ii. Gardening in the Neighbourhood of Moscow, as an Art of Design and Taste
At Petrowka, near Moscow, is the principal private ancient garden in Russia, The hedges and alleys are chiefly formed of spruce fir, which are shorn, and seem to flourish under the shears. It contains also a labyrinth, and a turf amphitheatre, in which the proprietor. Count Razumowsky, has had operas performed by his domestic slaves. The most extensive seats laid out in the modern style, in the neighbourhood of Moscow, are those of Gorenki, a seat of Count Alexy Razumowsky (fig. 142.), and Petrowka, a seat of Petrowsky Razumowsky. In the former, the house alone is 980 feet long; and the gardens are remarkable for their botanical riches, and an immense quantity of glass. The grounds are of great extent, but the surface is flat, and the soil a dry sand. A natural forest of birch and wild cherry trees clothes the park, and harmonises the artificial scenes. The mansion, built by an English artisan, is highly elegant; and the attached conservatories and stoves, and decorated lawn, form a splendid and delightful scene, unequalled in Russia. Petrowka contains both an ancient garden, already referred to, and a large extent of ground laid out in the modern style, and adorned with buildings from designs by Signor Camporezi. There is some variety of surface, abundance of birch and fir woods, with some oaks and aspens interspersed, and a large piece of water. Among the ornamental buildings is a cotton manufactory, in actual use as such. The practice of introducing manufactories as garden buildings is very general in Russia, and almost peculiar to that country.