GENTLEMEN ADVENTURERS 41 



plenty, of magnificence! There was room and to 

 spare, and abundance; and their ideas and ideals took 

 shape accordingly. There were no small grants, nor 

 cottage homes, nor cottage gardens. Only manor 

 lands and great park-like inclosures could satisfy the 

 taste of people like these. L 



It is well past the middle of the seventeenth cen- 

 tury, however, before there appears any evidence of a 

 general concern for the finer and nicer things of the 

 garden. Undoubtedly the gardens, such as they were, 

 had been there for many years; but these were the 

 ruder gardens of vegetables as well as flowers. It 

 is not likely that much attempt had been made as yet 

 toward definite garden design. The plantation yard 

 was just a partly shaded, irregular open field whereon 

 the dwelling stood. The grass of this was the same 

 as any meadow showed, and the live-stock grazing 

 about it afforded the only restriction to its growth. 

 Near the house and conveniently located, was the 

 garden, always fenced or railed or paled to keep out 

 the hogs and cattle — and here grew the vegetables for 

 the family, and such flowers as there was room for. 



Of these there were "gillyflowers" (this meant 

 carnation pinks rather than what we now know as 

 gilliflowers), "holly hocks, sweet bryer, lavender cot- 

 ton, white satten or honestie, English roses, fether few 

 (feverfew), comferie (comfrey), celandine"; and 



