Instructions in gardening for ladies

by Mrs. Loudon

CHAPTER IX.

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.])