STONE HALL, EASTON 



THE FRIENDSHIP GARDEN 



It was a pleasant thought, that of the lover of good flowers and firm 

 friend of many good people, who first had the idea of combining the two 

 sentiments into a garden of enduring beauty. 



Such a garden has been made at Easton by the Countess of Warwick. 

 The site of the Friendship Garden has been happily chosen, close to the 

 remains of an ancient house called Stone Hall, which now serves Lady 

 Warwick as a garden-house and library of garden books. 



The flower-plots are arranged in a series of concentric circles ; the 

 plants are the gifts of friends. The name of each plant and that of the 

 giver are recorded on an imperishable majolica plaque. Many well- 

 known givers' names are here, from that of the very highest in the land 

 downward. The plants themselves comprise many of the best and 

 handsomest. 



The picture shows the garden as it is about the middle of September ; 

 the time of the great White Pyrethrum, the perennial Sunflowers and the 

 earliest of the Michaelmas Daisies. The bush of Lavender is blooming 

 late, its normal flowering time is a month earlier. But Lavender, 

 especially when some of the first bloom is cut, will often go on flowering, 

 as later-formed shoots come to blooming strength. Let us hope that the 

 giver is not shortlived like the gift, for Lavender bushes, after a few 

 years of strong life, soon wear out. Already this one is showing signs of 

 age, and it would be well to set a few cuttings in spring or autumn, or, 

 still better, to layer it by one of the lower branches, in order to renew 



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