^BH ■B mi ■ -a Hi u ■ ■ ■ :•(/ ■i W&$. ■ ' ■ Springtime in the Garden. LANDSCAPE GARDENING HOW TO LAY OUT A GARDEN BY EDWARD KEMP LANDSCAPE GARDENER EDITED, REVISED AND ADAPTED TO NORTH AMERICA BY F. A. WAUGH Professor of Landscape Gardening, Massachusetts Agricultural College FOURTH EDITION FIRST THOUSAND NEW YORK JOHN WILEY & SONS LONDON : CHAPMAN & HALL, LIMITED 1911 Copyright, igr i BY F. A. WAUGH Stanbopc ipreaa F. H. GILSON COMPANY BOSTON. U.S.A. 1 CI. A 2803 95 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Preface to the First Edition vii Preface to the American Edition xii Biographical Note xv CHAPTER I The Choice of a Place i CHAPTER II What to Avoid 28 CHAPTER III General Principles 46 CHAPTER IV The Several Styles 107 CHAPTER V Practical Considerations 127 CHAPTER VI Particular Objects . 175 CHAPTER VII Special Features 194 CHAPTER VIII Various Accessories 234 CHAPTER IX Practical Directions 257 v PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION It is a salutary axiom, especially in this book-making age, that no volume should be sent before the public without something beyond a private reason for its appearance. It requires to be shown that other people have an interest to be served by it, and that the author's own pleasure or advantage is not alone consulted. But even this plea, however well made out, will not be a sufficient or satisfactory excuse for publication, unless the work be very erudite or far in advance of the times and calculated to benefit future generations. For an ordinary volume, on a common subject, the additional justification of being adapted and required for the use of large numbers of the people is demanded. How far, then, these requirements can be substantiated in reference to the present unassuming little essay the reader will easily be able to judge when its origin and purport are explained. Having spent a good deal of time in passing through the suburbs of large towns, the author, in common with many others whom he has had the opportunity of conversing with, has been very much impressed with the incongruity and dull- ness observable in the majority of small gardens, and been led strongly to wish that the general appearance of such districts were more gratifying to the passers-by, and the arrangement of individual gardens more productive of pleas- ure to the several occupants. There is such a humanizing and elevating influence about everything that is really beauti- viii Preface ful, whether in Art or in Nature, that it is almost impossible for the observant wayfarer to stumble upon such objects without being cheered and benefited, while their effect on those who have them daily beneath their eye is of a still deeper kind. From the author's every-day intercourse with gentlemen who are either laying out new grounds or are seeking to amend errors in design formerly committed, he is also enabled to perceive that sound and useful information is greatly wanted on the subject of landscape gardening, and that to this defect are mainly attributable the deformities so lament- ably frequent. He feels certain, moreover, that other land- scape gardeners will bear him out in the assertion, that their services are more employed to remedy irregularities which have been fallen into for want of due consideration and en- lightenment, than to furnish entirely new designs. And the difficulty and expense of rectifying such errors can scarcely be overestimated. It is wisely ordained that while a truly beautiful object will yield permanent and increasing delight, everything of a contrary nature is nearly sure, at some period or other, to pall and disgust the mind. As far as the writer's own observation has extended, — and he has reason to believe that is a fair criterion of the real facts of the case, — there is no want of appreciation, among the classes for whom this work is intended, of what is tasteful and elegant in gardening. Most persons are able to admire a chaste and beautiful garden when they see it. What is rather required is something or some one to develop and guide their tastes and direct them to fitting objects. On all these accounts, then, and as a humble but earnest effort to supply these demands, the book now submitted has been written. It is clearly required by the multitude, for how few there are among the middle classes who do not possess a Preface ix small garden! And the very extreme of smallness will not exclude a place from the beneficent influence of art, which is, perhaps, all the more necessary and powerful in proportion as the limits become more contracted. Still, a garden varying in extent from a quarter of an acre to four or five acres, and either wholly without an accompanying field, or having one that comprises from one to twenty-five acres, is what has been chiefly kept in view. Nor will places of greater size and more pretension than have been actually contemplated in the outline of the work be altogether beyond its range. Unambitious as it is in its title and leading object, it may not be without interest or use to the proprietor of a large domain. In its radical principles art is essentially the same, whether it apply to a great or a little object; and, relieved of whatever is peculiar in its refer- ence to small places (this being distinctly pointed out, where it is requisite to do so) the points of which the book promi- nently treats are such as embrace both extensive and limited estates indiscriminately. The author's hope is, consequently, while writing for a large and particular section of the com- munity, not entirely to shut out a smaller but higher or more wealthy class. The work of the late indefatigable Mr. Loudon, on Subur- ban Gardening, being somewhat of the nature of the present more restricted production, may be mentioned with the greatest respect, as a voluminous and ample treatise on every- thing relating to the subject. The book now submitted covers but a fragment of the same field, without, it is believed, at all trenching on the province of its predecessor, it having been the aim to avoid, as far as possible, traveling over beaten and frequented ground. The price and portableness of this volume will further place it at an immense distance from whatever has preceded it. x Preface Such being, in brief, the nature, object, and occasion of the essay winch follows, a few words only remain to be said on its materials and execution. There is nothing of egotism (cer- tainly nothing intentional) in the remark that these pages have sprung out of the author's own reflection and observa- tion, and have often been jotted down of an evening, or dur- ing a journey, as the result of daily experience. It is very likely that a more finished and comprehensive and readable book might have been produced by the use of frequent quota- tion and copious illustration from other and less easily attain- able works. This, however, was no part of the original plan; though it should be added, that since its completion the best books on the art have been glanced over, and a few valu- able hints, which have been mostly acknowledged, gleaned from Sir Uvedale Price, Mr. Repton, and Mr. Loudon. The work of Sir U. Price on "The Picturesque " is probably the most valuable thing of the kind in our language. To have collected more from these, or Mr. Gilpin, or any other authority, would have entirely altered the limits and inten- tion of the essay. At the outset of his task, it was the author's purpose to have illustrated the volume with a number of woodcuts, show- ing how the various suggestions might be actually carried out, and supplying designs for a few gardens of different sizes in the two principal styles. Well-selected lists of the several tribes of plants suitable for gardens of limited dimensions were likewise to have been inserted. But it was soon found that the first of these would have materially increased the price without adding greatly to the efficiency of the book, while the catalogues in question would also have seriously enlarged its bulk. Mere lists of plants, too, are of such com- mon occurrence in other publications, that they do not seem to be wanted; and general designs for places, or sketches of Preface xi particular objects, are seldom capable of being applied, with- out much modification, to individual gardens. With regard to the style and manner of the work, the author confesses some little fear lest it should be deemed too elaborate or dogmatical. The first of these faults, if it have any palpable existence, has originated in the wish to render the matter as expressive, as dense, and as serviceable as possible. It is mainly due to the aim at obtaining brevity and force, without omitting anything. And on so compre- hensive a theme it is hardly surprising that the matter should have accumulated to an extent by no means originally con-. templated, so that the object indicated by the title may even seem to be unduly departed from. This will, however, be more than justified by the fact that there are yet a great many things, not without interest or importance, unavoidably omitted. For the second defect, which appears more manifest and serious, a similar excuse may in part be alleged, with the additional plea that practical information can hardly be made altogether suggestive, and must, to some extent, become dog- matical, unless it be conveyed in a very circuitous form. At any rate, it is hoped that this will be considered simply as a fault of manner, and not as indicating a positive or presump- tuous disposition, which is utterly foreign to the author's purpose. With these frank admissions he now submits his little volume to the test of public opinion, assured that, whatever may be its fate, it will be judged by the substance of what it contains, and not by the mere accidents of manner and composition. EDWARD KEMP. Birkenhead Park, Liverpool. PREFACE TO THE AMERICAN EDITION When it was first proposed that I undertake the American revision of this work I accepted the opportunity with high anticipations. Kemp's Landscape Gardening was one of the first books on the subject I had ever read, and one of the most delightful. I had used it for years as a reference book in my classes. I expected that the work of revision would be easy and entertaining. So far as the simplicity of the task was concerned I was soon better informed. Though I have not ceased to enjoy the work, I have found it a much greater task than I had supposed. On hundreds of pages it has been almost impos- sible to separate the gist of good advice from the detail of old English practice in which it was imbedded. Oftener than I had expected I found myself in disagreement with the recommendations of the author. In such cases it became very difficult to decide whether the author's methods had been outgrown in the general improvement of landscape gardening since his day, whether his methods were simply unfashionable at this moment in America, or whether it was merely a difference of opinion between author and reviser. In cases of the first kind I have not hesitated to eliminate outgrown methods and to substitute the rules of more modern practice. In those of the second kind, where merely a chang- ing fashion is involved, I have usually retained the author's views, adding some note of present American ideas. In cases of the third kind, where there appeared to be only a difference of opinion, it is hardly necessary to say that I have allowed Preface xiii the author's text to stand intact, reserving the expression of my own views for some more appropriate opportunity. The reader will readily understand, therefore, that where the personal pronoun, first person, occurs in the text it always means Edward Kemp. The work of Kemp will be better understood and more enjoyed if it is studied in connection with the work of his contemporaries, particularly Repton, Milner, Loudon and Downing; for America, the comparison with Downing is most natural and most instructive. There is, of course, no space in this book for a critical comparison of these various workers, but a slight introduction to such a study will be found in the biographical note on Kemp included herewith. There is every reason to believe that, with the remarkable popularization and no less remarkable liberalization of land- scape art now going on in America, there will be more interest than ever before in the work of those great men who estab- lished the English (and therefore the American) style of land- scape gardening. F. A. WAUGH. Massachusetts Agricultural College, January, 191 1. BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE Edward Kemp was born at Streatham, Surrey, England, September 25, 181 7, and died at Birkenhead, Liverpool, England, March 2, 1891, in his seventy-fourth year. Even at this early date, less than twenty years since his death, there are very few details of his life and work to be learned. His technical training was gained in the gardens of the Royal Horticultural Society at Chiswick, under Dr. Lindley, and subsequently in private work under Sir Joseph Paxton. In September, 1843, at the age of twenty- five, he was made superintendent of Birkenhead Park, Liverpool, and the remainder of his life was closely connected with that particu- lar enterprise. He designed a number of private places, several of which are illustrated and described in the various editions of his books. His debut as a writer came in 1850, when he put out a small volume under the title "How to Lay out a Small Garden," which was really the germ of the present book. A second edition, illustrated and much enlarged, was issued in 1858. A third and yet larger edition appeared in 1864. The chronological list of his principal writings is as follows: 1850. "How to Lay out a Small Garden"; intended as a guide to amateurs in choosing, forming or improving a place, with reference to both design and execution. London, Brad- bury & Evans. 212 pp., 8vo. 1850. Editor, "The Handbook of Gardening," tenth edition. xvi Biographical Note 1851. "Parks, Gardens, etc., of London and its Suburbs." London. i2mo. 1858. "How to Lay out a Small Garden," 2d ed., en- larged and illustrated. London. i2ino., about 400 pp. 1858. Same. First American edition, Wiley & Halstead. New York. 403 pp., nmo. 1864. Same. Third Edition (English) again revised and enlarged. London, Bradbury & Evans. 428 pp., 8vo. .1880. Same, Second American Edition, John Wiley & Sons, New York. 403 pp. nmo. At his death Mr. Kemp was buried in Flaybrick Hill Ceme- tery, Birkenhead, of which he had been the designer. At a meeting of the Burial Board for the Parish of Liverpool held at their offices, Anfield Park Cemetery, on Thursday the 2d of April, 1 89 1, it was unanimously "Resolved, That the Board has heard with much regret of the recent death of Edward Kemp, Esq., the eminent Landscape Gardener and Garden Architect to whose genius Liverpool and its Burial Board are indebted for the Anfield Park Cemetery. Mr. Kemp furnished the Design, also zeal- ously and faithfully attended to the laying out and embel- lishment of the Grounds. " Through his strict integrity and dignified conduct the Burial Board soon after its origin escaped many evils, and, prompted by his solicitude for the future good manage- ment and reputation of the Cemetery (at the request of the Board and in its interest) he induced his Draughtsman, Assistant and Friend, Mr. Wm. Wortley to undertake the Superintendence of the Estate, which he has so ably man- aged for the period of twenty-eight years. " Further, that this Resolution be recorded upon the Minutes as a tribute of high respect to the memory of the departed, and that this expression of the Board's sincere Biographical Note xvii regret and condolence be conveyed to the Relatives of the Late Mr. Kemp." Extracted from the Proceedings, ELEAZOR ROBERTS, Clerk to the Burial Board. A memorial card circulated at the time of his death had, according to the then prevailing fashion, a tribute in verse, which read: " He made the Landscape meet the eye With Beauty: and turned the barren wastes To noble Parks and Gardens of the Lord. Thus Nature's rugged face By Art he wreathed with winsome smiles That woo'd the Children of the City, and the Sons Of grimy toil and gave delight to all." J. C. P. Although I have employed two expert English antiquarians for the search, and though I have myself visited the scene of his principal labors for the same purpose, it has not been possible to add any important facts to this meager biography of an able and useful man. His most enduring memorial will certainly be his book on "Landscape Gardening; or How to Lay out a Garden." F. A. WAUGH. LIST OF PLATES Springtime in the Garden Frontispiece Plate Op. Page I. Stone Steps with Plantings 10 II. Shores of the Charles River 26 III. On the Biltmore Estate, North Carolina 42 IV. Lawn Vista from House Veranda 58 V. Lawn Vista and Groupings 74 VI. Old-fashioned Garden 90 VII. Rustic Bridge in Rock Creek Park 106 VIII. Wistarias and Subtropical Plants 122 IX. Entrance and Drive, Biltmore Estate ♦. 138 X. Plantings along a Driveway 154 XI. A Pleasant Winter Walk 170 XII. Excellent Water Surface with Background and Sky Line 186 XIII. Vista across a Pond 202 XIV. Effective Grouping of Trees 218 XV. Wide Road with Border and Screen 234 XVI. Entrance to a Ten-acre Private Place 250 XVII. Effective Water Surface and Grouping 258 XVIII. Pleasant Naturalistic Lawn on a Georgia Estate . . . 266 XIX. Good Water Surface, Good Borders, Good Back- ground, Good Sky Line 274 XX. In the Wild Garden 282 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure Page i. Improper Grade for a Lawn 16 2. Convex-Concave Grade for a Lawn 16 3. Plan of a House with Reference to the Grounds 19 4. Arrangement of an American House 22 5. Outline Plan of a Place 24 6. Tree Belt — Monotonous 36 7. Same as Fig. 6 — Improved 36 8. Monotonous Belt on Rolling Land 37 9. Improvement of Fig. 8 37 10. Method of Grading for Walks 57 11. Practical Perspective 60 12. Vista Showing Distant Views 62 13. Treatment of Flat Foreground 64 14. Treatment of Foreground with Water View 66 15. Treatment of Curved Walk 70 16. Grouping Shrubs along a Walk 71 17. Typical Group 71 18. Elevation of Group 73 19. Group on High Land 74 20. Plan of Proper Grouping 75 21. Method of Diversifying Views from Residence 76 22. Vistas with Cross- Views 79 23. Treatment of Boundary 81 24. Location of Group on a Knoll 82 25. Treatment of Grades 83 26. Branching of Straight Walk no 27. Various Treatments of Formal Walks 113 28. Various Forms of Flower Beds 116 29. Other Forms of Flower Beds 118 30. Terrace Treatment of Rising Ground 121 31. Grades about a House 122 32. A Type of the Picturesque 125 33. Oblique Turn-in from Public Road 133 34. Turn-in at Right Angles 134 35. Carriage Turn for Small Grounds 138 36. Carriage Turn with Embellishment 139 37. Branching of a Walk 141 38. Grading to a Walk I42 39. Grading to a Walk 143 40. Sunken Wall or Fence ^ xxi xxii Illustrations Figure p AGK 41. Sloping Invisible Iron Fence 144 42. Common Wire Fence Sunken 145 43. Boundary Wall with Planting 146 44. Rustic Fence ^8 45. Simple Protector for Tree 148 46. Tree Protected by Undergrowth 149 47. Proper Form for Border Planting 151 48. Two Groups which look like One 153 49. A Mixed Group 154. 50. A Good Picturesque Grouping 154 51. How to Plant a Hill 155 52. Terrace Disguised by Plantings 169 53. Plan of an Architectural Garden 171 54. How to Manage a Hedge 189 55. Plan of a Home Park 201 56. Design of Residence Grounds 205 57. A Secluded Flower Garden 207 58. Design for a Rose Garden 215 59. The Arrangement of a Collection 218 60. Design for a Bowling Green 221 61. Plan of an Artificial Pond 227 62. Forming the Bank of a Lake 229 63. Lake Shore Planting 230 64. Rustic Bridge on Simple Lines 231 65. Design of a Summer House 236 66. Gate Lodge and Entrance 247 67. Simple Lodge and Entrance 249 68. Imposing Recessed Entrance 250 69. An Unusual Type of Entrance ,• • • ■ 2 5 I 70. Plan of a Seaside Garden 254 71. Section through Garden Shown in Fig. 70 255 72. Cross Section of Drain 260 73. Cross Section of Drain 260 74. Excavation for Walk 262 75. Different Forms of Walks 267 76 and 77. Setting a Tree to Stay 281 78. Staking a Tree 282 79. Staking a Large Tree 282 LANDSCAPE GARDENING CHAPTER I The Choice of a Place From that beautiful variety of taste which brings the com- monest persons into association with the more cultivated, and secures for objects that many would regard as inferior a cer- tain amount of approbation and patronage, scarcely any two individuals will be disposed to select, where there is a full latitude of choice and a thorough knowledge of every peculi- arity, precisely the same spot for a residence. What would perfectly satisfy one might be displeasing to another. The conditions that some would even detest others might actually covet. And this it is, united to the fact that few can obtain exactly all they desire, and that the alternative must gener- ally lie between situations which comprise a greater or less proportion of the required capabilities, that distributes the population of our towns pretty equally over the suburbs, and brings districts into use that would otherwise remain entirely waste or be devoted only to the farmer or the grazier. Railways, however, with their annual contracts for con- veyance, and the rapidity, ease, and certainty of transit, are now gradually bringing other parts of the country within the range of selection, and enabling the town merchant or man of business to locate himself from ten to twenty, or even forty or fifty miles from the town, and thus get the benefit of coun- try air and rural pleasures. And from the greater abundance Landscape Gardening and cheapness of land in such districts a wider field of choice is afforded, and more scope for the exercise of judgment and taste. Although, therefore, every person will necessarily have his own peculiar inclinations, and the opportunities of gratifying a refined feeling may be very limited, it is right that a book like the present, which professes merely to be suggestive, should point out those characteristics most generally desirable in a place, and which might not be thought of, or would pos- sibly be but lightly regarded, if not thus specifically presented, leaving every one to the exercise of his individual wishes. i. Accessibility. — The question which first arises in the mind of an inquirer after a site for a residence is determined is, how it will be accessible. There may be different opinions as to the kind of road preferable for getting at a dwelling- place, but an actual necessity exists that there should be some convenient mode of access. Many would desire to fix themselves near a well-frequented road, while some would rather be situated on the side of a more retired and private thoroughfare. It will be obvious however, that the road by which a place is approached should be a sound one, likely to be kept in good repair and capable of being used at all times. A bad road that has to be frequently traveled, is not merely an inconvenience and a nuisance, but gives a most unfavorable impression of a place to visitors; and a private road, that is closed at night, may occasion a good deal of trouble and discomfort. To settle in a place to which there is no good road already formed, or where one cannot be built, will seldom be other- wise than productive of misery. A mere expectation that a road will be made should never be held sufficient, for a house may stand in a state of isolation several years, cut off, as it were, from all proper connection with the world, if the road The Choice of a Place to it or past it be not already in existence or certain to be opened. It will be well to calculate, further, the length of road or drive which will have to be made and kept in order by the owner or occupant of a place. Road-making is an expensive process in most districts, and the due preservation of roads is always troublesome. While, therefore, the having to provide a considerable length of private drive in order to get at a place will be an advantage in the way of conferring more privacy and retirement, it must be looked upon as a source of increased outlay and additional subsequent labor. Where there is any possibility of obtaining such a piece of land, it is most important that it should have a public road along one of its sides only, and that this road should be on the north, north-east, or north-west boundary. Access will thus be given to the house at the point which is of least conse- quence in regard to views, and the warmer and better sides can be kept open and private. Entrance from any other point would always more or less interfere with the lawn and the more ornamental parts of the garden, besides laying bare some of the best windows of the house or involving the necessity of giving these an inferior aspect. This is assum- ing, however, that the site be chosen with reference to a proper aspect and views for the house. Comparative nearness to a railway station will, even where a vehicle is kept, be a decided acquisition; for there are cer- tain to be times when either the owner or his friends will want to make use of these conveniences. In wet weather, especially, it will be unpleasant to have to walk far before reaching some kind of conveyance. Proximity to some seat of business, where at least the neces- saries of life can be readily procured, will also be an advantage. To have to send a great distance for articles of food when Landscape Gardening there may be an unexpected demand for them, will generally be a heavy tax upon patience and time. The situation ought likewise to be within reach, by an easy and pleasant walk, of some suitable place of worship. It should be recollected that roads on which there is much traffic bring a large amount of dust at certain seasons, while they render a house and garden more exposed to observation from the foot-passengers or the travelers on public vehicles. A place on a small and less frequented road, at a little dis- tance from a great highway, will therefore be more comfort- able and more secluded than one which lies by the side of a turnpike road. And this view of the case will further serve to show the undesirableness of having a property entirely surrounded by roads. Arable lands, fields, open country, or other gardens and private estates, will be the best possible accompaniments on all the southerly sides of a place. Anything in the way of a public path crossing a property, and severing it into two parts, or a public road passing across a plot in the same manner, would seriously prejudice its value. When such things are carried through an estate with- out being fenced off, they lay bare certain portions of it to the public eye, and, what is worse, subject it to continual trespass. And to fence off a path or road of this description would greatly mutilate a place, and give it a small and con- fined appearance. Nor is it at all easy to get established pathways diverted, unless a more direct route can be pre- pared for them. The nuisance of having a place thus open to the use of all, in populous districts, can hardly be exag- gerated. In this, as in a variety of similar cases, however, circum- stances that would- be inconvenient and objectionable to most persons might be altogether unproductive of annoyance to others; for no rule of life is more true or of more universal The Choice of a Place application than that things are not so much discomforting or pleasurable in themselves, but are just what they are con- sidered to be. So that what would be intolerable to many might become perfectly inoffensive to those who were deter- mined to regard it favorably. 2. Neighborhood Environment. — Besides the advantage of having the property on the best boundaries of a place congenially treated, and appropriated to agricultural or gar- den purposes, or left to the rudeness and picturesqueness of nature, it is of consequence that the whole of the surrounding property be of a similar character, and that it be not covered with cottage tenements, or crowded with any kind of inferior houses, or the atmosphere darkened by the smoke and pol- luted by the gases from large manufactories. To live amidst fields and gardens and cultivated or unassisted nature, or to have only the vicinity of kindred or superior places, is a luxury well worth the sacrifice of some trifling conveniences and the traveling a mile or two further from a town. There is so much calculated to offend and to annoy in a closely peopled neighborhood, especially if it be crowded with small cottages, that the majority of persons will gladly shun it. Not only, however, will it be well to look closely into the character of the surrounding district, and ascertain how it is actually built upon or appropriated, and by what class of persons it is populated, but the probable uses of the neigh- borhood should likewise be considered. A particular local- ity may at the time of choosing it appear highly rural, and have every desirable characteristic, whereas in a few years it may become densely covered with small houses or obnox- ious manufactories, be cut up into narrow roads, and other- wise be completely spoiled as a place for residence. For all these things, then, due calculation must be made; and though no human foresight can reach anything like certainty in such Landscape Gardening a matter, especially considering the rapid transitions which property is now frequently undergoing, diligent investigation will commonly prove a tolerably safe guide. Those localities unquestionably offer the greatest security in regard to the preservation of a respectable and partially rural character wherein large tracts are in the hands of one or two proprietors who bind lessees or purchasers to build only a certain number and class of houses on the land and themselves agree to lay it out strictly according to a definite plan. Here there is something approaching to absolute cer- tainty, and a person may settle on a given spot with the full knowledge of what alone can be done by all his neighbors, and the actual pecuniary and social status of those neighbors. Where several plots of land overlook fine natural scenery, as on the shores of large rivers, lakes, or the sea, that which is nearest the object itself will generally be the most eligible, if other things are about equal. For the view over a natural landscape that is incapable of alteration, and with no inter- vening space that can ever be used by another party, becomes perfectly safe from interruption at any future period, and may be treated much more liberally and with reference solely to individual wants and tastes. Every position farther from the scenery most worth preserving, however unencumbered the view from it may be, will be liable to have that view more or less intercepted by the uses to which the interposing property may be put, unless the elevation be very consider- able and the slope of the ground rapid and almost precipitous. If, again, land on both sides of a public road commands the same beautiful scenery, that which is on the side nearest the scenery itself will be greatly superior as the site for a house and garden; because, on the opposite plot, a partial plantation will have to be made to screen the place from the road, and this will, to some extent, block out the view, while The Choice of a Place 7 the owner will be thoroughly dependent, in respect to land- scape, on what may be done by his opposite neighbor in the way of both planting and building. It will be most unlikely — almost impossible — that some of this latter should not entirely obstruct every open sight into the country beyond. 3. Historical Considerations. — What has formerly been done upon a place may be by no means an insignificant, and will certainly be an interesting, question. The part which it plays in local histories or legends, and the associations which previous ownership or occupation or uses may fasten upon it, are all worthy of scrutiny, and may help either to endear and enliven a spot or to clothe it with gloomy and repulsive features. To be able to trace back the possession of a property by one or more families through a long series of years will be almost as pleasing to some minds as having a lengthened and well-ascertained personal pedigree; and though many would not care to know who have been the former owners and for how long a period the history can be made out, to others such a record will be full of attraction. The very trees and shrubs, if any old ones exist, will be all the more pregnant with interest when it is authentically made out by whom and when they were planted. In reviving ancient recollections and usages, or searching after mementos of former times, a variety of hints may be gleaned as to the treatment of a place, or objects brought to bear upon the composition of its landscape, which will be exceedingly remunerative. A valuable spring or well may be laid bare; a charming ruin may be contrived from existing fragments; the first step in a train of interesting antiquarian researches may be stumbled on; family histories, which are often the key to greater memorials, may be brought to light; Landscape Gardening and, what is not entirely unimportant, an excellent and char- acteristic name for the property may be suggested: for, in the prevailing fashion for distinguishing every place, however small, with a separate title, those are usually happiest who have some historical or local circumstance on which to found it. The old and common names of fields are often highly characteristic, and, when sufficiently descriptive or eupho- nious, there is great propriety in adopting the ancient title of any part of a property intended for a residence, but more particularly of the field on which the house is to be built or the garden founded. 4. Altitude. — The relative elevation of the district, or of the particular site selected in it, will have a great influence on the healthiness, comfort, and scenery of a place. A tract that is low and flat is always damper, and consequently colder. I have often noticed dips in a road along which I have been accustomed to travel in winter evenings, where, by the much greater coldness of the atmosphere in such lower parts (even though no water existed), I could distinguish the arrival at them with closed eyes; and where rivers or streams or other pieces of water exist in hollows, their dampness and coldness are of course increased. Fogs are always more prev- alent in valleys or low level tracts, and it is a well-ascer- tained fact that spring frosts are felt much later, and autumn frosts earlier, in lowland districts and near the course of streams than on the sides or summits of hills. A rather elevated or hilly tract, though more exposed to winds than a flatter locality, will, if it have a good aspect and slope in the right direction, be drier and warmer in winter and command much finer views of the country. It will be more likely to be free from all kinds of nuisances, to be out of the way of cottage property, and to escape from the gaze of travelers along contiguous roads. Where a house and The Choice of a Place garden are lower than the outside road, it is extremely diffi- cult to shut them in effectually. From a gentle eminence, too, it will be easy to conceal all the bad features of the adjoining property and to make use of all the better objects in enhancing the beauty and variety of a scene. Any extravagant height, however, above the rest of the country will produce an amount of exposure, both for the house and the garden, which will destroy some of the enjoy- ment derivable from a habitation and prevent the plants in a garden from flourishing luxuriantly. It would, moreover, occasion some inconvenience in regard to the approach. To have constantly to toil up a steep ascent before a place can be reached will neither be agreeable to man nor horse, and will contribute somewhat to lengthen the journey. A very mod- erate elevation is therefore best, and will be specially appro- priate where any member of the family has delicate health and cannot endure much in the way of bracing winds. 5. Soil. — Of almost greater moment than the altitude of a district is the character of the soil, and this, rather as it affects the health and the comfort than with reference to its influence on garden produce and operations, although the latter is far from being a matter of indifference. Scarcely anything will grow well on thoroughly stiff land, and it is very unpleasant and laborious to work it,, besides requiring more attention as to the choice of weather for going upon it than can usually be afforded. Nothing is more unsatisfactory than to have a house and garden on a clay soil. No amount of draining will convert it into an agreeable and open state. And whatever ingre- dients may be added, or amelioration by working it may be attempted, it will still remain more or less cold and sticky, and in some degree unfit for developing vegetable life per- fectly. It will be bad to keep clean, and to dig, and to crop, 10 Landscape Gardening and to walk upon. It will be cold and greasy in wet weather, and cake together and crack during drought. Few vegetable crops will succeed in it, and a still smaller number of flowers. Even grass grown upon it will generally be either very wet or very dry; and the atmosphere above it will be correspond- ency cold and moist throughout the winter. Unless the utmost care be used to prevent any part of a building from coming into contact with it, a considerable dampness will be communicated from it to the walls, and a house will thus be made exceedingly miserable. Land of a light and open texture is, on the contrary, con- ducive to both health and enjoyment and renders a house comfortable and a garden delightful at all times. It never becomes too wet; it is readily worked in almost any weather; it makes a lawn pleasant to walk upon and encourages the growth of the finer grasses; it is the best of soil for flowers, and, with due enrichment, for vegetables and fruit trees; and, in short, for any purpose it will be found either perfectly suitable or capable of quickly being made so. Nor is the surface soil alone of consequence, for the sub- stratum will continually more or less affect the upper crust. A cold and clayey foundation soil, or a close retentive layer of gravel, will act upon the roots of all the larger growing plants, and tend to produce feebleness and disease after they have once reached it. A rocky, chalky, or sandy bottom will be much the driest, and altogether the most calculated to promote human enjoyment and vegetable health. It follows, therefore, that a light and porous (though not a very sandy or friable or shallow) soil, on a dry and open, or rocky foundation, will be the best to build upon,, so as to secure dryness and warmth in a house, and the fittest to make a garden pleasurable and to supply the conditions most needed by the bulk of vegetables, flowers, and fruits. The Choice of a Place n And it will, in point of economy, do away with some, at least, of the necessity for artificial drainage. Lest this conclusion, however, should be unduly appropri- ated, it may be well to state that it applies only to garden ground and to the site of a residence; and that, even for the former, any extreme of lightness or sandiness will be apt to occasion withered grass in the summer and the necessity for increased manuring in the kitchen garden. For all farming purposes a moderately heavy land is decidedly preferable, as, if properly drained and carefully worked, it will yield far more abundant crops at a much lighter expense in the way of manure. 6. Boundaries. — With respect to the shape or outline of a small place, that form is most suitable which is simple, free from all acutely angular corners and any great irregularities. A place that has many angles or a very broken outline is less capable of being made either useful or ornamental, and requires a larger amount of fencing, which is always expen- sive. Very narrow pieces of land are also to be avoided, as affording no scope for variety of treatment and presenting the hard boundary lines too prominently. That boundary is unquestionably the best which is com- posed of pretty regular lines and brings the whole into a somewhat oblong figure, of which the greatest length is north and south, or nearly so, the length being about one-third greater than the breadth. Such a shape is particularly adapted for the geometrical style of gardening. In the freer English manner a little more irregularity of outline might be preferable. If the southerly end of such a plot be the broadest, this will be a decided merit generally, as it will afford a wider range of view and make the whole appear larger from the best windows of the house. A nearly triangular figure, the narrow end of which is cut 12 Landscape Gardening off and not drawn to a point, and the broader end having a rather southerly aspect, will be a desirable shape for a small piece of land. If there be space enough for the entrances on the northern side, the increased and expanding breadth at the southern part will be of great consequence from an ornamen- tal point of view. At the same time nothing could be more unfortunate than to have a plot gradually narrowing away on the best side of the house; and a shape at all approaching to a triangle, with the narrow part fronting the principal win- dows of the house, would be one of the worst that could be selected, unless the slope of the land be a very rapid one towards the south, and the property immediately in front be of a decidedly open and park-like character. On the whole, then, the spot that requires the least quan- tity of fencing, which gives sufficient room for access on the entrance front, and which widens out towards the extreme verge on the best side of the house, will, by admitting a greater breadth and variety of prospect, and more light and air, as well as by imparting an appearance of extent and rendering the fences cheaper and easier to preserve, be in all respects preferable. 7. Climate. — Where a person is in some measure tied to a particular district by business or other connections, of course there cannot be much latitude of choice in regard to climate. But those who have habituated themselves to observe dif- ferences of this kind will know that within the circuit of a few miles around any town there will be found the most striking variations of climate, according as certain winds pre- vail or particular degrees of elevation or forest growth exist. In the neighborhood of towns a knowledge of the prevail- ing winds is of very great moment, for at the opposite point from which they come there will generally be a greater visi- tation of smoke and other nuisances. But if the parts over The Choice of a Place i 3 which smoke would thus frequently travel are elevated, the atmosphere will not be so much polluted as it would were they low and flat. Hilly tracts, again, as previously mentioned, are not so liable to be affected with dense and disagreeable fogs. Regarding the most desirable aspect for a place, more posi- tive rules can be given. A slope that inclines to the south- east is unquestionably the best for every purpose. It is more healthy, more cheerful, better suited for the growth of plants, drier, and warmer, than any other that can be chosen. A garden that has not a good aspect is seldom enjoyable. It will usually be damp and cold, the walks mossy, and the plants unhealthy. It will be wanting in the great charm pro- duced by light and shade. Flowers will not develop them- selves freely and finely nor will fruits be abundant or good. In fact, with a bad aspect, the beauty of a garden and the pleasure it produces will be greatly marred. It is true that, in looking over an extensive landscape, the effects are sometimes heightened and improved, and the observer is able to examine them better, when the sun is behind him, and he can stand in the shade to scrutinize a richly illumined scene. Every feature thus becomes more distinct, the eye is not pained or dazzled, and the atmosphere appears clearer. But the benefit obtained by these results would never atone for the great disadvantages of a northerly aspect; and they can, moreover, often be realized from the entrance front of a place, without any sacrifice of outlook. 8. Shelter. — To render a place of residence thoroughly delightful it should not be destitute of shelter; and, where this exists naturally, or is already provided, the spot will be all the more eligible as the site for a house and garden. If a good range of hills extend along the north, north-east, and north-west sides of a plot and at no great distance from 14 Landscape Gardening it, it will be admirably sheltered. No position could be warmer or more favorable than one on the slope or at a short distance from the base of such a range of hills. They will ward off all the worst and most unhealthy winds to which this country is exposed, without at all interfering with the action of the sun at any time of the day, or during any part of the year. In hilly countries, there is often a considerable depression or hollow in the face of the hills, caused by the projection of large arms or buttresses on either side; and the basin thus formed, if it front any point near the south, will yield a par- ticularly warm and snug retreat for a house and homestead. Masses of well-grown trees on the northerly sides of a place would be an excellent substitute for hills, and may occa- sionally be more pleasant and congenial. Plantations are always highly effective in regard to shelter, and it is a great point to find them already on the ground. Independently of shelter, however, if trees have not been drawn up and spoiled by neglect, there can scarcely be too many of them on any spot intended for habitation. Nothing is easier than to thin out and remove them, and there is always a great pleasure resulting from the formation of open- ings through old plantations, to get views of the outside country. If the trees be not unhealthy, therefore, and are well supplied with branches, the more abundantly they exist, the greater will be the capabilities of a place. Large or aged trees and shrubs are also valuable in destroying all semblance of newness or rawness in a garden, in giving an appearance of age and cultivation, in shutting out bad objects, in improv- ing the outlines and grouping of new plantations, and in sup- plying an increased amount and play of agreeable shadow. Available outbuildings, or walls, or fences of any kind, should not be wholly disregarded. A good existing fence, The Choice of a Place i 5 especially if it be a hedge where such a thing would be wanted, will be of the greatest use, as it would take many years to rear it. But it is better that a plot should be wholly without every description of appurtenance than that things of an improper class or of bad construction or in a wrong position should exist to tempt the purchaser to retain them, as the greatest dissatisfaction is commonly experienced from patch- ing up an old house or other building that is not strictly suitable, and which can never afterwards be made so. It is far more pleasurable, and in the end more economical, to arrange and erect everything anew, than to submit to great inconvenience for the sake of preserving some relic of things that actually exist, because they happen to be ancient. 9. The View. — Whatever kind of view is sought to be obtained from a place can be best compassed where it is situated on a slight eminence; and the rule will hold good whether the view be one of the garden itself, as seen from the house, of natural scenery, of an arable and agricultural dis- trict, of other estates, of a river or a lake or the sea, of distant hills, or of good individual objects. In relation to the garden itself as viewed from the house, some modification of the principle may perhaps seem neces- sary. Although a place, the ground of which rises as it recedes from the house, appears larger, because more of its surface is seen, yet the reverse of this would be the case when looked at from the outside of the garden or from any point just within its boundary; and a slope from the house gives to the latter an appearance of dryness and impor- tance, and enables one to bring in the exterior landscape more easily. This may be better understood by reference to fig. 1, which represents a piece of land the form of which is entirely convex, with the house on its summit. If the ground also rises in a gentle bank, just towards the bound- i6 Landscape Gardening ary, such a slope being more perfectly seen from the house, will enlarge the apparent extent ; the general section of such a plot being shown in fig. 2. But any great amount of convexity in the surface of the ground as it slopes from the house would be an evil because it would seriously fore- shorten the whole and reduce its apparent size materially as Fig. 1. Improper Grade for a Lawn. seen from the windows. A very gentle slope, with only a small portion of roundness in it, will be preferable. One of the chief desiderata in regard to the surface levels of a plot of land is to obtain a good platform, which is toler- ably level, as a site for the house and garden. This will give the house the appearance of being more naturally placed, Fig. 2. Convex- Concave Grade for a Lawn. and will lighten the expense of earthwork and of foundations, while it will, in a hilly country, make the garden more com- fortably accessible. As a general rule the summit of a hill, if it be otherwise than a very low one, with a broad piece of table-land at the top, is not so eligible for a house as the face of an easy slope to the south. In the latter case the The Choice of a Place ij hill itself will afford some degree of shelter and of back- ground, which, with the necessary planting, will soon give a new place a habitable look, such as scarcely any amount of growth in the trees would impart to the crown of a hill. That the best views of things beyond a garden may be had from a partial elevation will be too obvious to need enforcing. In regard to water however, which forms such a beautiful and interesting addition to a landscape, a point of view con- siderably above its level will reveal its outline and extent more distinctly, and is therefore better adapted for large and bold sheets of it than for smaller lakes. Still, it will always be more pleasing and comfortable to be a good deal above a piece of water that it may seem in a valley and that the garden may convey the impression of being elevated. It is far from being desirable that only the features of nature should be seen from a place. The better parts of detached neighboring houses, good public buildings, places of worship, etc., if nicely brought into view, will give an air of habitation and sociality to a district. Rows of houses however, or masses of cottages, unless the latter be pleasing in themselves or picturesquely grouped, will be very unsightly and unsuitable constituents of a landscape. And a spot that overlooks a town, except partially and from a height and so as to catch merely the principal buildings, need never be sought. Still, glimpses of a navigable river, in the immediate vicinity of a large town, may, from the variety and motion of the craft employed upon it, give animation and beauty to a scene. So, likewise, a distant view of a town or of a portion of it where there is any irregularity of surface, or where the principal buildings serve to compose a picture, which is framed by nearer trees and plantations, may occa- sionally be rendered attractive and even striking. io. Aspect. — The principal aspect of a house like that i 8 Landscape Gardening of the garden should be as nearly as possible south-east. This will allow of the entrance being on the north-west side, the breakfast-room or library having a south-east aspect, the drawing-room with a south-east and a south-west window, and the dining-room looking north-east or north-west, which is perhaps the best arrangement. If the kitchen and offices be on the ground floor, they can be kept on the north-east side of the house where the yard will also be situated and from which last there should be a communication with the kitchen garden. A gentle eminence with the ground sloping a little away from it in all directions, especially towards the south, will be the best site for a house. An approach by a rising road and command of the outlying scenery will thus be attained, while the house will be dry and appear to be so. Its dignity and importance will also thus be enhanced. It should be put rather nearer the north-east than the south-west side of a plot that there may be some slight breadth of pleasure garden in front of the side drawing-room window, and that the offices and yard may not be too much obtruded. The center of the house should be about one-third the distance from the entrance to the opposite boundary of the pleasure grounds that two-thirds of the ground may be devoted to the private garden. I have here introduced the ground-plan of an imaginary house (fig. 3) by way of illustrating generally what would be a desirable arrangement of the rooms, windows, offices, etc., with reference to both aspect and convenience. Not that I would pretend to such a knowledge of architectural detail as would induce me to design a house that should actually be erected. But, having given the subject a good deal of con- sideration, and having frequently experienced the difficulty of adapting grounds to what would appear to be great defects The Choice of a Place 19 20 Landscape Gardening in architectural plans, I venture a hint or two on this point as viewed chiefly in the light of my own profession. By the sketch it will be seen that the entrance to the house is from the north-west, that no important windows are on that side, and that the vestibule (i) projects sufficiently beyond the main line of the building to allow of an easy approach to the door by a carriage. The vestibule is lighted from the south-west side and has a recess in it (2) for hats, cloaks, etc., and may be separated from the hall (3) by glass doors. The hall is also lighted by a window from the south- west which would render it cheerful and give it more of the character of a room. It might also have a fire-place opposite the entrance or against the wall that divides it from the staircase. It opens on to a corridor (4) connected with all the principal rooms, and has a large window overlooking the garden at the south-west end and a glass door which is the entrance to the conservatory at the other end. From this corridor, at about the center of the house the staircase (5), which is kept separate from the hall although directly con- nected with it and is opposite the doors of the chief rooms, turns to the north-west and has a broad window on the landing. The drawing-room placed at the south corner of the house, farthest from the offices and nearest the entrance door, has a large bow-window to the south-west, so as to obtain a view of the garden on that side and of the setting sun, and it has likewise two windows on the south-east side. The library or morning room (7) is next to the drawing-room with the window to the south-east; while the dining-room (8) is near the kitchen and offices, farthest from the entrance, and has two doors, one of which, close to the back passage, is for the servants. The principal window of the dining-room is to the south-east. There are two smaller windows to the north-east, one of which looks into the conservatory (9). It The Choice of a Place 21 would thus be a cheerful breakfast or morning room, and the sun will have left it long before the usual dinner hour. The door from the corridor into the conservatory would also serve as a garden door, there being another door opposite to it into the garden. On the north-west side of the house there is an office, busi- ness, or gentleman's room (10), containing a recess for an iron safe (n), and readily accessible from the servants' apart- ments. Next there is a butler's pantry (12), with a recess for a plate safe (13), this apartment being placed as near as possible to the entrance door and the entertaining rooms, besides being in the neighborhood of the kitchen and over- looking, by its window, the approach to the house. At 14, detached alike from the main corridor and from the servants' passage, is a water-closet, and 15 is the housekeeper's room. The kitchen (16) has a scullery (17) and a pantry or store- closet (18) attached to it, the windows looking into the house-yard. A servants' corridor (19) is terminated by a back staircase (20), which is close to the servants' hall (21), the latter having its windows opening to the drying- ground and being near the back entrance. None of the office windows look into the garden or pleasure grounds, as the window for lighting the back corridor may be of dulled glass. In the house-yard (22) there is sufficient space for a cart to turn, and from this yard only is there access to the drying- ground (25), which has a hedge on the side next the house- yard. The coal-shed (24), ash-pit (25), and water-closet (26), are placed in a recess of the house-yard, where they are more out of observation, and the yard is thus left clearer, neater, and more compact. The numbers 27, 28, and 29 refer to a compost and rubbish yard, the kitchen garden, and a flower garden, respectively. 22 Landscape Gardening APPROACH TO HOUSE ■RIGHT OF WAY DRIVE 95 \\