4 THE GLORY OF THE GARDEN 



In Henry VIII.^s reign the gardens of Nonsuch 

 and Hampton Court were laid out with regal 

 splendour, and in Elizabeth's time the Potato, 

 Tomato, Tea, and many other useful and orna- 

 mental trees and plants were introduced from 

 foreign countries. 



Evelyn^ a great writer and traveller, did much 

 to extend and popularise the practice of gardening. 

 Gerarde, the famous surgeon and botanist, lived 

 at this time, and published his excellent " Herbal," 

 a work still valued very highly, and full of sound 

 information. John Parkinson, a little later, pub- 

 lished " Paradise in Sole Paradisus Terrestris," a 

 work which gave a great impetus to gardening. 



In the eighteenth century much progress was made, 

 and people of wealth began to lay out gardens 

 on a magnificent scale, and form parks, and plant 

 trees for ornament and use. 



Botanical gardens were formed at Chelsea, Cam- 

 bridge, and Kew, and greenhouses, glazed with 

 glass and artificially heated, were first brought into 

 practical use. It seems from records, though, that 

 the professional gardener of that period was much 

 lacking in skill and intelligence; he could cultivate 

 the ordinary crops, but failed hopelessly in the art 

 of growing the choicer vegetables and fruit, and so 

 these had to be imported from Belgium and Holland. 



^he Chelsea Physic Garden was founded by the 

 " Society of Apothecaries of London," which 

 society was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1606, 

 and was then united with the Grocers' Company, 

 an ancient City guild. 



An interesting record of the Chelsea Physic 

 Garden in 1685 is given to us by John Evelyn: 



