THE BOOK OF THE PEONY 



after describing six kinds of peonies — ^twol of 

 which were double — Parkinson says, " All these 

 Peonies have been sent or brought from divers 

 parts beyond the Seas; they are endenizened in 

 our gardens where we cherish them for the beauty 

 and delight of their goodly flowers as well as 

 for their physical vertues." Of the two double 

 peonies described by Parkinson, one was white 

 and one red. It has been suggested that the 

 double white had originated as a sport of the 

 double red. 



The first Botanical Garden in England was 

 established at Oxford by the Earl of Danby, about 

 1621 " for a nursery for simples." In this gar- 

 den, as appears by the catalogue, there were 

 " double and single Peony " in company with 

 twenty kinds of roses, including York and Lan- 

 caster. In the History of Plants at Oxford by 

 Robert Morrison (1620-1683), who was noted 

 for being one of the pioneers in the systematic 

 botanical classification of plants, there is a de- 

 scription of several peonies including a flesh- 

 coloured peony. 



In the well-known Botanists' and Gardeners' 



44 



