distance, rising to a height of a hundred feet, is the grand old Norman
keep; the rare Deptford Pink (_Dianthus Armeria_) grows in its masonry.
The ancient city wall is one of the garden’s boundaries. Another old
wall, that is within the garden, has been made the home of many a good
rock-plant. On the left, in the picture, are masses of Poppies, Roses
and White Lilies, with Alströmeria, Love-in-a-Mist, and Larkspurs, both
annual and perennial; the background is of the soft, feathery foliage of
Asparagus. The Roses are of all shapes; single and double; show Roses
and garden Roses; standards, bushes and free-growing ramblers. On the
right are more Larkspurs, Irises in seed-pod, Lavender, and some
splendidly-grown Lilium szovitsianum, one of the grandest of Lilies,
and, where it can be grown like this, one of the finest things that can
be seen in a garden. Its tender lemon colouring has suffered in the
reproduction, which makes it somewhat too heavy.
The upper part of a greenhouse shows in the picture. It is sometimes
impossible to keep such a structure out of sight, but one like this, of
the plainest possible kind, is the least unsightly of its class. It is
just an honest thing, for the needs of the garden and for a part of its
owner’s pleasure. The fatal thing is when an attempt is made to render
greenhouses ornamental, by the addition of fretted cast-iron ridges and
fidgety finials. These ill-placed futilities only serve to draw
attention to something which, by its nature, cannot possibly be made an
ornament in a garden, while it is comparatively harmless if let alone,
and especially if the wood-work is not painted white but a neutral grey.
In all these matters of garden structures; seats, arbours and so forth,
it is much best in a simple garden to keep to what is of modest and
quiet utility. In the case of a large place, which presents distinct
architectural features, it is another matter; for there such details as
these come within the province of the architect.