4 ROYAL GARDENS 



have led the way in taking full advantage of and encouraging 

 every step in progress, every increase in knowledge, both in the 

 science of garden culture and the art of garden design. The 

 later Tudors looked upon gardens as necessary adjuncts to royal 

 magnificence, and several parts of Hampton Court still owe 

 much of their charm and beauty to the interest Henry VIH. 

 and Elizabeth took in them. Most of the Stuarts, whatever 

 their failings in other directions, were by nature and training 

 true patrons of art, and gardening under their direction and 

 example flourished exceedingly. William and Mary were 

 both fond of horticulture, and vast strides in knowledge and 

 great developments in practice were made during their period. 

 George II. and his consort Queen Caroline made many addi- 

 tions and improvements to Kensington Palace among other 

 royal gardens, and St. James's Park, as it now is, was laid out 

 by them. Queen Victoria and Prince Consort made the 

 gardens and planted the park at Osborne, presented the mag- 

 nificent home of the Royal Botanical Society at Kew to the 

 nation, and threw open St. James's Park and Kensington 

 Gardens to the public. And in King Edward VII. 's reign, the 

 great peacemaker was a most discerning patron of the gentlest 

 of all the arts, and not only made immense improvements in 

 his own beloved garden at Sandringham and presented Osborne 

 to his country, but brought many other royal gardens to 

 their present state of superb beauty and unequalled effi- 

 ciency. Their splendid methods have made royal gardens 

 for very many years perfect models of gardening practice in 

 every department ; so that not only the humblest amateur, but 

 the most expert horticulturist may find in them thousands of 

 things to admire, hundreds to learn from, and everything 

 that knowledge, skill and taste can suggest to gratify the 

 senses. 



Few methods for gaining some notion of a country's pro- 

 gress and prosperity yield more accurate results than a study 

 of the practical interest her people take in the arts of peace. 

 For the whole course of history shows that only when a nation's 



