12 
SHAKESPEARE’S GARDEN 
In the meadows where the yellow cowslip best 
loves to disport its drooping bells, there often grows 
one of our most delicate of flowers, referred to once 
only, viz., in the lines quoted as our chapter heading. 
The plant is an interesting one, belonging to the 
large edible order of Cruciferse, and is called by 
botanists Cardamine pratensis , L.* It is found wild in 
all the North temperate regions. Its name is said to 
be a word - picture of the sweetness, gentleness, 
and purity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who has 
many flowers called after her, such as Lady’s tressest 
—a white orchis of exceedingly delicate scent— 
Lady’s mantle, Lady’s fingers vetch. Lady laces, and 
Lady signet. The local Warwickshire name is still 
“ smell smock.” The leaves of the plant produce in 
auturhn small bulbils, which fall off and help to pro¬ 
pagate the species. 
Another flower of the sylvan hedge bank this 
month is the yellow dead-nettle, or archangel, which 
Grindon considers the nettle of Ophelia’s wreath; 
but it is much more likely the ordinary stinging- 
nettle would be the flower selected by the distraught 
maiden in her phantasies. Archangel is a very 
handsome plant, with flowers of deep golden yellow. 
It is the Lamium galeobdolon of science, and a by no 
means uncommon plant in Warwickshire hedges. 
The next plant to deal with is the cuckoo-flower, 
mentioned but once in the poet’s works, and then in 
connection with many common hedgerow plants: 
Crowned with rank fumiter and furrow-weeds, 
With burdocks, hemlock, nettles, cuckoo-flowers, 
Darnel, and all the idle weeds that grow 
In our sustaining corn .—King Lear, IV. iv. 3. 
* Other native species are, C. hirsuta, C. amara, and 
C. impatiens. 
f Some of these probably came through worship of Venus 
and Freyja. 
