  Irish  Yews.  Here,  too, 
are  young  plants  of  the  beautiful  Forsythia  suspensa.  Attached 
at  the  back  portion1  of  the  residence  is  a  commodious  aviary,  de¬ 
voted  to  a  variety  of  feathered  songsters,  the  owner’s  ornitholo¬ 
gical  tastes,  while  another  aviary  is  situated  in  a  secluded  spot  in 
the  grounds,  and  is  apportioned  chiefly  for  the  largest  species  of 
songsters.  Fronting  the  house  is  a  spacious  and  beautifully  kept 
velvety  lawn. 
Mr.  Antrobus  preserves  the  lawn  intact  from  the  introduction 
of  trees  or  shrubs,  and  so  as  to  allow  of  an  unintercepted  view 
of  the  grand  fringe  of  coniferous  and  other  trees  and  shrubs  such 
as  those  here  illustrated.  The  beautiful  arboreal  scene  extends 
for  upwards  of  200  yards,  from  one  end  to  the  other  of  the  lawn, 
and  at  its  greatest  width  the  lawn  is  about  90  yards  from  the 
carriage  ring.  Among  the  shrubs  there  is  a  beautiful  specimen 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains  Blue  Spruce  (Picea  pungens  glauca,  see 
illustration  on  page  401),  about  16ft  high,  whilst  to  the  left  is  a 
fine  specimen  of  the  yellow  berried  variegated  Holly,  and  on  the 
right  a  golden  Cupressus,  backed  by  a  thriving  tree  of  the  Atlas 
Cedar  (Cedrus  atlantica),  and  in  contiguity,  behind,  though  not 
shown  in  the  picture,  is  growing  the  beautiful  specimen  of  the 
