Roses, he says, should be planted in "the outer borders of the
quarters, or in the middle of the long beds"; and lilies should be
placed in a "small, round or square in a knot without any tall flowers
growing about them."
IV
_"Outlandish" and English Flowers_
The flowers for the knots, or beds, Parkinson divides into two classes:
the "Outlandish flowers" and the "English flowers."
Of the outlandish flowers first of all he mentions daffodils, of which
there were "almost a hundred sorts, some either white, or yellow, or
mixed, or else being small or great, single or double, and some having
but one flower on a stalk; others, many." Other daffodils were so
exceedingly sweet that a very few were sufficient to perfume a whole
chamber: the "single English Bastard daffodil, which groweth wild in
many woods, groves and orchards in England; the double English Bastard,
the French single white, the French double yellow, the Spanish yellow
Bastard, the great or little Spanish white, and the Turkie single white
Daffodil" are some of the varieties Parkinson mentions. Then of the
_Fritillaria_ or the "checkerd Daffodil" Parkinson gives "half a score,
several sorts, both white and red, both yellow and black, which are a
wonderful grace and ornament in a garden in regard of the checker-like
spots in the flower."
Hyacinths in Parkinson's book are about "half a hundred sorts: some
like unto little bells or stars, others like unto little bottles or
pearls, both white and blue, sky colored and blush, and some star-like
of many pretty various forms and all to give delight to them that will
be curious to observe them."
Shakespeare does not mention hyacinths.
Of crocus, or saffron flowers, there were twenty sorts, some flowering
in the spring, others in the autumn, but all of "glorious beauty."
Of lilies there were "twenty several sorts and colors," among which the
Crown Imperial, "for her stately form deserveth some special place in
the garden, as also the Martagons, both white and red, both blush and
yellow, that require to be set by themselves apart."
Tulips (which are never mentioned by Shakespeare) were so many and
various that Parkinson considered it beyond his ability to describe
them all "for there is such a wonderful variety and mixture of colors
that it is almost impossible for the wit of man to decipher them and to
give names," and he added that "for every one that he might name ten
others would probably spring up somewhere" and "besides this glory of
variety in colors that these flowers have, they carry so stately and
delightful a form and do abide so long in their bravery, there is no
lady or gentlewoman of any worth that is not caught with this delight,
or not delighted with these flowers."
Then the anemones, or windflowers, "so full of variety, so dainty, so
pleasant and so delightsome, so plentiful in bearing and durable," he
tells us were great favorites.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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