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 fresshe pervinke riche of hewe, 



And floures yelowe, whyte and rede : 



Swich plentee grew ther never in mede. 



Ful gay was al the ground, and queynt 



And poudred, as men had it peynt. 



With many a fresh and sondry flour, 



That casten up a ful good savour." 1 



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 2 rownde 

 Men calle it ye joy of grownde." 3 



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 gelu is his flower. 

 Ye golde flour is good to seene." 4 



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 are mentioned with fennel and savory. 6 They 



1 Chaucer, Romaunt of the Rose, 1. 143 1. 2 =nearly. 



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



4 Ibid. B Form of Cury. 



