6 



ROYAL GARDENS 



were " hanging gardens " or terraces in the period of Assyrian 

 greatness. And among recent discoveries in Egyptian ex- 

 ploration, certain tombs, containing seeds of cultivated flowers, 

 shrubs, cereals and fruits, have been found. Moreover, hiero- 

 glyphs showing that irrigation was practised in Egyptian 

 gardens sixteen centuries before the Christian era have been 

 brought to light. 



Among ancient Greek writings, mention of the horticul- 

 tural art of their times is made by Hesiod and Theophrastus ; 

 and the disciples of Epicurus were called " the garden sect," 

 because their master taught them in his private garden. 

 Livy, Pliny the younger, Virgil and Horace all mention, and 

 some describe the art, which, five or six hundred years B.C., 

 had become an important adjunct to the refined and luxurious 

 life of the Latin people. Italy, to this day, is often spoken 

 of as the " garden of Europe," and indeed it is not too much 

 to say that nearly the whole Continent first learnt the value, 

 benefit and charm of horticulture from the victorious Roman 

 invader. 



Its first systematic practice in Britain is one among many 

 things she owes to the ancient Romans. They brought here 

 many fruits, pot-herbs, shrubs and flowers not indigenous to 

 the soil ; and in the third century Emperor Probus intro- 

 duced and made popular the cultivation of vines. There 

 seems to have been a lapse after the Romans left, and garden- 

 ing was not revived until the establishment of monasteries. 

 The monks paid special attention to medicinal herbs, but 

 there is little doubt they did not neglect fruit, vegetables and 

 flowers, for in the twelfth century Necham wrote his book 

 De naturis Rerum^ in which he gives a fairly long list of 

 plants grown in monastic grounds. Soon after this time 

 gardens were formed around or adjoining the castles of the 

 King and his principal subjects. 



In Henry II. 's reign, pears, apples, cherries and nuts were 

 favourite fruits, and among vegetables were beans, onions 

 and garlic. Herbs, both as medicines and food, were not 

 omitted, and the value of these plants caused their cultivation 



