40 ENGLISH PLEASURE GARDENS 



" Hypnerotomachia Poliphili " shows the image of a man 

 upholding a curious structure, all of which was sup- 

 posed to have been clipped from a box tree. Other no 

 less fanciful designs were reconstructed on supposedly 

 classic lines by the archaeologists of the Renaissance, 

 and were probably not far from the mark. 



The xystus, or parterre, was ''elaborately laid out 

 in figures edged with box. Sometimes these outlines 

 were left empty, and sometimes they were filled with 

 flowers. The accompanying illustrations give an idea 

 of the style of the design. According to our ideas, 

 flowers, even in the xystus, would have seemed lack- 

 ing in abundance and variety. From coronamenta, a 

 word used to signify cultivated flowers, we can assume 

 that they were intended to be picked to decorate with 

 wreaths the heads of those reclining at a banquet, or 

 to festoon the walls with garlands, rather than to 

 give pleasure when growing. Thus the appearance 

 of the parterre depended mostly upon the geometrical 

 design of the beds, the topiary work, statuary, and 

 fountains. The scarcity of vegetation brought the 

 architectural features into great prominence. 



The rose, the lily, and the violet were the three 

 most distinguished flowers of antiquity; but the nar- 

 cissus, anemone, gladiolus, iris, poppy, amaranth, im- 

 mortelle, verbena, periwinkle, and crocus were also 

 cultivated and much admired. Many flowerless plants 



