VII 

 THE GORSE 



Ulex Europceus .... Gorse, Furze, Whin 

 / var. flore plena Double Gorse 



NOTHING is more entrancing in Nature's 

 garden than a Gorse common ablaze with the 

 massed brilliancy of its flowers in late April 

 and in the merry month of May. For there a sheet 

 of pure gold makes a revel of colour, while the most 

 delicious, the most spring-like of scents surges up on 

 every breeze, wave upon wave, to bathe one in frag- 

 rance. No wonder, indeed, that when the eyes of the 

 great Linnaeus first fell on a Gorse common in full 

 flower he, a native of a gorseless land, stood in 

 wonder, then knelt in gratitude to the Almighty who 

 had permitted him to see such a vision of beauty. 

 So strong is the appeal that Gorse makes to the 

 senses, so overwhelming the delight that lies in it, 

 that it is nothing short of amazing that as a garden 

 shrub it is so rare. Of course in Nature the magnifi- 

 cence of the general effect is largely obtained from 

 viewing at a distance the massing of brilliant flower 

 E 53 



