2 A HISTORY OF GARDENING IN ENGLAND 



constituted of itself the poor man's field, and it was from the 

 garden that the lower classes procured their daily food." The 

 rich indulged in luxury and extravagance in the garden, and 

 vegetables and fruits were raised at great cost for their use, 

 which were not enjoyed by the community at large. But most 

 of the vegetables which are still in general use were common 

 to all classes, and many of these plants were brought by 

 the Romans to this country. Some of them took so kindly 

 to this soil, and were so firmly established, that they sur- 

 vived the downfall of the Roman civilization. A curious 

 example of this is one species of stinging-nettle, which tradition 

 says was introduced by the Romans as an esteemed pot- 

 herb. 



Tacitus, writing in the first century, says that the climate of 

 Britain was suitable for the cultivation of all vegetables and 

 fruits, except the olive and the vine. Before long, even the 

 vine was grown, apparently with some success. It is generally 

 believed that the Emperor Probus, about the year 280 A.D., 

 encouraged the planting of vineyards in Britain. Pliny states 

 that the cherry was brought here before the middle of the first 

 century. Perhaps he alludes to some improved variety, as 

 that fruit is indigenous in this country. 



It cannot be supposed that the Roman gardens in Britain 

 were as fine as those on the Continent. Gardens on such an 

 elaborate scale as that at Pliny's Villa, or at the Imperial Villas 

 near Rome, with their terraces, fountains, and statues, could 

 scarcely have been made in this country. But the remains of 

 Roman houses and villas which have been found in various 

 places in England so closely resemble those found in other 

 parts of the Empire, that doubtless the gardens belonging to 

 them were laid out as nearly as possible on the same lines as 

 those of Italy and Gaul. The South of England could afford 

 many a sheltered spot, where figs and mulberries, box and rose- 

 mary, would grow as well as at " Villa Laurentina," seventeen 

 miles from Rome. A " terrace fragrant with the scent of 

 violets," trailing vines and ivy ; or enclosures of quaintly-cut 

 trees in the forms of animals or letters filled with roses, would 

 not there seem out of place. If the Roman gardens in Britain 

 were like this — and why should it be doubted when such noble 



