52 A HISTORY OF GARDENING IN ENGLAND 



not very numerous, but those few kinds grew in great pro- 

 fusion : 



" Ther sprang the violete al newe, 



And frcsshe pervinke riche of hewe, 



And floures yelowe, whyte and rede : 



Swich plentee grew ther never in made. 



Ful gay was al the ground, and queynt 



And poudred, as men had it peynt, 



With many a fresh and sondry flour, 



That castcn up a ful good savour."^ 



The periwinkle, or parwinke, was a general favourite. It was 

 a plant well suited to cover and brighten the ground in the 

 shady corners of the garden, and thus gained the appropriate 

 name of " Joy of the ground " : 



" Parwynke is an erbe grene of colour 

 In tyme of May he beryth bio flour. 

 ***** 

 Ye lef is thicke schinede and styf. 

 As is ye grene jwy leef. 

 Vnche brod and nerhand^ rowndc 

 Men calle it ye joy of grownde."^ 



In an old ballad, a noble lady is called " The parwenke of 

 prowesse," the periwinkle being then used to typify excellence, 

 in the same way as the pink in Elizabethan times, " The very 

 pink of courtesy." 



Among yellow flowers in the same garden, the marigold, 

 or gold, as it is called by old writers, would be conspicuous : 



" Golde is bitter in savour. 

 Fayr and selu is his flower. 

 Ye golde flour is good to scene."* 



Jealousy is described by Chaucer as decked with these flowers. 

 " Jealousy that werede of yelwe guides a garland." 



Violets were also " herbs well cowth," or well known. 

 They were grown not only for their sweet fragrance, but also 

 as salad herbs, and " Flowers of violets " were eaten raw, 

 with onions and lettuce. Among the ingredients for a kind 

 of broth they cire mentioned with fennel and savory.^ They 



^ Chaucer, Romaunt of the Rose, 1. 143 1. ^ =nearly. 



^ Medical MS., Stockholm, Archceologia, vol. xxx. 



♦ Ihid, ° Form of Cury. 



