History and Gardens

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21866, 20 August 1936, Page 6 (Supplement)

History and Gardens

(By 'Winifred Chapman)

i4 As oq * 3 ® * rienci of mine was ’ h «f. history lesson beside ape evening and lamenting how *t Was, for it all happened so She might have found it interesting had she thought « Poopie as being much like onftolyes, only with less' to make . *»em happy. - is the fabric pf the jjafeaial life, but to have real pleas- «» and delight in it, you want to auow yonr imagination free play, then the incidents and the the people become really . & you think of these people Make gardens you may «wtßem better. As ypu grow * "will find, if you have not 'lit *heady, thin authors of hisI SS 0 * 1 novels sometimes use a garto part of the background , rSJto* wnnai they make their chargwp move. You may discover a we deal about the styles of old* wogtt gardens from books like —k°°fc long ago when there were ha England, the monks ->J3I hM and worked in than, g* gardens In their free tune. herbs they T 4t lj fflaHP9 wwkpik The herbs, were - IfW ” little plots' edged round jSSMtwds which did not grow tall, '■* thyme. |t wag Kind of thyme a$ is used - **e stqlflng far toast fqwl. to is known, the actual England be-

whon avenues of trees were made in the grounds surrounding castles. There was always one part which was called the Physic Qardep, where the bprbs were grown feoth ipr medicines and lotions and for pse in cooking. In the flower gardens there may have been some roses, very different from those we grow, and lilies and violets, periwinkles and dove pinks. The latter were very much liked because of the sweet fragrance; the flowers were used to flavour wme. People dropped the clove pinks into then* goblets of wine no doubt much as we sometimes put a slice of lemon in tea. The common name for these, clove pinks became Sops^mj-wme. You will bear a good deal about the Wars of the Boses; during that period evidently few people had time to give to gardening; but after the country was quiet again changes began, some being very elaborate and tome being stiff and formal. Of course the changes took place gradually, and over a long' period of time. By the sixteenth century people were becoming more ambitious and contemplating big things. Sir Francis Bacon wto a firm believer in gardens and gardening, 'and wrote a great essay qh the subject. This |s very interesting nowadays because it gives us some idea o* what gardens were like tbeh, and tells qs alto that the people enjoyed the same things that we enjoy—the scent of flowers, open spaces,' green lawns, fountains, and beautiful trees. Bacon believed' that there ought to be gardens to enjoy at all seasons of the year. We work j on the same principle when we try to keep the garden interesting'at «ul times.

In this great essay, Bacon mentions a great many- plants fcy name, sp that we show #hat Was grown in those Among others there were pinks, violets, roses, looney* sm&lf, ''wslmcrwers, primroses, anemones, tulips, and hyacinths, eu farpiliar to us.although oyr flowers are mueh improved. Clipped hedges were very gener* ally used in these old gardens to enclose a space, ppd many garden* ers clipped trees’ into certain resemblances, spch as S|. George and the Dragon. This was the result of what is called the' Dutch influence, for. the Dutch liHed formality and, during the reign of william the Third, it- was only natural that tention should be paid to these things. The shaping of living plants into unnatural form is fcaown as

topiary, and requires much stall and patience. It is still done to soin e ejftept, for it helps to create a f(?ronset, wpipn is often appreciOhanges were still going on in tfje plopping of gardens, and while George $lO Third was on the thrope, sopae very violent opes took place, which we?e not always for the hotter. People began to tire of Ibrpiality, and everybody wanted a natural garden instead. The Person wh° Jed this agitation was naiped Capability Birpwp, He cut down avenues of lovely trees and built njpuhds Spd shaui ruins in their steadr Alter § had none all thg nuspbiei, his day was over, and people began to think of their gardens more as we do, as a sotting lor their hopries end a place for pleasure and recreation.