72 GAEDEN" ORNAMENTS 



to find consolation in his flowers, while mourning 

 the departure of Telemachus, goes on to show us 

 that great men turn to gardens to heal sorrow. 

 Philosophy was taught by Epicurus surrounded by 

 his beloved pupils among the flowers. 



From the early Greeks the Romans took their 

 first lesson in floriculture. It was after their in- 

 vasion of Brittany that they introduced certain 

 flowers and fruits, like grapes, roses and violets, 

 into English gardens. The art of gardening ad- 

 vanced steadily, reaching its zenith in good Queen 

 . - Elizabeth's time, when there were in England 

 many pleasing gardens, formal and stiff, to be sure, 

 but a fit setting for the architecture of that day. 



While the garden designs abounded in beautiful 

 walks and flowers, yet the entrance to the grounds 

 formed as it were the keynote to it aU. 



Has it ever occurred to you, as you stood hesitat- 

 ing at the portals of the gardens, that these were 

 suggestive of some well-thought-out plan, as like 

 grim sentinels they stand guarding the flower treas- 

 ures? There is as much contrast in this part of 

 the plan as there is in the design itself. Here we 

 find a narrow, forbidding entrance, giving no 

 glimpse of the flowers within ; again we come to a 



