2 30 THE FORMAL GARDEN IN ENGLAND x 



tells us in the garden of Alcinous : " Without 

 the palace, near the doors, was a great garden, 

 four acres by four, and round it on every side 

 was driven a fence. There grew tall trees and 

 beautiful pears and pomegranates, and apple- 

 trees with gleaming fruit, and luscious figs and 

 teeming olive-trees." ^ Or again, in the ground 

 of a mediaeval tapestry all beautiful flowers and 

 fruits grow together, the strawberry next the 

 violet, and columbines among the raspberries, 

 and fair roses twine among the apple boughs. 

 So again with flowers : " The dahlia has 

 banished the hollyhock, with its old friend the 

 sunflower, into the cottage garden, where it 

 still flanks the little walk that leads from the 

 wicket to the porch — not the only instance in 

 which our national taste has been redeemed by 

 the cottage against the vulgar pretensions of 

 luxury and wealth."^ It is more of this un- 

 sophisticated liking for everything that is 

 beautiful that ought to be allowed full play 

 in the gardens ; less of the pedantry that lays 

 down rules about nature and is at heart in- 

 different to the beauty about which it preaches. 

 If there were any truth in his cant about 

 nature would the landscape gardener bed out 



^ Odyssey, vi'i. 112-116 — 



^KTo<x6ev 5' ai;X77s fieyas bpxaros dyx'^ ^^pdcou 

 Terpdyvos' Trepi 5' epKos eX-qXaraL d/x^or^puidev. 

 ^vda 5^ d^vdpea fiaKpd Tre4>vKei rrjXedoojvTa 

 oyxvai /cat poial, Kal firiXiai dyXadKapiroi 

 crvKOL T€ yXvKcpai, Kal iXaiai TrjXeOouxxai. 



- James, in T/'ie Carthusian. 



