38 THE GLORY OF THE GARDEN 



rounding it with plots and hedgerows of sweet- 

 briar, jasmine, lilies, rosemary, lavender, musk, and 

 marjoram. 



But, unfortunately, he was not able to carry out 

 his ideas, so we have not been able to see the results 

 of such a truly alluring scheme. 



To quote an old-world opinion on scent: 

 '* Thyme will renew the spirits and vital energy 

 in long walks under an August sun; the Marechal 

 Niel rose is invigorating in lowness of mind or 

 body. Sweet briar promotes cheerfulness; yellow 

 bedstraw, cowslip, wallflower, damask and pink 

 china roses, plum blossom, bog myrtle, and wild 

 honeysuckle refresh the spirits; while the smell of 

 ground ivy, charlock, woodruff, rosemary, and 

 fresh-cut grass will often prove a bodily refresh- 



ment." 



These views should not surprise us, as, considering 

 how large a part the visible plays in our enjoyment 

 of gardens, it is not therefore very astonishing 

 that much of their charm should also depend upon 

 the invisible. 



For it always seems that there is something even 

 more wonderful and subtle about the unseen gift 

 of fragrance, than about the more striking gift 

 of colour; scent is less definable, less explainable, 

 and its wonders have been less explored. 



In the herb garden, fragrance depends more 

 on the leaves of plants than the flowers, and one 

 secret is soon discovered: the value of leaf scents. 

 Flower scents are evanescent, leaf odours are 

 permanent. On the other hand, leaf odours, though 

 " ready when sought," do not force themselves 

 upon us, as it were, like flower scents, which we 



