MANAGEMENT OF THE LAWN, PLEASURE-GROUNDS, AND SHRUBBERY, OF A SMALL
VILLA.
The word Lawn may probably conjure up ideas of too large an extent
of ground to be managed by a lady; but when I use the term, I do not
mean an extensive park-like surface of level turf, but one of those
beautiful verdant glades that produce so delightful an effect even in
the smallest gardens. In places where the whole extent of garden-ground
does not perhaps exceed an acre, every one must have felt the relief
afforded to the eye by a broad strip of lawn, bordered by trees and
shrubs, not in a formal line on each side, but running into numerous
projections and recesses, and resting their lower branches, frequently
covered with flowers, on a rich smooth velvet-looking carpet of grass.
Every one possessing a lawn of this description must be aware that
its chief beauty consists in its smoothness, and in the firmness and
closeness of its grasses. I say grasses, because strange as it may
sound to unbotanical ears, from twenty to thirty different kinds of
grasses sometimes enter into the composition of a square foot of fine
turf. Some of these grasses are coarse and grow high, and widely apart;
and others are very fine and slender, and grow closely together. This
being the case, it is obvious that when a fine smooth turf is required,
the finer kinds of grasses should be chosen, and the coarser ones not
only rejected among the grass-seeds sown, but, if possible, destroyed
whenever they appear, if they should chance to come up accidentally.
Botanists have distinguished and arranged nearly fifteen hundred
different species of grasses; and of these probably more than three
hundred kinds are now cultivated in England. Of these, some are, of
course, better adapted to certain soils than others; and to ascertain
which grass was best suited to each soil, the late Duke of Bedford,
whose loss the horticultural and agricultural world has recently had
to deplore, instituted a series of experiments at Woburn under the
superintendence of his gardener, the late Mr. Sinclair, who was a very
intelligent man, and the result of which was published in the Hortus
Gramineus Woburnensis. From these experiments, it was found that what
are called hungry sandy soils, were the worst, and rich alluvial soils
the best for the production of grasses; but that sandy loams produced
the most equal and most permanent crops. To apply this to practice in
the production of proper lawn grasses, it is evident that as a sandy
loam appears to be the best for them, a sandy soil would be improved
by the addition of clay, and a clayey one by the addition of sand,
both these mixtures constituting what is called a sandy loam: and it
may be added, that where the soil is calcareous, it may generally be
left without any alteration, when it is to be covered with grass.
The next thing to be considered is the kind of grasses most suitable
for sowing on a lawn; and to ascertain this, it must be remembered
that the proprietor of a lawn does not want a crop of hay, but a fine
smooth level turf, the grass in which shall entirely conceal the earth.
For this purpose, it is evident that slow growing grasses, the roots
of which will retain permanent possession of the soil, and which are
sufficiently succulent not to be burnt up when closely mown in hot
weather, are preferable to those which grow rapidly and produce an
abundant crop of herbage, particularly as the roots of the last kind
are generally easily withered up in dry weather. Very fast-growing
grasses are indeed exceedingly annoying to the possessor of a small
lawn, as they require constant mowing and are thus a constant source of
expence.
Some philosophers assert that the chief thing that hinders the
attainment of our desires, is that very few of us know exactly what
we want; and it is to save my readers from being in this unpleasant
predicament with regard to lawns, that I have been thus particular
in describing what qualities are requisite in grasses to make them
suitable for producing soft turf. The next thing is to tell them as
well as I can, what kind of grasses appear most likely to answer the
end in view. Of all these, one of the most permanent appears to be
the fox-tail meadow-grass (Alopecurus pratensis); it is one of the
principal grasses in rich natural pastures, and it should always
form one-fourth part of the seeds used for laying down a lawn. The
sweet-scented spring grass (Anthoxanthum odoratum) grows best in deep
moist soil; but it is worth sowing in every situation for its fineness,
its dwarf growth, and for its habit of continuing to vegetate, and
to throw up fresh stalks nearly all the year. It is this grass which
gives so delightful a fragrance to new hay. The common meadow-grass
(Poa pratensis) is also suitable for lawns; as, though of slow growth,
it has creeping permanent roots: and the short blue meadow-grass (Poa
cærulea) may be added, for its deep blue tint, which gives a richness
to the general colour of the grass, and because it sustains no injury
from dry weather. The crested dog’s-tail grass (Cynosurus cristatus)
is, however, the best for sustaining drought and heat, as its roots
penetrate so deeply into the ground, as to keep its blades green,
while all the grasses around it are quite brown from being burnt up.
The hard fescue grass (Festuca duriuscula) is another kind which will
stand the effects of dry weather; it is also a very fine dwarf grass,
and springs early. Many other grasses might be named, but these will
suffice. The proportion in which they ought to be mixed, is another,
and an essential point; but at the same time it is one rather difficult
to ascertain, as the seeds of the finer kinds of grasses are very
often abortive, and do not germinate; and thus a larger quantity must
be sown of them, than of those kinds, all the seeds of which are
generally good. The seed of the meadow fox-tail grass (Alopecurus
pratensis) is very often so bad, that not above one seed in three will
germinate, consequently a much larger proportion of seed of this grass
must be sown than of any of the others. This seed is very light, and
consequently a pound of it, if bought by weight, will appear a great
deal more than a pound of the crested dog’s-tail grass (Cynosurus
cristatus), the seed of which is very heavy; and yet as the latter seed
is generally all good, it will cover more ground with grass than the
other. The best way is to write down the botanic names of the grasses,
and to send them to a respectable seedsman, with directions to return
enough of the seed of each, to produce an equal quantity of grass of
each respective species on the lawn. The whole quantity required of the
mixed grasses is generally not more than four bushels and a half per
acre; but if an immediate effect be wanted, about a bushel and a half
of the common white clover may be added. This quantity of seed will
be sufficient to sow the ground very thickly, as when ground has been
dug over and rendered perfectly smooth the seeds will go further, and
cover it more completely than when the surface is uneven; and if the
seeds are sown in dry weather, then rolled in and afterwards watered,
the ground will be as green and covered with as fine a sward the first
season, as though it had been laid down with turf. The plants will,
however, probably be too thick; and as, when this is the case many of
them die, the ground may require a partial re-sowing the following
spring. It is therefore safer under ordinary circumstances not to sow
more than four bushels and a half an acre, as if that quantity be
equally distributed, the plants will not be too thick.
When the ground which is to form the lawn has been marked out, the
soil, if it wants amelioration, should be spread over with the
earth required to make it approach as near as possible to the great
desideratum, a sandy loam, and it should be then dug about a foot deep.
Care should be taken to do this in dry weather; as the two soils to be
mixed, should be both in a state of dryness. No manure should be dug in
unless the soil happen to be very poor indeed; as manure will tend to
produce a larger and taller growing crop of grass, which, of course,
will increase the trouble and expence of mowing, without being of any
use. The ground being dug, and raked to remove all the large stones,
the surface should be rolled, and then the seeds sown; after which it
should be rolled again and watered by a garden-engine having a very
fine rose. This watering may be repeated occasionally if the weather
should be very dry; and if any mole-hills or worm-casts appear, they
should be levelled, and the rolling repeated.
When the ground is to be covered with turf, instead of being sown
with grass seeds, the turf should, if possible, be procured from some
meadow or downs where sheep have been fed; as these animals bite close
to the roots, and this kills the coarser grasses which have generally
weak fibrous roots, while the finer grasses, which have deep roots,
remain uninjured. The turf is then cut with a turf spade, and rolled
up for removal. When it is to be laid down, and the ground is ready to
receive it, it is spread out, and the different rolls carefully joined
to each other: little bits being cut off or pushed in where the pieces
do not exactly fit. It is then watered and rolled, and will require
no other care. With regard to after management, a lawn can never be
kept neat without frequent mowing, and this is an operation which a
lady cannot very well perform for herself: unless, indeed, she have
strength enough to use one of Budding’s mowing machines. In whatever
way, however, the operation may be performed, it should be repeated
very frequently. In large establishments, the lawn is always mown every
week during summer; and even in the smallest gardens the grass should
never be suffered to remain more than a fortnight during summer without
mowing. The roots will thus become weakened, and will not be able to
send up any but dwarf and fine blades of grass, which will form in a
few years that beautifully smooth and soft velvet-like turf, which it
is the principal beauty of a lawn to possess. “It is a great mistake,”
says Mr. Loudon, in his _Suburban Gardener_, “to suppose that anything
is gained in the way of economy by suffering the grass of lawns to
grow long before mowing, in order to save the expense of once or twice
mowing during the season; for, in proportion as the grass is allowed
to grow long before mowing, in the same proportion are the roots
strengthened and enabled to send up still longer leaves and stems;
whereas if a lawn were kept short by frequent mowing for two or three
years in succession, the plants of grass would at last become so weak
that not one-half the mowing usually required for even slovenly-kept
lawns would be necessary, and the turf would be much finer, and neater
in appearance.” The best manure for a lawn is soot.
I have dwelt longer than I otherwise should have done on the management
of lawns, not only because I am a great admirer of a smooth green turf,
but because I believe it is a subject not generally understood. Most
persons imagine that if they lay down turf, or sow grass seeds, they
have done all that is requisite; and my object is simply to impress
upon the minds of my readers, that this is not enough: for as there are
different kinds of turf and grasses, it is as necessary to choose which
to take, as to select flowers for the flower-garden. I have only to
add that the brownish hue sometimes observed on the brows of hills in
pleasure grounds is produced by holcus lanatus, a kind of couch-grass,
that wastes all its strength on its fleshy roots, and produces only a
thin and wiry herbage. This species, the different kinds of agrostis or
bent-grass, the brome grasses, particularly Bromus arvensis, and the
cock’s-foot grass, Dactylus glomerata, should never be sown in lawns.
Grass seeds should be sown either in spring or autumn; and May, and
August or September are considered the best months. In very old lawns,
moss is apt to predominate, and when it is wished to destroy this, the
surface of the lawn is dressed, as it is called, in May with lime.
Dressing with lime will also destroy the worms which are often very
troublesome in lawns (particularly where the ground has been manured
with dung), in throwing up casts, which make the ground uneven, and
very difficult to mow.
_The Walks in pleasure-grounds_ should be hard and dry; and they should
also be sufficiently wide to admit of three persons to walk abreast
occasionally; as nothing can be more disagreeable than the situation
of the third person, whom the narrowness of the walk obliges to walk
before or behind his companions; and who is obliged either to remain
silent or to carry on a most uncomfortable and disjointed kind of
conversation. The minor evils of clothes being caught by branches, and
leaves discharging on the pedestrians the remains of a recent shower,
would likewise be avoided by broader walks.
_The laying out of pleasure grounds_ embraces a wide field; and when
they are extensive they require the eye of a painter, as well as the
taste and skill of a landscape gardener. Even in small places, so much
depends on situation (particularly as regards the house, and whether
there may or may not be any distant prospects); on the taste of the
occupier; and on the expense to be incurred, not only in laying out and
planting, but in after keeping, that few directions can be given that
would be generally applicable. It may, however, be observed that in
all places whether large or small, the walks should be so contrived,
that no person passing along one, should see the persons walking on
another. Indeed, if more than one walk be ever seen at a time, it gives
an idea of want of space and confinement; and this idea is one which
the landscape gardener always endeavours as much as possible to avoid.
For the same reason the boundary fence should never be seen, if it
can possibly be disguised. Even in a small street-garden, with three
low walls on three of the sides, and the house on the fourth, a very
pleasing effect may be produced by effectually concealing the boundary
walls with ivy; and thus permitting the imagination to fix the boundary
where it will.
Another general rule in laying out pleasure-grounds is to avoid
monotony or sameness as much as possible. Nothing is more wearying to
the eye than a place, every part of which is alike, and which leaves
nothing to the imagination. A place regularly dotted over with trees at
equal distances is quite featureless; has nothing to attract the eye,
and nothing to interest the mind. But if the same trees are planted on
the same ground in masses, with a broad expanse of lawn between; the
trees sometimes projecting, and sometimes showing a smooth glade of
grass, running in among them, the end of which the eye cannot reach,
the imagination becomes excited, and a degree of interest is instantly
created. Where the lawn is large, a few single trees may be introduced;
but few things in landscape gardening require more taste. Indeed, in
laying out pleasure-grounds, however small they may be, it is generally
the best, and indeed the most economical way, to have the advice of a
professional landscape gardener at first; instead of groping on in the
dark, from a mistaken idea of economy, till at last it is discovered
that all is wrong, and must be done over again. Thus in the end, the
work is generally found to have cost twice as much as would have been
expended if it had been begun properly at first; besides the loss of
time, and the annoyance always occasioned by having anything to undo.
_The Trees and Shrubs._--In all places sufficiently small to be managed
by a lady, without the aid of a regular gardener, the trees and shrubs
should be of the choicest kinds. It is quite the fashion of the present
day to plant arboretums; and though a place of the kind I mention would
not admit of a complete one, a lady might take some genus, or some
small natural order to illustrate, (as for example the genus Ribes, or
the order Berberideæ,) and fill up the rest of her grounds with hollies
or other evergreens, so as to form a back ground to the ornamental
trees. The genera Magnolia and Liriodendron form the hardy trees of
another small order, which it would be easy to cultivate, taking
care to plant M. conspicua, and any other that produces its flowers
before it does its leaves, with a rich background of evergreens. The
almond, which flowers in the same manner, should be placed in a similar
situation; and standard roses may also be so placed as to have the
unsightliness of their long naked stems greatly lessened by a mass of
evergreens behind.
Another very interesting mode of arrangement, where the ground will
admit of it, is to plant particular situations with certain trees which
are not to be found in any other part of the grounds; and thus to form
what the landscape gardeners call scenes. Thus, for instance, there
might be an American ground, formed in some shaded hollow, and planted
with rhododendrons, azaleas, and kalmias. All these plants require a
light peaty soil, and a shady and somewhat moist situation. In another
part of the pleasure-grounds there might be some alpine scenery, with
pines and firs, and particularly larches, interspersed with a few
birch-trees, planted in dry sandy soil on hilly ground. The deciduous
cypress and weeping willow should be near water, as should the common
willow, nearly all the poplars, and the alders. In another place might
be a thicket of the different varieties of hawthorn, with a few of the
fine large-fruited foreign thorns planted in striking situations. In
short there are no limits to the numerous and beautiful scenes that
might be laid out by a woman of cultivated mind, who possessed fancy
and taste, combined with a very slight knowledge of trees; and I think
I may safely add, that I do not know a more delightful occupation than
this kind of landscape gardening. It is landscape painting, but on the
noblest and boldest scale: and it is a source of constant enjoyment,
from the daily improvement that it displays. What a difference it makes
in the pleasure we have in returning home, if we have something to
visit, that we know has been improving in our absence. We regard the
trees and shrubs we have planted, and the scenes we have laid out with
almost a parental fondness; and a new and daily increasing interest is
given to life. I would, therefore, most earnestly entreat my readers
to study trees and shrubs; and I do assure them that they will find
themselves amply repaid, not only by the pleasure they will have in
landscape gardening, but in the additional enjoyment their accession of
knowledge will give to every country walk and ride that they take.
There is, however, one great drawback to the pleasure that may be
anticipated from planting an arboretum, or even an illustration of any
particular order or genus; and this is the very great difficulty that
exists in procuring plants true to their names. Nurserymen put down a
great many more names in their catalogues, than they have different
kinds of plants; and thus the same plants, like the actors in a country
theatre, are often made to perform under a great many different names
in the same piece. I have heard of instances where twelve or fourteen
species were named in a catalogue, though the nurseryman only possessed
three or four, which, when wanted, were made to do duty under all
these different names. Almost all nurserymen are alike in this respect,
and the only real cure will be an increased knowledge of trees and
shrubs on the part of the purchasers, which will render it impossible
to impose false kinds upon them. In the mean time I may mention that
Mr. Loudon has found the trees and shrubs in the nursery of Messrs.
Whitley and Osborn, at Fulham, more correctly named than in most others.
In planting masses of trees and shrubs, great care should be taken
to hide the dug ground around them, which always forms a scar in the
landscape. The best way of doing this is to cover all the space between
the shrubs with grass, and to tie down the branches of the trees to
pegs or stakes fixed in the earth, so as to make the trees feather down
to the ground. Where this cannot be accomplished, on account of the
expense of clipping the grass, for it cannot be mown among the trees,
ivy may be pegged down over the dug ground, or evergreen trailing
roses, of which there are many kinds especially adapted for this
purpose. There is one general rule relating to the planting of trees
and shrubs, which can never be too often repeated, or too strongly
enforced,--it is, never to suffer them to be planted too thickly.
This may appear a very simple rule, but it is one which it is very
difficult to put in practice, as all the persons employed in planting
are generally opposed to it. The nurseryman of course wishes to dispose
of his plants, and the gardener to produce a good effect as soon as
possible, nay, even the proprietor cannot help feeling the bare and
desolate appearance of a new plantation where the shrubs are placed at
proper distances. There are but two remedies for this: either planting
so as to produce an effect at first, and then thinning out half the
plants, beginning the second or third year; or planting the shrubs at
the proper distances, and covering the ground between them with some
trailing plant pegged down.
Nothing can look worse than a row of tall trees which were evidently
planted for a screen; but which, so far from answering the intended
purpose, admit the light between their slender naked stems, which
afford no more concealment than the open rails of a paling. Mr. Loudon
observes, in one of the numbers of the Gardener’s Magazine, that the
quickest way of thickening a plantation in this state is, if the trees
are deciduous, to cut every alternate tree down, in order that the
stools of the fallen trees may send up young shoots; but if any of them
have branches within six or eight feet of the ground, by taking off the
tops of the trees, and tying down these branches, the plantation may be
thickened, without cutting any trees down.
A weeping ash is a very ornamental tree on a lawn, but unless it is
well trained it loses its effect. When trained to a wooden frame,
the hoops and rods of which it is composed are seldom strong enough
to sustain the weight of snow which falls on the summit of the tree
in severe winters, and if they give way in any place, the boughs are
frequently broken. In the arboretum which Joseph Strutt, Esq., is
now having laid out at Derby, and which, when finished, he is most
liberally about to present to that town as a public promenade, there
is a very fine weeping ash, for which Mr. Strutt has had an iron
frame-work made. The iron rods are light and elegant, and yet so
strong that they are in no danger of giving way under any weight of
snow that is ever likely to fall on the tree. The iron frame work has
been coated over with gas tar to preserve it from rust, and it now
looks exceedingly well.
_Roses._--These beautiful shrubs are so generally admired, and they
are grown so universally in all gardens, that I think I ought to give
some especial directions for their culture. In the first place, roses
are said to require removing every third year; as their roots exude a
great deal of matter unfit for them to reabsorb, and as their fibrous
roots are few, small, and not widely extended from the hole of the
plant. It is not perhaps necessary to take this rule strictly _au pied
de la lettre_, but it is as well to keep it in view, and to remember
that when rose trees look sickly, or fail to produce a due proportion
of flowers, removing them to a fresh soil will generally restore their
vigour.
It is not perhaps generally known that there are nearly two thousand
species and varieties of roses. Among such a chaos it would be almost
impossible to choose, had not florists arranged them in about
twenty general divisions. One of the principal of these contains the
cabbage-roses and their beautiful descendants, the moss-roses, of which
last there are more than twenty kinds, some of which are very striking,
and particularly the dark crimson moss-rose, generally called the
Rouge de Luxembourg, and the white moss, though the latter is rather
too delicate for a town garden. The crested moss is also a curious
variety, and it is said to have been found growing out of an old wall
in Switzerland. All the kinds of moss-roses should be planted in warm
dry situations, and in March a little manure should be laid on the
surface of the soil round their roots. Should the season prove dry, the
plants should be frequently watered, and the result will be a brilliant
display of flowers. There are twenty-five or thirty other kinds of
cabbage or Provence roses, all of which are very fragrant, and indeed
they are the kinds used for making rose-water, &c.; they are all quite
hardy, and require no particular culture.
The autumn-flowering or perpetual roses are also remarkable both for
their beauty and their fragrance. There are more than fifty sorts;
one of the most beautiful of which is Lee’s perpetual, the Rose du
Roi of the French. The Pæstum roses, mentioned by Pliny, are supposed
to belong to this family; as does also the well known Rose des Quatre
Saisons. All these roses should be pruned twice a-year, in November
and in June; and after pruning, the ground about their roots should be
loosened with a fork, and then covered two or three inches deep with
manure, the manure being covered over with some fresh green moss, to
prevent it from having an unpleasant appearance. The roses of all the
perpetual kinds frequently fade without losing their petals; and when
this is the case the faded flowers should be instantly removed. They
are all propagated by grafting on the common dog-rose, as they do not
readily take root from layering. These roses are particularly valuable,
as with a little management they may be kept in flower eight months in
every year.
The French, or Provins Roses, are generally widely opened flowers
like the rose in architecture. The striped and marbled roses belong
to this division. These roses have scarcely any fragrance; but they
have generally showy flowers, and they are very hardy. The druggists
use them for making conserve of roses; and for this purpose they are
grown in great quantities near the little town of Provins in France,
whence their name, which is often confounded with that of the Provence
Roses from the south of France. The white roses are hardy, and bloom
abundantly with very little care. The Scotch roses are also remarkable
for their hardiness, for their blooming generally a fortnight earlier
than any others, and for their ripening abundance of seed, from which
new varieties may continually be raised. The yellow Scotch rose is very
beautiful. Williams’s double yellow sweetbriar, and the Austrian yellow
or copper-coloured rose are also well worth cultivating. The latter is
yellow on the outside of the petal and red within. This rose will not
succeed well in a smoky atmosphere, but it flowers beautifully in Mrs.
Marryatt’s flower-garden at Wimbledon, and in that of R. H. Jenkinson,
Esq., at Norbiton House, near Kingston. The common double yellow Rose,
which seldom flowers well, should be grown in a rich soil and warm
situation, and it requires abundance of air.
Of the climbing roses, the Ayrshire roses, particularly the beautiful
white flower called the Queen of the Belgians, and Rosa ruga, a very
handsome and fragrant variety, are perhaps the best for training upon
frames to form what are called pillars and pyramids of roses, as they
are quite hardy. For sheltered situations Rosa multiflora, and its
near ally the Seven Sisters’ rose may be chosen; as they grow very
fast and very high, and produce myriads of flowers, though they are
easily killed by frost. The most valuable climbing roses are, however,
the descendants of Rosa sempervirens, the evergreen roses; and these
are the only kinds that should be used for pegging down over the dug
ground of a shrubbery. They are of the easiest culture, as they will
grow under the drip of trees, and they ought never to be pruned.
Before planting them the ground should be dug, and well cleared from
the roots of weeds, &c. It should then be manured with part of an
old hot-bed, and the roses should be planted about five feet apart.
The following autumn a good coating of manure should be laid on the
surface of the ground; and the plants will require no after culture but
pegging down the shoots to prevent them from leaving any part of the
ground bare. The Triomphe de Bollwiller is one of the best of roses
for this purpose. The Boursault division, one of the best of which is
the Rose de Lisle, may be treated in the same manner. The noisette
roses are known by the great clusters of flowers which they bear at the
extremities of their shoots. Their branches should not be shortened,
but the dead flowers should be removed as soon as they fade.
The Banksia roses, the tea-scented kinds, the Macartney and musk roses,
are too tender for any situation but a south wall. The best roses in
the neighbourhood of London are to be found at Lee’s, Hammersmith,
and Loddige’s, Hackney. There are also very fine collections at
Rivers’s, Sawbridgeworth; at Wood’s, Maresfield, and Hooker’s,
Brenchley, both near Tunbridge Wells; and more especially at Lane’s,
Berkhampstead,--the latter nurseryman contriving, by means of forcing,
to have roses beautifully in flower from the latter end of January to
the middle of November every year.
Roses are generally propagated by grafting or budding, and also by
making layers and cuttings. In the latter case, the point of the shoot
should be taken off, and the greater part of the leaves, to prevent an
access of evaporation. (For Illustration, see p. 84.)