84 THE FLOWER GARDEN". 



more complacency his four hundred feet of holly " blush- 

 ing with its natural coral," than Bacon does his phantastic 

 vision of a " stately arched hedge," and " over every arch 

 a little turret, with belly enough to receive a cage of birds, 

 and over every space between the arches some other little 

 figure, with broad plates of round coloured glass for the 

 sun to play upon." I envy not that man's heart who can 

 view with indifference the great philosopher indulging in 

 his day-dreams of a spacious pleasaunce, where fruits from 

 the orange to the service tree, and flowers from the stately 

 hollyhock to the tuft of wild thyme, are to flourish, each 

 in its proper place ; " there should be the pale daffodil and 

 the clove-gilliflower, and the almond and apple-tree in 

 blossom, and roses of all kinds, * some removed to come 

 in late,' so that you may have * ver perpetuum ' all the year 

 through." 



Lord Bacon has indeed left us little to wish in the 

 Poetry of Gardening. His prince -like design of a de- 

 mesne of thirty acres, containing " a green at the entrance, 

 a heath or desert in the going forth, the main garden in 

 the midst, besides alleys on both sides," combines the 

 natural and artificial styles in their most perfect features ; and 

 if he realized in his retreat at Gorhambury but the outline 

 of his splendid vision, the gardens of the Hesperides, or of 

 Hafiz, could have no greater charm. 



Of all the vain assumptions of these coxcomical times, 

 that which arrogates the pre-eminence in the true science 

 of gardening is the vainest. True, our conservatories are 

 full of the choicest plants from every clime ; we ripen the 

 grape and the pine-apple with an art unknown before, and 

 even the mango, the mangosteen, and the guava, are made 

 to yield their matured fruits; but the real beauty and 

 poetry of a garden are lost in our efforts after rarity, and 



