85. The gardens of houses in a connected street, or row, which are the smallest in this class, generally consist of two parts, divided from each other by the house, through which the hack garden is entered. Both an necessarily of the same width as the house, hut the front garden is generally square; while the hack garden varies in length, according to circumstances. The side walls or fences are parallel to each other; and they are generally kept low, that they may neither throw too much shade on the garden, nor impede the free circulation of the air. At the end of the back-garden, farthest from the house, there is frequently a door opening into some back road or lane; and if there is a stable, it is placed here.

86. The gardens of suburban villas, which, though they form a broken street or row, are partially or wholly detached, and stand either singly or in pairs, also consist of a front and a back garden, but the latter is not entered through the house, there being a strip of ground connecting the two on one aide of those houses which stand in pain, and on both sides of those which are detached. The back garden is, however, still of the same oblong, regular form, enclosed by low straight parallel walls, and terminating in a straight wall opposite the house, and opening into some back road or lane.

87. It is obvious that gardens thus shaped can afford little opportunity for taste being displayed in laying them out, and that their chief interest must depend upon the trees, shrubs, and flowers that they contain. It is also evident that unless gardens of this kind are kept in the very highest state of cultivation, they will have a very unpleasing effect; as their whole space is continually before the eyes of the spectator, and as they have no scenic beauty to direct the attention from their untidiness and neglected appearance.

88. The planting of the front garden of a suburban residence cannot be much varied. No large trees can be admitted, as they would throw too much shade upon the windows, and there is no space for variety or intricacy in the walks, In most cases, all that is required is a few beds for flowers, which should be kept with the greatest neatness, or a few flowering shrubs, intermixed with evergreens. The situation and size of the garden must, of course, be taken into consideration in deciding which of these plans is the most suitable: if the garden is small and exposed to the sun, it will be best to plant it with showy flowers; but if the garden is in the shade during the greater part of the day, it will be best to plant it with evergreens and flowering shrubs, such as the arbutus and laurestinus. Even a plantation of hollies only, provided a few variegated ones be introduced, has a very good effect

89. The laying out and planting of the back garden admits of much greater variety than the front; particularly when it is the garden of a suburban villa, either wholly or entirely detached from the surrounding houses. It is true, that the shape of the ground, and the formality of the boundaries, must give somewhat of a peculiar character to all gardens of this kind, but still they allow some latitude to taste. The style in which they are laid out, must, however, depend in a great measure on the kind of garden the proprietor may be in want of; but there are three principal points to be kept in view, to which all the various kinds of suburban garden we shall describe may be referred, viz.:

1. Economy in the first laying out and after-management.

2. Profit as regards the produce.

3. Ornament and enjoyment.

90. Economy, when it is to be combined with neatness, and an agreeable appearance, is, perhapa, most easily attained, by covering the greater part of the surface of the ground with grass; and a small garden of this kind might be easily kept in order by the proprietor himself, or an ordinary man-servant, or labourer, by the aid of a mowing machine. There would thus be scarcely any expense in the after-management, and, as a surface of grass when kept regularly mown and swept, is always agreeable to the eye, and has a neat appearance, the garden could be kept in excellent order at the least possible expense. The laying out would also cost as little as possible, as there would be no expense but levelling the ground, making the walks, covering the centre bed with turf, or sowing it with grass-seeds, and planting a few trees and shrubs.

91. Profit from the garden of a small street house can scarcely be expected; and, indeed, even where there is a large garden to a suburban villa, almost the only saving that can be hoped for is in the article of fruit; as the vegetables grown in it generally cost more than they could be bought for from a greengrocer. There is, however, a great pleasure in having vegetables from one's own garden; and, indeed, some vegetables are so much better when quite fresh, that it is worth while to take the trouble of growing them. Peas, young cabbages, and various kinds of greens, become tough and insipid when they have been gathered for several days; and it is a great convenience for a cook to have parsley, mint, and other pot-herbs, always ready whenever she may want them. A garden of this kind, however, as it must have a large proportion of dug ground in it, requires a great deal of care to keep it in even tolerable order, and it looks very untidy if it is neglected.

92. Ornamental gardening is, however, the most expensive of all modes of keeping a garden; and, indeed, it is scarcely possible to keep even a small ornamental garden in the highest state of order and neatness without a regular gardener, a reserve garden, and a green-house, or pits and frames. In the neighbourhood of London, the best way is to contract with a nurseryman to keep the garden in order, and full of flowers, at a given price per year; but as this takes away a great part of the pleasure of the proprietor and his family in the garden (as we all like things of our own creation, better than what is done for us), a more agreeable plan is to have a gardener once a week to keep the place in order; and to fill the beds with green-house plants purchased from the people who hawk them about in the streets. If the soil and situation are tolerably good, these plants will grow luxuriantly, and produce abundance of flowers from May till September or October, when the plants will be killed by the frost.

We shall now give a few examples of the best manner of laying out and planting suburban gardens, economically, profitably, and ornamentally.

§ 1. Suburban Gardens in which economy is the principal object in view.