Garden Boundaries

This form of garden boundary allows a person inside the garden to overlook the road, while it completely excludes the view of the passenger, and avoids the offence of a high wall. The rear and side fences of a property may generally be developed in a way less hostile to landscape, by hedges and ditches with open wood posts and rails, until the natural fence is capable of allowing more plenty of protection. Pieces of water and any other garden means analogous to the general character of the place, may be used for this purpose; and when there is an opportunity of commanding a distant prospect, or of overlooking a fine and fertile country, similar modes of separation may be used, and which are also more generally applicable to internal separations of the domain.

Fences of Subdivision

Many contrivances have been resorted to for the purpose of separating ground so that the appearances of confinement or restraint shall exist in the least possible degree, this in the immediate vicinity of the house is absolutely needful, if cattle are at any time pastured near it. Mr. Brown and the improvers of his day, adopted the Ha, ha by which contrivance no actual division appears when the lawn is viewed from the house.

The late Mr. Repton preferred the terrace with a parapet or ballustrade, when adopted in conformity to the style of the place:

he considered it to be the best security against cattle; and, as the different growth and appearance of the lawn and the park verdure will always manifest a division, he preferred the honesty of its avowal to the most ingenious substitution possible; particularly as the terrace gradually harmonized the building with the grounds, and gave dignity, variety and effect to the whole; these, however, are only suited to large homes, where the loss of ground, or view of it, can be well spared.

The sunk fence is a substitute for both in small grounds;

the iron or invisible fence is a good separation; and when a few sheep only are the tenants of the outer lawn, a wire fence in front of the house will be still less obtrusive.

A difficulty has always existed where the pasture was of such extent as to need subdivision for feeding stock - this, too, has done much towards the banishment of paths to the extremities of the ground, making them accompany the enclosure in one unvaried round, without hope of speedier return from its remote parts than is allowed by the already trodden circuit line of its boundary. If a path be made in order to separate a paddock, and it is desirable that the view shall not be interrupted by plantations, nor by the offence of a double railing, the object may be attained by a trench in the way of a sunk fence on one side of the path, and by an iron open fence on the other; so enclosing the path between them, by w hich means it is secured from the approach of cattle, and the paddocks completely sepa- rated. And if, in the execution of the path and trench, care be taken to elevate the ground towards the spectator, in order to hide them, the light iron fence only is showed; which, if well disposed, will rather be ornamental than otherwise.