276 THE SHAKESPEARE GARDEN 



much admired in Elizabethan days. Sir Henry 

 Wotton (1568-1630), a most sensitive critic, who 

 wrote so beautifully of flowers, describes in his "Ele- 

 ments of Architecture" a garden laid out on different 

 levels : 



"I have seen a garden for the manner perchance 

 incomparable into which the first access was a high 

 walk like a terrace, from whence might be taken a 

 general view of the whole Plot below. From this, 

 the Beholder, descending many steps, was after- 

 wards conveyed again by several mountings and 

 fallings to various entertainments of his scent and 

 sight. Every one of these diversities was as if he 

 had been magically transported into a new garden." 



The above extracts will afford suggestions for the 

 lay-out of fine stately gardens. The most typical 

 Elizabethan estates are Montacute, Somersetshire; 

 Longleat, Wiltshire; Hatfield, Hardwicke, Kirby, 

 Penshurst, Kent; and Drayton House, Northamp- 

 tonshire. All of these are models for imitation in 

 our own country. 



II 



The Small Garden 



Turning now to the small enclosed garden, first 

 select your ground, your design, and your flowers 



