170 
THE FLOWER GARDENS 
various means were resorted to ; sometimes 
the bushes were watered twice a-day during 
the Avhole summer ; on other occasions a 
hollow trench was dug at a distance, of almost 
eighteen inches round the bush, into which 
warm water was poured morning and evening; 
while a third, and perhaps the surest method, 
was to plant them in pots or baskets, which, 
during the winter months, were placed in 
sunny sheltered spots by day, and carried into 
the house at night ; afterwards, when the 
season was sufficiently advanced, these port- 
able gardens were buried in the earth." * 
The lily, " the flower of innocence," as it has 
been called, was one of the favourites in the 
Grecian flower garden. It was probably in- 
troduced into that country from Suza or 
Egypt. But of this, as of most of the plants 
of the same land, little certainty exists. But 
the Hellenic gardener was not content to be- 
hold the rich hues of the rose succeeded by 
the virgin whiteness of the lily. That fair 
flower, therefore, which naturally begins to 
bloom when its prouder rival is fading, was 
often compelled to assume various colours, 
imparted to it by the ingenuity of art, an in- 
genuity seldom or never, we believe, exercised 
in these times. But the Greek delighted to 
see the delicate bell of the lily putting on a 
deep red or purple hue. The former was 
caused by infusing, before planting, cinnabar 
into the bulb ; the latter by steeping it in 
the lees of purple wine. 
Whether allowed to bloom in its original 
simplicity, or dressed in foreign colours by 
the art of the florist, the lily was too beautiful, 
in the eyes of the Greek gardener, to be 
allowed to fade at the season appointed by 
nature. Accordingly, in order to produce 
a succession of lilies, some bulbs were set near 
the surface of the ground. These soon made 
their appearance, and flourished in their full 
maturity, drooping in decay just as a green 
sprout from the deeper-set root burst above 
the earth, and so on throughout a large por- 
tion of the year. 
The neighbourhood of fountains was espe- 
cially chosen for the beds of lilies, and along 
the dark borders of small streams grew the 
flower which was pre-eminently the favourite 
of the Athenian people ; the purple, double, 
white and gold violet. This, with the pansy, 
" streaked with jet," the purple cyperus, the 
iris, the water mint, the hyacinth, and the 
narcissus, formed a rich bordering to the 
velvet turf, and was sometimes also found in 
company with the willow-herb, the blue 
speedwell, the marsh marigold, the jacinth, 
and the early daffodil, 
" That come before the swallow dares, and take 
The winds of March with beauty." 
* St John's Ancient Greece. 
Here and there, in the Greek garden, which 
presented no formal regularity, no line-and- 
measure strictness, rose little sunny hillocks, 
wrapped about in a tangled net of wild thyme, 
sweet mint, and marjoram ; while, interspersed 
among the other flower beds, were patches of 
geraniums, of the spike lavender, the rose- 
mary, the flower gentle, the white hermit, 
the hyssop, the baril, the cytisus, the rose-cam- 
pion, the columbine, the yellow amaryllis, and 
the celandile ; while close at hand — ■ 
" Their gem-like eyes 
The Phrygian melilots disclose." 
In the beds, again, were to be seen clusters 
of the balm gentle, the red, the purple, and the 
coronal anemone, which beautified the fields 
of Attica as early as the month of February; 
the yellow, white, pale-pink, and blue convol- 
vulus, with our lady's gloves, and the flower 
of the Trinity. Of the southernwood, which 
the Greeks usually cultivated in pots, Delia 
Rocca observes, that, when growing in 
thickets, it constitutes one of the greatest 
beauties of the Grecian Isles. It borders the 
streams in wild profusion, and, growing to 
the height of twelve or fifteen feet, presents 
large masses of red and white flowers [?] most 
grateful to the eye. 
The summer savory, the oenanthe, the silver 
sage, St. Mary's thistle, and the amaranth, 
were among the other ornaments of the 
garden ; while the rhododendron commonly 
rose above them, with its gigantic clusters of 
rich purple flowers. To conceive the beauty 
and brilliancy of such a garden would be dif- 
ficult ; so varied were the colours which met 
the eye, so profuse the masses of flowers which 
alternated with each other over the parterres ; 
so delicate and fragrant the odours which rose 
from them and mingled their scents, that if 
we conceive the possibility of intoxication 
following the enjoyment of a pleasure so 
simple and refined, it would be after luxuriat- 
ing in the pleasure of an ancient Greek 
garden. It must not be supposed that, full 
as is the list we have given of the various 
plants which bloomed in Hellas, we have 
mentioned more than a portion of them. The 
scattered descriptions which have come down 
to us enumerate many others ; and it is pro- 
bable that some escaped the notice of those 
authors from whom we take our information. 
However, the plants and shrubs which we 
have noticed are sufficiently numerous and 
varied to afford an idea of the rich floral 
treasury stored up in the gardens of Attica. 
Science, as we before observed, had made but 
moderate progress then. Horticulture had 
not been reduced to rule ; but we fancy, were 
the florists of modern times to be acquainted 
with all the arts and expedients which the 
