"The trustees have also received choice batches of old-fashioned flowers from the gardens of medieval Castles mentioned in the plays—Glamis and Cawdor, for instance—and some which were probably well known to Shakespeare, such as Berkeley Castle; and from the great Tudor houses also, which he knew well, at any rate by repute, such as Knole, Burghley House, and Cobham Hall. The owner of Cobham Hall sends specimens of the famous 'Cobham' Rose, known to have been grown in the garden there for four or five hundred years. From Esher Place also—the 'Aster House' of 'King Henry VIII'—come many beautiful flowers and herbs.
"The sentiment, which has prompted such generosity, has equally appealed to many possessors of more modern gardens; while the authorities of Kew Gardens, regarding the scheme as one of national concern, have cordially aided the Trustees both with counsel and with contributions.
"Last, but by no means least, are the many small gifts from quite small gardens, even of cottagers; while, in some ways, the most pleasing of all, are the subscriptions from school children of some of the poorest districts in the East End of London—for instance, of the Mansford Street Central, and Pritchard's Road Schools, Bethnal Green—for the purchase of favorite flowers of the dramatist, whose plays they have so often witnessed with delight at the 'Old Vic.' and elsewhere.
"Thus, effect has been given to a prime desire of the Trustees, that as large as possible a number of people in every section of the community should be associated with this tribute to Shakespeare's memory.
"Most of the plants needful to furnish forth Shakespeare's garden in the style of his own time have been forthcoming in sufficient quantities—yet there are some important gaps still to be supplied. These are:—Box, dwarf Box, both the ordinary and the 'Gilded' variety; Thrift; Thyme, the Golden and Glaucous, as well as the Wild; and that pretty herb, known under its simple old English name as 'Lavender Cotton.' Of all of these, thousands of plants are still needed. Similarly of Pinks, 'Streaked Gillyflowers'; 'Spike Lavender'; and of Pansies—'Love in Idleness,'—pale and dark 'purple with Love's wound.' Of 'Eglantine'—Sweet Briar—a few scores would be very welcome.
"Such shortages are mainly due to the large quantities of these plants required for the purpose of filling the intricate-patterned beds of the 'Curious Knotted Garden.' That kind of garden was an invariable adjunct to every house of importance in Shakespeare's time, and the Trustees are laying one out on what is believed to be the exact site of the poet's own 'knotted garden,' modeling it on the designs printed in the contemporary books on gardening—the designs being followed with a fidelity and completeness unattempted, it is believed, for two hundred and eighty years. At the same time, suggestions have naturally been sought in Bacon's famous Essay 'On Gardens.'..."
SHAKESPEARE'S GARDEN RESTORED
Mr. Law's report, which is dated "Shakespeare's Birthday, A. D. 1920," says:
"The project of laying out the ground attached to Shakespeare's home in his later years as an Elizabethan garden, to be stocked with all the old-fashioned flowers mentioned by him in his plays or well known in his time, first took practical shape last winter.