62 A HISTORY OF GARDENING IN ENGLAND. 



The yellow flag and purple iris are sometimes indiscriminately 

 spoken of as lilies. In the old medical MS. already referred to, 

 the lilie " that waxit in 3erdis " is described as white as any milk, 

 and the three other kinds of the field and wood, were yellow, 

 "like saffron," and one*'' blue purple " ; but these are also spoken 

 of as "gladdon" and " yreos." Other flowers were brought in 

 from the fields and woods, and perhaps improved by cultivation. 

 The geranium of the flower garden in the Middle Ages was the 

 wild cranesbill, or small herb Robert. The wild scabious and 

 poppy were in the place of the showy annuals and biennials of 

 our gardens of to-day. But many indigenous plants would make 

 no mean show, such as cowslips, daffodils, primroses, foxglove, 

 mullein, St. John's worts, gentian, oxalis, mallow, corncockle, 

 yarrow, campion, centaury, or honeysuckle, all of which we 

 know were grown. There were corners, too, where a peony 

 or tall hollyhock or monkshood flowered, or shaded nook filled 

 with the glossy leaves of the hartstongue, or a portion of the long 

 bed was made bright with pinks and columbines, or sweetly 

 scented with lavender, rosemary, or thyme. /In describing the 

 flowers of a garden in Chaucer's time, we must not forget what 

 he called 



" The daysie or elles the eye of day 

 The emperise and flour of floures alle." 



It found its way into the trimmest gardens ; the greenswards and 

 arbours were " powdered " with daisies. To quote Chaucer 

 again : 



" Home to my house full swiftly I me sped 

 To gone to rest, and early for to rise 

 To scene this floure to sprede, as I devise 

 And in a little herber that I have 

 That benched was on turves fresh y grave 

 I bad me shoulde me my couche make." 



Though a daisy plant is supposed to spoil the most velvety turf, 

 yet none would see it banished from our gardens, and all agree in 

 loving the little flower with the poet who said, 



" Si douce est la Marguerite." >- 



^ 



The gardens that were described by Chaucer, although intended 

 for ideal ones, were no doubt but faithful pictures of the gardens 



