HEATHY PATHS IN OUTER GARDEN SPACES
The subject of heathy paths comes within the scope of this book. We are
not thinking of grass or gravel paths, but those in pleasure-grounds
that are beyond the province of the trimly-kept garden, and yet have to
be somewhat tamed from the mere narrow track such as serves for the
gamekeeper on his rounds. Paths of this kind admit of varied treatment.
The nature of the place and the requirements of those who use the paths
will determine their general nature, and settle whether they are to be
of turf or of something that must be dry in all weathers. But grass and
gravel are not the only alternatives. One kind of path not often seen,
but always pleasant, and at one time of year distinctly beautiful, can
be made of the Common Heather (_Calluna vulgaris_). We know of such a
path, 12 feet wide and some hundreds of feet long, carpeted with this
native Heath, mown once a year, and feeling like a thick pile carpet to
the feet; grey-green in summer, bronze-coloured in late autumn, and in
the second and third weeks of August thickly set with short sprays of
the low-toned pink of the Heather bloom. It is not so dry as a gravel
path, but a good deal drier than grass, and has a pleasant feeling of
elasticity that is absent in common turf.
Many are the pleasure-grounds in the south of England and Scotland where
the soil is sandy and, perhaps, peaty. Any such can have these pleasant
heathy paths. We have even seen them on a poor sandy clay, scarcely good
enough to call loam, in Sussex; for Calluna, unlike the other Heaths,
will grow willingly in clay. In the case quoted the plant was wild in
the place.
In a Fir wood, the bare earth carpeted with needles always makes a
suitable path, and one that is always dry; the only thing to correct is
to fill up any places where the bare roots rise above the path level.
For in these informal paths, where we want to look about and at the
trees, there should be no danger of being tripped up. The path, of
whatever nature, should be wide enough for two persons--5 feet to 6 feet
is ample; but it should have quite a different character from the garden
path, in that its edges are not defined or straightened.
[Illustration: _SHRUB AND IRIS GROUPS BY WOODLAND._]
One may often see in the outskirts of an old garden a dense wood that
once was only a growth of shrubbery size. The walk was originally
bordered by a Box edging, and there may have been a strip of flowers
between it and the shrubs. Here and there one may still see a yard or
two of straggling Box nearly 2 feet high. Of course, this edging should
have been removed as soon as the place became a wood, for after a
certain time its original use as a formal edging to a trim plantation
ceased to exist.
Nothing is pleasanter in woodland than broad, grassy ways, well enough
levelled to insure safety to an unheeding walker. In early spring,
before the grass has grown any height, here is the place where Daffodils
can best be seen and enjoyed, some in the clear grass and some running
back in wide drifts into any side opening of the wood. If the grass is
cut in June, when the Daffodil foliage is ripe, and again early in
September, these two mowings will suffice for the year.
[Illustration: _AZALEA GARDEN AT KEW (early Summer)._]
In many woody places where shade is fairly thick, if there is any grass
it will probably be full of moss. No path-carpet is more beautiful than
a mossy one; indeed, where grass walks from the garden pass into
woodland, the mossy character so sympathetic to the wood should be
treasured, and the moss should not be scratched out with iron rakes.
Often in the lawn proper a mixture of moss and grass is desirable,
though one has been taught that all moss is hateful. In such places,
though it may be well to check it by raking out every four or five
years, it should by no means be destroyed, for in the lawn spaces
adjoining trees or woodland the moss is right and harmonious.
There are paths for the garden and paths for the wood. A mistaken zeal
that would insist on the trimness of the straight-edged garden walk in
woodland or wild is just as much misplaced as if by slothful oversight
an accumulation of dead leaves or other debris of natural decay were
permitted to remain in the region of formal terrace or parterre.
Heath paths should be made by either planting or sowing. The common ling
(_Calluna vulgaris_) makes the best turf. If the ground is sown it
should be of nearly pure sandy peat, or weeds would be troublesome. If
the path is to be made by planting, it should be done with two-year-old
seedlings--nothing larger--planted about 6 inches apart. The path when
grown should be mown with a machine once a year, in autumn after the
blooming time of the heath. There must be no grass.