32 GARDENS OF ENGLAND 



lasting. Borage is one of the triumphs of the herb 

 garden ; its flowers of lovely blue would make it 

 well worth growing even if the leaves did not 

 possess the flavour of the cucumber, refined and 

 etherealised. No one would vulgarise his claret-cup 

 with real cucumber if once he had tried the 

 delicate flavour of the borage leaf. 



Sorrel is another plant one learns to use in 

 France, where soups that are quite delicious are 

 made of nothing else than herbs and a little bread. 

 Sorrel helps to flavour them. If cooked as soon as it 

 is picked, and prepared in the same way as spinach, 

 it makes a capital dish. Marjoram of difierent 

 kinds, and both sorts of sweet savoury, are still 

 used in soups and stuffings, but not much else. 



Isaac Walton gives instructions for dressing a 

 pike, that, besides pickled oysters, includes winter 

 savoury, thyme, and some sweet marjoram. Else- 

 where may be found an old-fashioned recipe for 

 " dressing a trout " with rosemary and one or two 

 common pot-herbs. No one can read old cookery 

 books without seeing how much the herb garden 

 was valued in former tiines. Few fish in these days 

 are treated with herbs; we have nearly lost the 

 custom. 



Other herbs still used at the present time, but 



