II lill'l Ex Libris C. K. OGDEN THROUGHOUT ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND IRELAND NEW SYSTEM AT BULLS PUBLIC LIBRARY, 19, HOLLES STREET, FOUR DOORS FROM CAVENDISH SQUARE. Edward Bull, Librarian, after many years' experi- ence, has been led to establish a New System at his Library, of which the following are the more prominent features : — 1. The New Publications supplied for perusal, are in the course of the year shared gratis among the Subscribers ; so that every year, a Subscriber can have Two Guineas' worth of any of the New Works to keep. 2. Catalogues, and Boxes for the Country supplies, are pro- vided for Subscribers, free of expense. 3. Two or more families residing in the same neighbourhood are allowed to join in one subscription : and 4. Book Societies are supplied without incurring the great expense and trouble attendant on purchasing their books. THE SUBSCRIPTION IS £8. 8. THE YEAR, Which entitles the Subscriber to 24 volumes at a time, one half of which can be New Publications, and the other half, Books chosen from the Catalogues ; and they can be exchanged as often as the Subscriber pleases. The Sub- scriber is also entitled to have, as a return, at the close of each year, two guineas' worth of any of the new works, in KEEP, and is provided with Catalogues and Boxes, free of expense. *,* Two or more Families in the same neighbourhood arc allowed to join in the above subscription, without any additional charge. The Conditions and Regulations are the same as those fur Societies. Subscriptions to be PAID IE \DV.\\( i .. TERMS FOR SUPPLYING BOOK SOCIETIES. Societies paying £10. 10s. the Year, are entitled to Thirty Volumes in their possession at a time. Societies paying £12. 12s. the Year, are entitled to Thirty- six Volumes in their possession at a time. Societies paying £14. 14s. the Year, are entitled to Forty-two Volumes in their possession at a time. Societies paying £16. 16s. the Year, are entitled to Forty- eight Volumes in their possession at a time. *** Societies, however large, can he supplied at the same ratio as the above, which has been calculated so as to allow each member to have not less than Three Volumes at all times in his possession. Half the Collection can be New Publications, and the remainder can be selected from other modern or standard works, as described in the Catalogues of the Library, which can be exchanged at any interval of time the Society think proper. In order to describe the extended system of accommoda- tion at his Library, E. Bull begs to state, that in the course of each year, there are published from Six to Eight Hundred New Works, in History — Sacred, Profane, and Natural ; Voyages, Travels, Biography; Moral and Political Philo- sophy, the Popular Sciences, Divinity, Belles Lettres, Poetry, and Fiction, — to any of which Subscribers can have imme- diate access, as well as to the valuable collection of Standard Works, as described in the English and Foreign Catalogues. The preceding Terms, E. Bull has endeavoured to give so fully and satisfactorily, that parties at remote distances from London, can at once commence subscribing, without the delay, trouble, and expense, attending a correspondence. He has also published a list of some valuable and popular works in his Library, including all the New Publications, (which can be sent by post as a single letter) to assist Sub- scribers in making up their orders for the first collection of Books to be sent, and with which he can also send the com- plete Catalogues of the Library. THE PARTERRE. V THE PARTERRE: WHOLE ART ^farming Jftotorr <@arfcng, C. F. FERRIS, Esq. HonDon : EDWARD BULL, HOLLES STREET. 1887. ■*~>®>\ LONDON : C. RICHARDS, PRINTER, 100, ST. MARTINS LANE. CONTENTS. Page Address . . . . . iii Of the Parterre . . . . .9 Plate I. — The figure of a Parterre slightly embroid- ered, with cut-work and borders . . .17 Plate II. — The figure of a Parterre of turf — embroidery and borders of the cut-work . ; 19 Plate III. — The figure of a Parterre of nothing but cut-work and plots of glass . . .20 Plate IV. — A Parterre of turf alone, with an outward hedge (only) of box . . . .22 Plate V. — The figure of a Parterre of only cut-work 27 Plate VI. — The figure of a Parterre, whose centre is grass and cut-work, embroidered, and finished with borders of turf . . . . .29 Plate VII. — The figure of a Parterre embroidered only . . . . . .32 Plate VIII. — The figure of a Parterre whose centre is all cut-work, with borders of embroidery . 39 Plate IX. — The figure of a Parterre whose centre is embroidered, and the borders cut-work . . 40 Plate X. — A collection of differently shaped beds, which may be put about your turf " ad libitum" . 11 Plate XL — The figure of a Parterre whose centre is partly of turf, partly of embroidery, and partly cut- work, with borders of turf and cut-work . ,43 Methinks I see great Dioclesian walk In the Salonian Garden's noble shade, Which by his own imperial hands was made : I see him smile (methinks) as he docs talk With the ambassadors, who come in vain T' entice bim to a throne again. ' If I, my friends (said he) should to you show, All the delights which in these gardens grow ; 'Tis likelier much that you should with me stay, Thau 'tis that you should cany me away : And trust me not, my friends, if ev'ry day I walk not here with more delight, Than ever, after the most happy fight, In triumph, to the Capitol, I rode, To thank the Gods, and to be thought, myself, almost a God.'" Cowlft. ADDRESS. The title-page to this little book will sufficiently explain the intention of its publication : with the frequent use of the Parterre in the present day, and a love for flowers, amounting almost to a passion, its entrance into public life may, perhaps, meet with a tolerable reception. By a reference to the designs, and the directions accompanying them — which have been concentrated in as brief a form us possible — either their IV ADDRESS. resemblances may be executed with ease, if approved of; or, by having gleaned some general notions of what a Parterre is, every one may use those which his fancy suggests : — not then limited to such formal beds as are marked out by the line of equal breadth and length, or, what is worse, the wretched adoption of those patty and gingerbread fabrications of turf and mould, which so clearly indicate a mind devoid of taste in these matters. To the Ladies I would say, that it falls as much within their province, as that of the amateur gentleman or pro- fessional gardener; — and I know T not a more agreeable sight, than an accom- plished woman, like another Flora with ADDRESS. V her attendants, marshalling out her men, and seated amongst her gardeners, superintending the execution of the different figures of a Parterre. C. F. Ferris. Dallinyton, August 1st, 1837. OF THE PARTERRE. OF THE PARTERRE. Before you proceed to trace out any Parterre, it will be necessary that some attention should be paid to the situation of your ground, and the quality of its soil ; for, to have the best flower gardens, it is not alone requisite to have them well cut out, but, also, to select a proper aspect and ground-plot. But as this precaution, at first starting, might be the means of discouraging a beginner, unless he should be so fortunate as to possess the situa- tion I would prescribe, I have put it merely in the nature of a preference, as, indeed, (as I shall afterwards prove) it is all that it amounts to, rather than that 1 should confine B 10 OF THE PARTERRE. him, by so arbitrary a restraint, to any one piece of ground more than another. Experience is daily assuring us, that there are gardens in every aspect, and made on almost every soil, which produce excellent flowers ; the objections extending no farther than to your plants being placed too much in the shade, which maybe generally remedied by removing whatever impedes the warmth of the sun, in the one instance ; and the barrenness or poverty of a soil, which may be conquered by the assistance of artificial earth, in the other. It is a needless scruple, therefore, to tie down the followers of this kind of gardening to a particular place, or to say more than this — that there are some spots, which un- doubtedly is the case, of greater advantage to the growth of flowers than others,, that should always be sought for ; but this, how- ever it may bias one contending for the prize among florists, can, in no way, I am sure, OF THE PARTERRE. 11 alienate the practicability of executing, with every ease and beauty of effect, any one of these Parterres, in any soil or aspect you please. Where you are at liberty to make a choice of locality, we know that a garden inclining, and looking towards the east, is preferable to any other, because the wet is not suffered to remain longer than is sufficient to moisten the plants, and the sun, at his rising, coming to dart, with the early warmth of his beams, upon the flowers, gives them a greater luxu- riance than they would have in any other situation. But this declivity may not always be required, particularly in sandy, lean, and arid soils, where the water may be of greater benefit than inj ury to them. Flowers have not naturally an antipathy to wet, provided it be not immoderate : but the soil that seems most to suit them, is one neither too moist nor too dry. When such is the case, that the roots grow weak and canker, through moisture, 12 OF THE PARTERRE. and this cannot be drained without great expense, then this sloping situation must be had if possible ; but should it so happen that your grounds lie in a flat, I would not have you, on that account only, abandon your hope of making a garden, since, in these days of improvement, there are so many ways of counteracting every evil, too well known to delay me any longer on this subject. The south is thought not to be so kindly to flowers of a tender constitution as the east ; and, therefore, that aspect is to be taken in preference to the former, where you have the means of making this choice : but whatever the exposition of your garden, it may do well enough for the culture of flowers sufficiently gay and numerous to deck, very handsomely, the borders of a Parterre. OF THE PARTERRE. 13 The French, as I learn from the Sieur Liger of Auxerre, to whom I am indebted for some very valuable information throughout my work, and whose name I very gladly quote, to prove that these inventions of mine are not mere chimeras of the brain, but substantial possibilities, and may all of them be executed with the different advantages I have described, were accustomed to divide the Parterre into three principal parts, which, for the sake of distinction, I shall here call Embroideries, (as they may be said to be, from their resem- blance to those draughts on satin or cloth, &c.) Cut Works, and Turf Plots : all of which to- gether, or any one of them singly, according to the taste of the person, were made use of in the composition of the flower garden. This branchwork, or embroidery, was generally traced out with box on a groundwork of white or yellow gravel; and where your draughts were so large as to require ;i separation of the 14 OF THE PARTERRE. tracery into two lines, to avoid the appearance of any clumsiness which too great a clump of it coming together might occasion, the chasm was then filled up with any differently coloured earth you pleased, which gave a very fine relief, and charming effect to the whole ; but, at all other times, it was made by marking out with box any pattern you pleased, and which, under skilful hands, can be managed with such a nicety, that a coat of arms, with the minutest parts of the several quarters, may be very prettily de- scribed; preserving, continually in a green and flourishing state, the heraldry of a family ! This I remember once to have seen at a noble- man's residence, and to have been highly de- lighted with, as a very naive idea of those who can boast of a descent from the Lion-hearted Saxon, or of any who feel a dash of the Plan- tagenet in their veins. The Cut Works are those disjointed pieces OF THE PARTERRE. 15 for flower beds, which may be distinguished from those which are of grass, by being lightly tinted of a mould colour. The box hedges, which edge, support, and surround the dif- ferent figures, with the exception of those of turf, which form their own edge, are repre- sented by their boundary lines; where they are ruled double, it signifies a double hedge, as will be explained in its proper place. The embroideries are not painted gi-een, similar to the figures of turf (though, from being formed of box, they will cause the same relief in nature) as it has been judged sufficient to mark them here, by rather a darker shade than the bor- ders of mould : besides their very easy distinc- tion from other parts, by the nature of their shapes. The only thing that remains now unexplained is the space between the different figures, which is to be gravelled : the yellow tint of the paper will stand proxy for it. This is all the information that I thought 16 OF THE PARTERRE. was necessary to be given, previously to the more pleasing part of trying your skill in cut- ting out. You may now proceed to that de- lightful task ; and to those who have eman- cipated themselves from the turmoil of the world, and resolved to spend, amid the plea- sures of a country life, the remainder of their days — to such, I flatter myself, I may hold out a no very vain hope of succeeding, by these few hints — " Ducere solicits jucunda oblivia vitae." OF THE PARTERRE. 17 PLATE I. THE FIGURE OF A PARTERRE SLIGHTLY EMBROIDERED, WITH CUT WORK AND BORDERS. Where you have a rich collection of geraniums and other choice flowers, no form of garden can show them off to better advantage, as, from its being suited to a middling rather than a larger space of ground, the eye is enabled to take in, at one view, the whole melange of colour. The effect of this may be greatly heightened by double hedges of box, which should be planted about as wide apart as the breadth of a single hedge, so as to allow a narrow line of the same gravel as the rest of the paths to be inserted. Byway of a yet finer relievo, you may dress off any flatness in tli*.- area by the branch-work. c 18 OF THE PARTERRE. before spoken of — edging that, of course, when it is of any considerable size, with single box, and filling up with what earth you please, so that it be different from that of the cut-work or paths. OF THE PARTERRE. 19 PLATE II.* THE FIGURE OF A PARTERRE OF TURF — EMBROIDERY AM) BORDERS OF THE CUT-WORK. This garden will equally please in large or small grounds, as it may be cut out on any scale. If your centre — which should be large and very boldly cut — is sufficiently rilled with- out it, omit the branch-work ; for its end will be entirely defeated by any confusion of orna- ments. But as nothing, in works of this kind, pleases more than variety, different vases and pots may be put at regular distances, where there is not room for the branch-work. A double hedge will be better than a single one for the borders. * Sec frontispiece. 20 OF THE PARTERRE, PLATE III. THE FIGURE OF A PARTERRE OF NOTHING BUT CUT- WORK AND PLOTS OF GRASS. In a garden of this kind so much depends upon the choice of design, and the preserva- tion of perfect symmetry in executing it, that without great care such objects will rather offend than please the eye. But, on the con- trary, where these are strictly observed, a more delightful variety can scarcely be afforded : the mixture of the different compartments, the verdure of the grass, and the thousand hues of the flowers, with which each border should be filled, according to the seasons of the year, presenting an appearance not unlike that of the richest carpets, and one that may, indeed, form a mat fully worthy the footstep of the goddess, who "vernas efflat ab ore rosas." It is de- OF THE PARTERRE. 21 signed for an extensive more than a small garden ; on which account, large boxes filled with orange or lemon trees, instead of the smaller jars from the potteries, may be put round with very good effect. 22 OF THE PARTERRE. PLATE IV. A PARTERRE OF TURF ALONE, WITH AN OUTWARD HEDGE (ONLY) OF BOX. In spacious grounds, or upon a terrace before a house, where there is something else to please the eye, a design of this sort may have a very agreeable effect, and is placed there chiefly to create variety of objects : but who- ever, in a small garden, should discover no- thing but grass plots, without any other orna- ment, would receive little or no gratification. Care must be taken to cut boldly, and preserve the edges, for in them is the whole effect. They are to the Parterre what the frame is to the picture. The hedge, which is a single one of box, (and may be diversified at intervals — particu- larly the approaches and corners — with conical figures cut and rising out of it), should be higher than usual, and of proportionate breadth ; but yet neither so lofty nor so wide _ --. : - — -J f. - _^ ' '■..-: -Vy OF THE PARTERRE. 23 as to preclude the possibility of an elegant girl, (for this will be a very fair guide) with all the incumbrances of the jupe, or one of Madame Victorine Pierrard's best redingotes, effecting her passage over it with no more difficulty, and the same grace with which, a sylphide would cross a footstool ; for it will be seen that no outlet is allowed, as is the case with the other designs ; but those who may feel disposed, for the purpose of reclining, to reach its velvet turf, must not scruple to jump this barrier. At the Palace of Marli, inhabited by a court blazing in the sunshine of a monarch not less renowned for an unprecedented polish of mind, than famous for his prodigies in war ; in an era the most resplendent of any in the annals of French history — when not only the court, but, by the natural consequences of reflection, the whole kingdom, so opulent in its revenues, so royal in the number of its population and provinces, so chivalrous by its skill in military 24 OF THE PARTERRE. acquirements, deserved to be called the abode of the gods ; from its learning and arts, the haunt of the Muses ; — at this very time, a garden, something similar to the one before you, was sanctioned by the admiration of one who, I repeat it, by the elegance of his taste, reigned over all that was fashionable; and, by the strength of his genius, over all that was noble and intellectual. I do not say that it was he, but certain it is, that in a drawing of the court of Louis XIV, which I have seen, there is a youth, enabling by his assistance, and with an ease which at once bespoke " The glass of fashion and the mould of form,'' one of the prettiest little brunettes you can conceive, to step over a hedge of this kind, and who by no means looks displeased at what he is whispering in her ear ; which I always guessed to be something to this effect — that she possessed the prettiest little foot, placed OF THE PARTERRE. 2<3 at right angles to the very prettiest little ancle that ever supported the frame of a fairy ! About the turf, and in the most graceful attitudes, are groups of the fair noblesse, courtiers, statesmen, and warriors. Various are their occupations, although none, perhaps, of so grave a nature as politics, warfare, or philo- sophy. No ; the duties of the day are over ; and even from the thoughtful ecclesiastic to the gay but comparatively superficial cavalier, each may be seen amused and amusing : the hours lightly fly, with the interchange of polite conversation, rendered always agreeable, even where it contains nothing of deep remark, by the absence of all gaucherie, and that bon ton of gallantry, when addressed to the ladies, with which each subject of badinage is handled. Some are reading — perhaps Racine or Moliere : others are at needle-work : many a light tale and romaunt of "the olden time" is expatiated upon by some well-powdered beau to bis bright-eyed mistress, the not un- i) 26 OF THE PARTERRE. frequent tendency of which, especially in the hands of a skilful commentator, is to But I must beg pardon of my reader for this unwarrantable digression; and he may, perhaps, grant me his indulgence, when I honestly confess, that I never can think, with- out a spice of romance, on the faded glories of an age, crowded, as is this, with the images of a Villeroy, Brissac, and Roquelaure ; when the mention of the beautiful La Valliere imme- diately suggests the mystery of the iron mask, and the names of Maintenon and Sevigne are sufficient to intoxicate the mind of an ancho- rite. 2 OF THE PARTERRE. 27 PLATE V. THE FIGURE OF A PARTERRE OF ONLY COT WORK. Here the utmost skill of the gardener must be brought out to produce an agreeable design, and artful disposition of each compartment, in perfect symmetry ; for as such kind of Par- terres are the most plain, and least beholden to the assistance of other ornaments, great care must be taken that the lightest patterns be procured, and that no childish contrivances give a poverty or meanness to the effect. They are oftener used in English grounds than any other species of ornamental work, but fre- quently so badly contrived, and worse executed, that, in such cases, the common method of square beds would be preferable. To lay out this garden well, you must pro- portion from the centre, which may be a jet dfeaui '! you can command the water— a well 28 OF THE PARTERRE. for gold and silver fish — or any appropriate piece of statuary, where water cannot be pro- cured. The nearest bed to this must be of such a size as to allow the next in succession so gradually to decrease, as not to leave the last of too insignificant a dimension. The whitest, or yellow gravel, should line the paths; and seek to procure it with a slight intermix- ture of clay, that it may bind hard, and no annoyance arise from the dust. Some are content with the river gravel, which is very clean; but, I think, not so well adapted to show off each component part of the garden as the gravel of East Sussex.* A single row of box will finish it. * Miller recommends the gravel on Blackheatli, but as every one does not live in, or always near, Greenwich, any more thau the East of Sussex, this hint may be taken when neither can be procured : " If the gravel you have be loose, take one load of strong loam to two or three of gravel, cast them well together, and, if pro- perly blended, it will bind well, and not stick to the feet iu wet weather." . ^ OF THE PARTERRE. 29 PLATE VI. THE FIGURE OF A PARTERRE, WHOSE CENTRE IS GRASS AND CUT-WORK, EMBROIDERED, AND FINISHED WITH BORDERS OF TURF. A more appropriate figure for a flower bed than the Cornucopia cannot be imagined ; and to give it the greater effect, the lower part should be of turf, and the upper of mould, with your choicest show of flowers, so as to imitate, as closely as it is possible, in works of this nature, the fulness of the horn, pouring forth its abundance, with every variety of hue and odour. It will be seen, by the plate, that the grass here, as was before mentioned, forms its own edge. There will be, however, an additional advantage gained by an outward hedge of box, separated from the turf by an inlay of the same gravel as the area is covered with, kept 30 OF THE PARTERRE. as distant from, and high above, the turf, as you may consider to be in perfect proportion with the whole garden. Where part of the Cornucopia ends in turf, there the inward hedge commences, and is carried only round the mould. It may be necessary here to explain, that, all these hedges, high or low, narrow or broad, according to the size of the design, are, with the exception only of sometimes the embroid- eries, always dipt square at top ; and here I will subjoin a caution from John Abercrombie respecting the cutting of them. There are, as every gardener will tell you, two principal clippings throughout the year, which take place, generally, in the months of July and September. " The clipping of box edgings," says he, " is most advisable after rain or moist weather, as, when cut in very dry hot weather, it is apt to parch, and make them change to a disagreeable foxy colour." Use your own taste with regard to the dis- OF THE PARTERRE. 31 tribution of vases and pots : the circular marks placed here, and elsewhere in the book, are to show where they might be put as con- siderable ornaments. S c 2 OF THE PARTERRE. PLATE VII. THE FIGURE OF A PARTERRE EMBROIDERED ONLY. I am again leading you over many a bygone year; and, that I may keep pace with that order which I laid down at the beginning of my book, am fain to seek authority in anti- quity, and, lost in all the intricacies of art and invention, to wander through those groves of old — long perspective alleys of yew or horn- beam — pathways flanked by aloes and orange trees — avenues of elm — alcoves and terraces — the " bower for whispering lovers made" — and all that magnificence of scenery, which, with a judicious combination of statues and cascades, and arches and grass-plots, once told the taste and the splendour of the good old- fashioned chateau ! Once indeed ! Who could, then, have sat by a Pan or Sylvanus — " Teneram ab radice fereus, Sylvane cupressum !" OF THE PARTERRE. 33 who could have reclined in the once gilt temple of Diana, — and, on being told that, ere many years had revolved, of these regions of delight not one vestige should remain — who, ere these rainbows were yet stripped of their illusive hues — who, I ask, could have heard the fate of such an Eden unmoved, and not exclaimed with the bard, in a paroxysm of regret — " There's not a meteor in the polar sky Of such transcendent and more fleeting light" ? In going back thus far (to show, as I have done, in what kind of grounds, and with what accompaniments, a garden similar to the one before you should be planted), to all the glories of Fontainebleau and Seaux, the florist will recognize a style of culture then prevalent, and which, though very beautiful in its kind, and gaining, by the quaintness and unusual order of its decorations, an host of admirers, was, nevertheless, not without those who were ready to decry it ; amongst whom, either as i: 34 OF THE PARTERRE. aiming at the very nature of that order itself, or, what is more probable, the inefficient imi- tation of it, emanating from the palace to the suburban villa, the pen of Pope may be recognized, armed with that satiric point, which could so forcibly describe the — " Trees cut to statues, statues thick as trees ; With here a fountain, never to be play'd, And there a summer-house that knows no shade." Yet, for all this, there is no doubt but that many of the strictures of those times were over- strained ; for in what place do we see art so triumphant as here ? and if what was then said against the use of the shears and the line were to be too rigidly observed now, the con- fusion of our grounds would be as great a draw-back upon their beauty, as it was said the primness of the pyramidical yew, and the shaped box, formerly were. 'Tis true, that torturing a tree into the shape of a peacock, or a star, must have been hideously unmeaning at all times : and a sta- OF THE PARTERRE. 35 tue placed so near the high road, that a driver from any of her Majesty's mail-boxes could display his skill, by whipping off a fly from Daphne's nose ! would evince but little ad- vancement in the scale of taste; yet this, it must be borne in mind, with all similar liber- ties of the vulgar, proceeded not so much from a fault in the system, as a most crude and undigested plagiarism of it.* Where it is properly executed, I have no doubt that this kind of garden would cause an indescribably pleasing variety to your other beds : and though unusual as it might appear in English grounds, and perhaps in foreign, in the present day, to plant a Parterre with nothing but flourishings and scrolls of box, * Amongst many improprieties of a like nature, I have seen Neptune in a bowling green, and Mars beside a fish pond ! Because the age of Vandalism is not yet extinct, are we to be denied the uses of Pomona, Flora, 01 the Dryads, in their proper places? — Verbum sapien- tibus, Sec. ! 36 OF THE PARTERRE. yet it was greatly in vogue at one time abroad, and there is no reason why it should not be in use at home now, with a very charming effect. Its antiquity is rather an argument for than against it ; and from looking over some curi- ous prints belonging to an old edition of Jose- phus, I have reason to believe that the royal gardens of Jerusalem were once laid out in a similar way. At all events, at Marli, Seaux, and Fontainebleau, in the last century, they were ; for to the one that was in the latter place, called the " Court of Fountains," I am principally indebted for the hint of mine : the basin is a fac-simile : I sketched it from a drawing I have of the grounds. We may adopt the words of Byron, although appro- priated by him to the description of Hassan's childhood, in that wild and singularly thrilling " Fragment of a Turkish Tale," the Giaour. " 'Twas sweet of yore to see it play, And chase the sultriness of day — As springing high the silver dew- In whirls fantastically Hew, OF THE PARTERRE. 37 And flung luxurious coolness round The air, and verdure o'er the ground. 'Twas sweet, when cloudless stars were bright, To view the wave of watery light, And hear its melody by night." I chose it for my guide, as being, from its size, which is smaller than the others, and which was placed in a little court on one side of the palace, more suited to the purpose of my work ; but you may, by any addition of your own, adapt it to what scale you please ; as I have seen another that spread over a surface of five or six acres, made square, or oblong, or irregular, in its additions, accord- ing to the shape of the lawn to be laid out. There is commonly nothing planted in it : the scrolls and branchwork, which compose it, being filled, for the sake of relief, with any earth you please, so that it be different from that of the area, which is always gravelled. To each division, it will be seen, there are four boundary lines, which represent as many hedge- of box, higher than usual if your 38 OF THE PARTERRE. garden be large — perhaps a foot — and of pro- portionate breadth : between these (two of which are to be separated by a measure given before in a preceding design) a path is to run round, and on which you may place boxes of aloes — even the pyramid of yew — orange or lemon trees, at stated intervals, with the most engaging effect. Should you be fortunate enough to possess an old terrace before your house, with a flight of stone steps leading to it, vases placed about it, and the whole sur- rounded by low stone balustrades, similar to those on Westminster Bridge, the tout ensemble will be perfect in the extreme. OF THE PARTERRE. 39 PLATE VIII. THE FIGURE OF A PARTERRE WHOSE CENTRE IS ALL COTWORK, WITH BORDERS OF EMBROIDERY. This kind of garden is extremely applicable where you have not much garden ground, and should constitute the centre of all that you possess as rare and costly in the way of flowers — a complete concentration, or focus, of choice fragrance and colour. Here no new bud will languish neglected or overgrown by others of less value, but shine forth — as was doubtless the original intention of the Parterre that it should do — the chief queen and ornament of your garden. Need I re- mind you of the watchfulness and care, which will be required in keeping the weeds under, the flowers in constant succession, and the box hedges well ordered and clipped ; without which all the pains and expense you may be put to in the creation of this or any other Parterre, will be to little purpose. 40 OF THE PARTERRE. PLATE IX. THE FIGURE OF A PARTERRE WHOSE CENTRE IS EMBROIDERED, AND THE BORDERS CUTWORK. This Parterre is also peculiarly adapted to gardens where there is a limited view, which it will atone for, very prettily, by making every object about it — such as differently formed vases, wire or wooden baskets, pots, &c, and the variety of shapes in the beds — sufficiently interesting to satisfy the eye, with- out wishing to carry its view any farther. # OF THE PARTERRE. 41 PLATE X. A COLLECTION OF DIFFEUENTLY SHAPED BEDS, WHICH MAY BE PUT ABOUT YOUR TURF " AD LIBITUM." If any one should object against the general practicability and use of these designs, that, because of their extent and the expense requi- site to keep them in good order, they will fall out of the sphere of only moderate garden owners and very small houses, to such I can reply that almost all of them may, with judg- ment, and particularly the preceding one, which was purposely adapted for that accident, be arranged so as to ornament any country house that possesses, as most of our gentle- men's residences do, a middling share of plea- sure ground. Those who are inhabiting only a cottage ornee,with a still more limited space of ground, may, with very good effect, distribute any of the accompanying beds in groups about their F 42 OF THE PARTERRE. turf; they would have a much more pleasing appearance than those " pastry cutter's" hearts and diamonds, of which I have before taken notice. OF THE PARTERRE; 43 PLATE XL THE FIGURE OF A PARTERRE WHOSE CENTRE [S PARTLY OF TURF, PARTLY OF EMBROIDERY, AND PARTLY CUT WORK, WITH BORDERS OF TURF AND CUT WORK. The grandeur of other days is becoming almost a fable ! Who shall then, in these modern times, become the " fitting medium" for restoring the former face of things, and snatch from the obscure depths of oblivion so capacious a measure of refinement, taste, and splendour, as the pages of history and the tales of our fathers lead us to believe is deposited there? Verily, I think, the task is, in part, not too difficult; nor is there an improbability that within the lowly range of the gardener, some bold strokes of the spade may be found to form a rude outline to the sketch, which the softer touches and hues of other arts might 44 OF THE PARTERRE. work up into the finished picture of the neglected past. At all events, his is by no means a con- tracted sphere of action, and the dignity, the usefulness, the pleasure and polished sim- plicity of his art, have been the theme of poets and philosophers from the days of Hesiod and Theocritus, Virgil and many more, down to those of our own Cowley, or more recent Cowper. Nor did the immortal Shakspeare, although he could do us no honour in the bodiless character of his Ghost, or the person of the fastidious Hamlet, forget to put into the mouth of the witty sexton the approximation of his following to ours ! As for its antiquity, we are told that the three first men in the world were a gardener, a ploughman, and a grazier ; and if any one object that the second of these was a mur- derer, the same writer tells us that as soon as he was so, he quitted our profession and turned bricklayer ! OF THE PARTERRE. 45 Certain too it is that Heaven — and I need net add where I get my information — know- ing what employments would best agree with man's simplicity and innocence, even before the gift of a wife, thought fit to make him first the possessor of a garden. A dispensa- tion of wisdom, by which some might almost infer the superiority of the former above the latter boon ! Here, then, is authority, and immortality for the spade ! and there are, I trust, after so unquestionable a precedent, few of my readers who will have the bad taste to disdain the pursuits of their ancestors, or, with the illibe- rality of a hasty conclusion, the disposition to throw aside this little production unre- garded, and its hints despised, when I can assure them of such solid results of pleasure — of so much secret gratification in witnessing, after a little pains and care which will amply repay them, their gardens covered with the 46 OF THE PARTERRE. fruits of invention and art — the beauteous creations of their own industry. It was, perhaps, with a somewhat similar delight, that our first parents, (whom we view in that interesting capacity throughout those beautiful descriptions of still life and garden felicity which are scattered up and down the fourth and fifth books of the " Paradise Lost,") in the earlier seasons of their innocence, frequently reviewed the cul- ture of Eden — then, happily for their peace, almost alone the absorbing object of their watchfulness and ambition. How tender, at another period of their fate, are those exclamations which the poet has made to emanate from the sorrows of the transgressing pair, in whom all posterity here- after was " to stand accurst ;" the first of which, as coming from the lips of Eve, I can- not forbear transcribing,— nor will the de- lighted reader fail to remember, but with fresher feelings of idolatry : — OF THE PARTERRE. 47 " Must I then leave thee, Paradise I thus leave Thee, native soil, these happy walks and shades, Fit haunt of gods ? where I had hoped to spend Quiet, though sad, the respite of that day That must be mortal to us both. O flowers That never will in other climates grow, My early visitation and my last At even, which I bred up with tender hand From the first opening bud, and gave you names ; Who now shall rear you to the sun, or rank Your tribes, and water from th' ambrosial fount ?" There is not, among my whole collection, a garden that can be more eniiamnfi; to the eye than one of this description ; the inter- mixture of the different parts, when judici- ously arranged, makes the chief beauty of it. i have seen in some grounds a method of making the oak serve the same purpose of edging and supporting the flower beds, as the box does, by sowing acorns in a trench, and, when they are sufficiently grown, keeping them with the shears always in a dwarf state. Its chief recommendation consists in the novelty and variety of tint incidental to appearance of the spring, summer, and 48 OF THE PARTERRE. autumn foliage. Some also, to cause a yet farther contrast, fill up the branchwork with powdered bricks, and clay to bind it, which will be red ; charcoal or iron filings, which will be black ; and the yellowest gravel they can procure : but these fancies, though I have tried them myself, I will decline making any other remark upon than, " chacun a son gout ! !" although the old Dutch gardener would back me with his authority. FINIS. LONDON ; C RICHARDS, PRINTER, 100, ST. martin's lane, charing cross. I1IM1 "-L LIBRARY FACILITY A 000 019 943 o I! Iltililflll!