OLD ENGLISH GARDENS 59 



working. Such pictures show us the arbours and foun- 

 tains, the pleached walks and clipt trees, the turf-banks 

 and turf -seats of the later middle ages. 



Favourite flowers. The English garden of the fourteenth 

 or fifteenth century yielded many exotic flowers, besides 

 English wild flowers, such as cowslips, foxglove, &c. We 

 find the following named, among many others : lilies, 

 roses, gilliflowers (clove-pinks), peonies, periwinkles, golds 

 (marigolds), blue and yellow flags (Iris), hollyhocks, 

 columbines, lavender. 



Vegetables. Garlic, leek and onions were grown plenti- 

 fully, as well as beans and pease, cabbages, beet, lettuce, 

 cress, radishes, turnips and carrots, parsneps, spinach, 

 orach, pumpkins and cucumbers, mustard, &c. 



Kitchen-herbs. Parsley, borage, avens, betony, patience 

 (a Rumex), fennel, mint, saffron, sage, clary, coriander, 

 anise, dill, hyssop, rue, dittany, smallage (wild celery), 

 tansy and thyme seem to have been frequent. Saffron 

 was a favourite ingredient of a number of dishes. 



Drugs. Marigold, rosemary, henbane, horehound and 

 valerian were much used in domestic medicine, besides 

 many wild plants, most of which were quite inactive. 



Fruit-trees. Several varieties of apples (costards, pear- 

 mains, &c.), pears (warden, Regul or St. Rule, sorrel, 

 Martin, perjenet, &c.), plums (" bulleys," " dampsons," 

 &c.), cherries, medlars, quinces (" coynes "), mulberries, 

 peaches, chestnuts, hazel-nuts, great nuts (walnuts) and 

 vines were usual. The vine was expected to yield eatable 

 grapes and even wine in the southern and western counties, 

 besides verjuice, expressed from the unripe grapes. Straw- 

 berries were a favourite ground -fruit ; gooseberries and 

 raspberries seem to have been brought in from the wild 

 country, and cultivated in gardens as early as the time 

 of Edward I., a great lover of gardens. 



The old English garden before the time of the Tudors 

 lacked many of our most valued trees, roots and flowers. 

 The borders showed no lilacs, laburnums, larkspurs, 



