94 



Old Time Gardens 



yards. I have never seen Box in ancient burying- 

 grounds, they were usually too neglected to be thus 

 planted ; but it was given a limited space in the 

 cemeteries of the middle of this century. Even 

 those borders have now generally been dug up to 

 give place to granite copings. 



The scent of Box has been aptly worded by Ga- 

 briel d'Annunzio, in his Virgin of the Rocks, in his 

 description of a neglected garden. He calls it a 

 " bitter sweet odor," and he notes its influence in 

 making his wanderers in this garden " reconstruct 

 some memory of their far-off childhood." 



The old Jesuit poet Rapin writing in the seven- 

 teenth century tells a fanciful tale that — 



" Gardens of old, nor Art, nor Rules obey'd, 

 But unadorn'd, or wild Neglect betray 'd ; " 



that Flora's hair hung undressed, neglected "in art- 

 less tresses," until in pity another nymph " around 

 her head wreath'd a Boxen Bough " from the fields ; 

 which so improved her beauty that trim edgings 

 were placed ever after — "where flowers disordered 

 once at random grew." 



He then describes the various figures of Box, the 

 way to plant it, its disadvantages, and the associate 

 flowers that should be set with it, all in stilted verse. 



Queen Anne was a royal enemy of Box. By her 

 order many of the famous Box hedges at Hampton 

 Court were destroyed ; by her example, many old 

 Box-edged gardens throughout England were rooted 

 up. There are manifold objections raised to Box 

 besides the dislike of its distinctive odor : heavy 



