"THE CURIOUS KNOTTED GARDEN" 89 



The tiled roof, the gables inlaid with oaken beams, 

 are almost hidden by fragrant roses and jasmine 

 flowers that shine like stars against their darker 

 foliage. A sun-dial stands in the square of lawn 

 before the porch, and the windows to your right open 

 upon a yew-hedged bowling-green. Beyond, the 

 smooth lawn slopes down to a little stream, thick 

 with water-loving reeds and yellow flags; and lime- 

 trees, whose fragrance the breeze wafts to us, sweep 

 the greensward in magnificent curves. If you turn 

 to the left, along yonder grassy path you will find 

 yourself between borders gorgeous with poppies and 

 sweet william and hollyhocks and lilies that frame 

 distances of blue hills and clear sky. 



"The kitchen-garden lies through that gate in 

 the wall of mellowed brick an old-fashioned 

 kitchen-garden, with mingled fruit and vegetables 

 and flowers. There are pear and plum-trees against 

 the wall and strawberry beds next the feathery 

 asparagus and gooseberry bushes hidden by hedges 

 of sweet peas. Another turn will bring you into a 

 labyrinth of yew hedges and so back to the bowling- 

 green, across which the long shadows lie, and the 

 sun-dial which marks the approach of evening. The 

 light is golden on the house and on the tangled bor- 

 ders; the air is fragrant with many scents." 



