34 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 



evergreen, as the gardens of England are domi- 

 nated by the Yew. Planted under the front win- 

 dows or along the most used paths it gave a wel- 

 come warmth of colour to the bleak landscape of 

 a northern Winter, and in time crept into the 

 honoured place of friend, unchanging, well-loved 

 by every member of the family. Box is a fa- 

 miliar sight in the neighbourhood of New York 

 where it was extensively used by the Dutch; and 

 in Philadelphia by the English. It has been so 

 prominent in gardens the world over that it should 

 be cherished by garden-makers wherever it will 

 grow, and no one should be deterred from planting 

 it by the thought that it is slow of growth and un- 

 certain, for it is uncertain in some climates and 

 exposed positions. In every garden an altar of 

 Box should be erected where the votaries of Flora 

 may worship and lay their offerings of Rosemary 

 and Bay. 



Clipped and ornamental Box is as old as the 

 Roman hills. During the first century it was 

 used to enclose gardens, to edge walks and to 

 cover alleys, for in the East and in the south of 

 Europe it grew to the height of thirty feet. Pliny, 



