second and the ordinary way of raising of them is in the middle of April it is done thus when you have prepared a bed fit for that purpose then sow them you must get other earth and cover them with for if you should rake them you cannot cover the seeds they being so long they will not fall in then cover them as I directed you three quarters of an inch thick this done if the weather be seasonable you shall see your seed come up the eighth day and when they have stood in this bed five weeks you may replant them into borders two rowes in a border each plant nine inches asunder there let them remain they 'll come to flower in August or in September A little after the seed cometh to perfection and the plant dieth you may pull it up and hang it in the roof of the house while it is dry and this will cause the seed to ripen then you may rub it out and sow this seed for two years and the third year you must change it or else your flowers will degenerate and grow single Everlasting-Pea It cometh up with many branches out of one root these branches run out to four-foot length much like the veines of Cucumbers on the stalks are narrow small leaves set on close to the stalk without any stem and at the top of every branch runneth spindles which will take hold of any thing that they are nigh they spring up at the first of April and flower in the later end of May the flower is mixt with a blew and purple colout of the bignesse of the Snap-Dragon flower the seed of it is like a small gray pea The time of planting of it is in the beginning of April the place fit for it is in some border next a wall where you may prick them down athalf afoot distance they 'll spring up in a fortnights time and after they are of a pretty height you must support them with small sticks they seldome flower the first year but the second year and so onward so they 'll continue alwies with you Hence it is they call it Everlasting-Pea The branch dieth every Winter and springeth again as was said I shall not trouble you with any more directions for the propagating of it it being of such a hardy nature that it is altogether needlesse Everlasting-life It is so called by reason of its long continuance on the stalk and being gathered it will keep fresh two moneths in the house I 'll give you a short description of it it springeth up about the beginning of May and by August it flowereth it rises up with a stalk two-foot high there is but one flower of a stalk and that putteth out like the Fennel-flower with many small leaves like the inner part of a Marigold this flower is white it seldome or never leaveth seed behind it the branch dieth yearly and the root remaineth in the ground which is like the root of the Spare-mint If you will have this Flower in your Garden you must procure the root in the Spring-time then provide a bed by it self dresse it in order as you do for any other flower then plant three chace of these slips in a bed the bed being two foot and a half in breadth water them well at the first planting plant nothing else amongst them for they increase and spread mightily this done you shall have them to flower that Summer and continue with you alwayes they being cleansed from weeds Flower-deluce I cannot describe them more than they have been by others as to the preheminence of them the King of France's Arms is a witnesse and our English Quoin is a testimony that this flower is and was in great estimation Farther consider that no inferiour person dares put this flower in his Coat of Armes though he may put it in his Gardens waving this Discourse I will shew you the ordering of them This Flower leaveth a tender seed therefore if you have a desire to sow them of the seed you must have a special care in the ordering of it the time is in the later end of April in a natural fertile earth the Moon being in the increase this being done in manner as I told you of Cornation Gilliflower-seed the twentieth day it will come up with one blade which groweth very slowly therefore it must be diligently weeded and the first Winter it must be covered from the cold the second year they 'll get strength and shift very well for themselves the third year they flower but you must take notice that they must be rep anted every year about that time that they were sown I have discoursed with many Gardeners and one amongst the rest told me that he could have them to flower in any moneth in the Summer time I demanded of him how He told me it was by housing of the root in boxes of earth in the Winter time giving of them the benefit of the Sunne when opportunity did serve and by watering of them now and then with warm water and this will cause them to spring forth presently and flower by the later end of April saith he Now reason told me that it could not be so soon yet it may cause it to flower a moneth before its natural season as any man of natural reason may understand Now to have the flower late you must nip off the springs as fast as they begin to spindle to flower till the middle of June and then forbear this will cause them to flower about about Michalmas The next thing is to know the right manner of planting and replanting of them for the increase of their number and the perfecting of their nature First The time for planting and replanting of them is in the later end of July or the beginning of August presently after they are flowering the place fit for it for the preheminence of your Garden is in the intervals of your Herb-work or in the trails of Grasse-work The manner is as followeth when you have taken up your roots slip the small suckers from the old bearers and set them in a border by themselves at a hand breadth distance there let them stand while that time twelve moneth then replant them into those places where you do your old bearers some of them will flower the first year others not till the second after their planting The manner of planting the great bearers is to make holes at a foot distance in those respective places as I told you putting of them no deeper in the earth than they may be just covered Now we will enquire of colours and colouring of this Flower the natural colour is the blew the colours held most in estimation is the white and blew the yellow and white the blew and purple there is another colour that I have been told of that is the red and white Experiments of force of nature may be as easily
acted on this Flower as any other whatsoever The first experiment is you may take them out of the earth and keep them in a room in sand two moneths in which space you may steep them in morical substances whereby you may make some infusions and alterations and crosse the nature and the seasons of the plant whereby you may bring about pretty fancies Other experiments may be made by grafting of them which is subtil viz. take the root of this and the Foxes-glove cut a part on the side of each of these roots off with a sharp knife of each part alike letting the strings of the bottom of the root alone then join them together and tie them with a little soft flax and so plant them in a box of earth these two roots will unite into one body and the effect will be pretty for there will be two several Flowers in one body Lastly This Flower is a great ornament to a Garden and for beautifying of rooms being placed in Flower-pots and an excellent shape it hath which my artlesse pen cannot describe in writing but in draught work my Pen Rule and Compasse hath walked a station and set it forth in its own shape and fashion and so I leave this worthy Flower to your care The Flower of the Sunne It is well known to those that have it and so is any other Flower therefore I shall give a short description of it to satisfie those that are not acquainted with it This Flower when it is at its full growth is at the height of a man onely with one stalk and that is as big at the nether end of a mans hand-rist upon the stalk are many leaves something like Mallow-leaves in colour and in bigness but they are not divided this one plant beareth but one Flower and that is at the very top of all and is of a great bigness so that some of them are thirty inches about and of a black and yellow colour bending it self down and inclining after the Sunne it flowereth in August The season fit for sowing of them is in April on this manner Prepare a border then prick in these seeds with your finger at half afoot asunder they come up suddenly after their setting they ought to be replanted after they are half afoot high into a rich earth where they may have good store of rotten dung under them to the end they may grow large you must water them often for it is a plant requireth much moisture so it will grow up and flower and bring forth seed which you may save and sow again the root and branch of this Flower dieth every year French Marigolds These are something like the African Marigold that is to say as like as any two several kinds may be like one another howsoever yet they are not so neer alike but there is a difference in every part for seeing the one and not seeing the other it puts you in mind of the other this is at such time till they come to flower then there is a great deal of difference in the colours of the Flowers for this is more delightfull than the other for it is intermixt with purple and yellow like your double Wall-flowers this flowereth in July being sown in natural earth being produced from hot beds they flower sooner Concerning the raising of them I shall not need to trouble my self to set it down how or where but see the directions for Africans as you raise them so you mayraise these I shall only give you a few observations if you low them in natural earth you need not replant them those that are sown in hot beds must be replanted you nor I need not trouble our selves with any more curiosity than hath been spoken for they continue not long with us they die that year so I hope out of your own capacity and what hath been spoken may sufficiently serve for the propagating of this Flower French Pinks French Pinks otherwise called French-Daises by others None so pritty and seeing the names are so obscure I will give you a description of this Flower it never riseth not above half afoot high but lieth on the ground with some stalks about afoot long these stalks are reddish about the bignesse of a Peas-vine of a hard substance with many thick leaves set in order upon them thick and jagged a whitish green colour about the bignesse of a ten shilling-piece round also at the top of the braches rise little spindles of a handfull long of a red colour on these branches grow many small Flowers no bigger than a single peny five leaves in number white and red speckled their time of flowering is from the latter end of May even to the later end of July they never bear any seed therefore take the propagating of them with slips as followeth The fit time for it is in the later end of August or the beginning of March for they cannot endure any drithe therefore set them in these seasons and now I will give you my directions how it ought to be done having gotten slips then prepare a border which is round an Herb knot and if you have none prepare a border next the wall having drest this border by a direct line and made the sides of it firme then set your line against the side of the border two inches below the top then prick in your slips by your line at two or three inches distance so that nothing appear but the tops of them if you do this in August they will flower the next Spring following timely those that be set in the Spring will not cast their Flower so soon Lastly Remember that you cut the leaves and dead branches off after they have done flowering then they will spring again fresh where they are once planted they alwaies continue and spread mightily so that they will run out upon your walls to prevent this and keep them in uniforme order strain a line at the bottome of your border and cut them off with a spade by that line those slips you may set again or pleasure your friends with them which you please Foxes-glove It is a Flower that springeth up with a blade like the Corn-flag through which shouteth up a stalk which beareth many Flowers set in order one above another and of a reddish colour and in the shape of a drinking bowl This Flower is richest on the branch in July it continueth fresh long on the stalk it beareth a seed which is ripe in the latter end of August The propagating of this Flower is either by seed or root First of the seed and that you shall sow in the beginning of April the Moon being in the increase in beds of natural earth in manner as I told you of the seed of the Flower-deluce the plants sprung of this seed groweth very slowly so that it will be two or three years before it come to flower in which space you must
William but it is strong it supporteth it self at the top of every stalk spring many small branches of an equal height atop of every branch is a Flower of a pritty Pink speckled colour the Flower is five leaves in number at the outer part of every leaf of the Flower groweth a prickle This Flower flourisheth most in the latter end of July For the propagating of them I will be short with you the time is in the latter end of April the place is in the quarter which you reserve for Flowers in that manner as I have shown you of other small seeds of Flowers in which bed you may let them stand till they flower soon after they have yeelded their seed the whole plant perisheth Lupins Many sorts there are viz. the blew the yellow the white the purple and the great Lupin these and all these differ as well in shape as in colour they differ also in growth every sort of seed hath a difference in greatnesse and in colour also to puzzle my self and trouble the Reader with the description of each is altogether needlesse I shall give you some observations how all sorts of Lupins may be raised of the seed and not stand to name in particular how each is to be raised for one direction will serve for them all The time of planting of all sorts of Lupins is in the middle of April and so till May the place is in beds or borders according as your fancy is or the quantity of your seed if you have a great quantity then you may plant them in trails in beds or borders in manner as they plant Peas these are for the blew and yellow which are the ordinary sorts but the greater sorts require more room Lastly Observe that any sort of Lupins committed to the earth in their season will spring up without any further care so they need nothing but weeding in the latter end of July all sorts of Lupins come to flower which are very beautifull in a Garden after the shading of the Flower springeth cods in the shape of a Bean-cod bigger or lesser according to their kinds the cods are rough like a Peach the seed will come to perfection in the latter end of August and may be set again in the same Garden where it grew for many years and it will not degenerate Ladies-Thistle It hath only one stalk upon a root with long leaves and as broad as a mans hand these leaves are prickley and of the colour of a cardus-Cardus-leaf the plant never groweth to above two foot high and in August it flowereth the flower is of the colour of the great wild thistle-flower but greater and without prickles the seed is long and rough of a gray colour This plant is set of the seed in the later end of March the place is in a border when you intend to have them flower each seed being set half afoot asunder and half an inch deep it cometh up suddenly and flowereth the same year and the time as aforesaid the branch when Winter cometh dieth and springeth again in March the third Winter after it soon dieth root and branch Lowe in idle Lowe in idle or two faces under a hood is a Flower that is much like Violets in all respects but only it flowereth at such times at Violets does not that is in June and July this Flower beareth a seed of which it may be raised if slips might not be had The time for setting of them in the slip or sowing of them in the seed is in March the place is either in the side borders of high walks or on the edge of low borders in manner as I told you of Cowslips if you sow them of the seed then you shall make drils by a line with a stick half an inch deep each drill at a foot asunder if it be on the side border of your high walks if on your low borders one is sufficient in these drils thinly cast your seed then cover it and it will grow up and cover the whole border suddenly where it will alwayes remain for it renewes its nature by the branches taking root as they lie on the ground Ladies-liveries This is not a Flower yet many people fancy to have it in the Garden of pleasure because it hath such a pretty property with it for it shouteth up with many blades like spire-grasse of an inch in breadth each blade is striped red white yellow and green some call it Truelowe-grasse it hath a root like such grasse though it runne not so farre this root if you set in any part of your Garden there it will grow and continue alwayes This plant I thought fit to set down for brevities sake because I would not exempt any Ladies-smocks Otherwise called Blew-caps and White-caps It is a plant that the nethermost leaves keep green all the year those leaves are green and jagged of the length of a mans finger set on close to the ground in the midst of these leaves riseth a stalk with a few smaller leaves on it and on the top of the stalk are four or five Flowers white or blew according to their kind This Flower is single with five leaves in shape and bignesse like a Dogg-rose the time they chiefly flower in is in April and May it seldom bringeth seed to perfection This plant is set of the slip at any time of the Spring or the fall in the edge of borders for the keeping of them up and for the beautifying of the Garden if you set them in the fall it is much better than in the Spring for those that are set in the Spring in dry weather usually cometh presently after then your borders will be so dry without watering will cause the slips to die those that are set at Michaelmas will be well rooted by that time the Summer cometh and so flower in their season these slips being thus planted continue always nothing dieth but the stalk whereon is the Flower which you shall cut off after the Flower fadeth for the keeping of your border handsome Marmadle deparve Or otherwise called the Worlds wonder and I think it no wonder that it should be so called for it hath a quality naturally as no other Flower hath and that is this it beareth a Flower of one colour as it may be to day and on the morrow after of another and sometimes two or three colours at once the colours are chiefly these first red white purple peach yellow and cinamon these are distinct colours there are mixt also as the white and the red the purple and the yellow and so of the rest the shape of this Flower is much like a heart with the smallest end upward no bigger than an Acron this Flower is of no continuance for it continues not long upon the stock not touched and being pulled off it withereth presently so that it is of no use but for the ornament
Spring following when your plants are grown up make a frame of rods round your bed to support the plants for they are altogether weak of themselves so oft as the seed falleth it groweth naturally Rose-Rubee Or Sattin flower it rises with a stalk of a foot high bare at the bottome towards the top are many leaves like the smooth Charlock leaves or wild Turnop leaves and on the tops of the stalks are many small Flowers composed of five leaves betwixt a blush and a scarlet colour The naturall time for the sowing of the seed of this plant is in the latter end of August in a bed by it self as was said of Rose-campion seed so done by the next March these plants flower in manner as was described after the Flower is gone there appeareth a bag wherein is composed many small seeds after these are ripe the plant fadeth and springeth no more Rocket-flower It 's needless to give you any description of them because they are so well known and so little worth yet shall I not wholly exempt this plant by reason it is one that helps to make up the inventory of kiltevated Flowers the leaves when they are young serve well insallets This plant is raised of the seed only the season for sowing of it is in mid April in a bed as I told you of Rose campion seed in the same manner and with the same care by the middle of June it will come to flower and a little after the seed is ripe which is as small as any seed whatsoever and of a whiteish red colour and glistering the plant fadeth and springeth no more Stock-Gilliflowers This Flower hath the preheminency of a Garden for ority of colour delicious smell and for continuance of flowering for they flower almost all the year and again they cast such a pleasant sight afar off or nigh and are such a pleasant ornament as cannot be better expressed than they express themselves for some of them are of a crimson and a purple die others of a scarlet and some have intermixt colours as white and red purple and blew so overspreading the bush with a passing beauty some double and some single but the chiefest of my work shall be to show the ordering of the double stock First I must make some queries what is meant by a double stock whether the double and single are two distinct kinds or no I answer they are and they are not for the double is made by art of nature the single comes naturally now you must understand there is two sorts of nature the one voluntary the other of industry for naturally every creature liveth but by nature and industry every creature cometh to the fulness of perfection and so man by nature and industry cometh to the fulness of wisdome whereas naturally he is a fool Well then I hope you confess it is truth and this fits my discourse that we must use industry in the propagation of Gilliflowers wherein there is some art in doubling and redoubling of them The first thing needfull to know in this art is the distinct times and seasons for the sowing of them true it is you may sow them betwixt March and August and they will grow very well so that the earth be fixt for the seed but yet they will prove single if you do not take the right times and seasons for them the right season is the first new Moon in April when it is about fifteen dayes old and in May also observing the Moon these are the fit seasons now I will show you what earth the seeds require that is a dry loose and something stony but by no means barren the fittest place for it is in a border by some wall where they may have the reflection of the sun and a shelter from the storm such a convenient place prepared sow your seeds as you think fit according to the quantity of it then cover it with a little fine mould as thin as you can possible forget not to water it if the season be dry all this done you shall see your plants come up the eighteenth or the twentieth day let these plants be weeded and so stand while that day two moneths that they were sown then remove them into a richer earth of the same nature but one thing you must observe such plants as have crumpled heads them reserve by themselves for those will be double if you will order them as followeth in the next September following remove them again at the full Moon and that will keep them back from flowering untill the next Spring be sure these plants be sheltered from the frost and snow the winter following for we found by experience that the last winter killed all the Stock-Gilliflowers both old and young unless it were such as were sheltered Thirdly Replant these plants the first full Moon in March following and be sure that they be transplanted into a better earth which is as rich as it may be possible to that place where you have a desire they shall be and the most of these will be double if in their farther growth before they come to flower you guild off some of the leaves and cut off some of the branches that would deprive the Flower of its sap Fourthly There are subtle wayes of grafting of them the effect of it is to have two severall colours of one stock it is done in manner as I told you of the Cornation-Gilliflowers so of these and with a great deal more ease you may obtain your desire Fifthly The ordinary sowing for ordinary and single Flowers is at any time you please for they usually grow best to be single Flowers when they have least care took of them Sixthly Means for setting of slips of double stocks that they may not degenerate but be double and large still the time for it is the first full Moon in May the Flower is ricked in the branch then slip off as many slips of the under leaves as you can conveniently then plant them in such earth and in such a place as you replanted the seedlings in Let these slips be often watered with such water wherein have been steeped Sheeps-dung these plants thus planted and those raised of the seed will continue three or four years before they decay and then they must be supplied with younger in the room Seventhly To plant seedlings for pleasure and that is upon the border of a high walk where there is no hedge set by a direct line each plant seven inches one from another and so to grow up in a frame made with small sticks and to be kept clipt with a pair of sheers on each side and on the top where a plant riseth higher than ordinary so that they may stand like a hedge and a pleasant hedge indeed but if such a convenient place is not to be had then you may plant them in uniform order insome out-border Lastly Some may surmise or be ready to
and a Garden kind of the Garden kind there is only double and single one description will serve for both Burnats have winged leaves rising thick from the very root being much crumpled and jagged and of a palish green colour through the midst of them riseth a stalk two foot high whereon are many branches and at the top of each groweth a knob something like a button red and white speckled in which groweth yellow seed something like redish seed the branch dieth yearly Of this seed this Herb is sown or set of the slip in March or April in the end of a bed or border by it self where it will grow and flourish according to the description it requireth no more care than to cleanse it from weeds this herb is used in Claret-wine and in sallets in the beginning of March for it springeth very early Betony Garden Betony is so well known I need not write the description of it therefore take the ordering of it as followeth This herb is set of the slip only for it never beareth seed to any perfection the time for setting of it is in March or April the place for it is usually in the edge of borders or otherwise for to have a great quantity of it for stilling of it in cordiall waters then in beds by it self without any curiosity for it is a hardy herb and will continue a long time being once planted Camomill Is known so well and the manner and time for setting of it so I shall wave that and speak of the place only the first fit place that I shall name is round upon the edge of borders next to gravell walks the second place is upon banks of earth made couch-fashion to the end that a man might sleep upon a Camomill bed the third way is to set walks with it and of each side of the walk a water table laid with white sand which is a very pleasant sight the fourth way is to distinguish knots with it and that is thus set Camomill in the same form as you would lay Grass-work and truly the best Garden that ever I saw in his Majesties Dominions had a knot thus set Lastly Be pleased to take notice that Camomill set as was prescribed must be kept mown and clipt once or twice a week for the summer time or else it will grow out of form and hollow at the bottome and soon decay Comfrey A description of it is vain and a direction for the planting of it is needless for it will grow in any place where it is set I only name it to put you in mind of the planting of it somewhere about your house for its vertue is generall for man and beast as the Physicians Herbals will show you and I hope you will bestow the labour to plant it once for inso doing you need not do it more Cives Sometimes called Rush Leeks Chives and Chivet I hope that by one of these names there is no man but will know them the ready way for setting of them is to slip them into as many heads as they have and that will be sometimes twenty on one bed so done prick them into a bed finely digged and raked at two fingers distance so that they may come to cover the body themselves for the keeping of the ground moist and for the less expence in weeding and there they will alwayes remain yet they ought to be removed after they have stood four years because they will grow so thick that they will want moisture Cammell Beg. The leaves of this keepeth close to the ground and something resemble Violet leaves but only thicker and of a darker green and in the middle standeth a stalk some eight inches in heighth whereon groweth one knapped Flower like the Flower of Betony the stalk and some part of the leaves die yearly and the under leaves alwaies keep green This plant is set of the slip only which must have part of the root and branch the best place for setting of it in is upon the edge of borders for the keeping of them up this herb is for speciall uses being employed physically Chervill It is called Merah Chervill sweet Chervill and sweet Sisly it is supposed there were three kinds of them that is the wild Chervill the sallet Chervill and the sweet Chervill one description will serve for the Garden kinds Both sorts the leaves resemble tongue-grass but of a fresher green colour the stalks rising up a yard high spreading with white Flowers at the top after which comes long black shining seeds the herb is sweet to smell and tast where once it is growing it continueth many years but the branch perisheth in the winter This herb is sown only of the seed that is to say there is no other way of gaining of it there are two seasons for the sowing of it the one is in the beginning of April and the other in the latter end of August these are the times the place is in a bed amongst sweet herbs in manner as I shewed you of Basill so done it will come up according as it was described Carowaies At the first coming up a man at a distance may very well take them for Carots but as they grow up bigger they differ more for the Caroway is of a darker green and yeeldeth its seed like the Fennell The time and the only time for sowing of Carowaies is in the latter end of August for I have often tried it in the Spring and I could never have it to grow and I sowed but once in August and it prospered very well therefore sow it in August and the next summer it will yeeld seed and after the branch dieth but springeth again and yeeldeth seed every summer for many years without any care Clary The leaves are thick gross and woolly and of a light brownish colour very broad spreading upon the ground as it were and in the middle riseth a stalk of two foot high with many branches spreading whereon are many Flowers like those of Sage and each Flower leaveth its seed behind it like that of Radish but something smaller This herb is sown of the seed and it requireth a good ground and to grow in a bed by itself there is two seasons for the sowing of it one in the Spring and the other in the fall that which is sowed in the fall a hard winter will kill it therefore it is best to sow it in the Spring the vulgar uses of this herb is for frying with eggs and other things for it strengtheneth the back and encreaseth venery Course-Mary Or Ale-Coust and by some Balsom-herb it is known of a long whitish leaf sharp pointed at both ends and finely cut about the edges the stalk hath many such like leaves though smaller with a tust at the top when it flowereth like that of sweet Maudlin and it never yeeldeth seed This herb is set of the slip only I hope I need not stand to shew
of the Garden There is two kinds of these plants that is the single and the double the single dieth yearly the double will continue two years if it be shelter'd from the frost and snow in the winter This plant is in growth like unto the stock Gilliflower it riseth not so high it spreadeth close to the ground with sharp-pointed leaves with a stock of the bigness of a mans thumb each Flower bringeth a seed and no more which is in shape and colour like the Pepper-corn but something greater The fit time for sowing of it is in the Moneth of March the Moon being in the encrease these seeds are tender and very dear for I never bought them for less than two pence a feed therefore they ought to be raised with great diligence and thus it must be ordered it must be sown in a hot bed but you need not make it purposely for about that time we fow Colliflowers Cowcumbers and Musmillions and in some part of one of these beds you may prick down your seeds three fingers asunder so done cover them with a glass the sixth day they will come up with two round thick leaves the next leaves that shoot forth will be long and sharp-pointed when this plant hath six leaves they ought to be transplanted into a border or pots of good mould so done about the beginning of August they will come to flower in manner as aforesaid There are other wayes of sowing of them that is in beds of freckled mould in the latter end of April for if they should be sowed before they would not grow those that are thus sown toward May day may be let stand in the same bed and it will be Michaelmas before they come to flower the year being so far spent they will not come to perfection therefore I think it best to take the pains to sow them in hot beds as was said so I 'le leave these directions to your charity and rest to speak any more here of the Worlds wonder Muscabious Be not Flowers of distinct natures and properties but distinguished in colours as the purple white red and damask-colour Flowers Scabious is a plant that groweth to great stature as it is in number of branches though they be but small they spread and grow to three foot high with some leaves growing jagged and others smooth of a dark green colour standing from the branches upon stems every plant yeeldeth abundance of Flowers in shape and bigness like the great double Emrose this Flower smelleth like honey the time of their flowering is from June till Michaelmas and after the seed of this plant groweth atop of all standing in order naked being enclosed in nothing these seeds when they are ripe have many beards whereby it entangleth one in another it is a hollow loose seed and the lightest of all others These plants are propagated from the seed the time for it is in April or August for indeed August is the best for then it sheddeth its seed and it is to be noted that at such time as plants shed their seed is the naturall time of sowing if they be such plants as keep green all the year Then in August prepare a bed of earth in a quarter which you reserve for Flowers so done mingle with your seed some earth or otherwise it will not untangle so that you will sow it too thick or too thin so done get some other earth and cover your seeds half an inch thick these things observed and your seed new and good it will come up in three weeks space like Gruncel let it alwaies grow on this bed and next summer following it flowereth then if you rail in this bed with little sticks it will keep the wind from breaking the Flowers keeping the plants in uniform order when the seed is ripe upon the stalk then cut the stalks off within a hands breadth of the ground the plant will spring again so you shall preserve seed and plant thus you may do for three years the fourth root and branch dieth Monks-hood Or old mans head it riseth up like the branches of Carawaies with small stalks never above two foot high every plant yeeldeth many Flowers which are set with many small whiteish grey leaves the Flower is of the bigness of the ordinary Cornations with a few green prickles growing among the Flowers This plant is sowed of the seed only in the latter end of April usually after this manner we dig a border by a walk side when this border is digged and raked then lay a line in the middle of the border and by the line make a drill then cast the seed thinly into that drill for it is very small then cover it this done it needeth no more care it cometh up well and by the mid August after it flowereth and dieth as soon as it yeeldeth its seed Marble-flower It is a plant of a small stature and the stalks are of a soft substance and of a whiteish green colour the leaves are of the same colour in shape like the wild poppy-leaves this plant beareth many Flowers which have no more than four leaves apiece and of a perfect white colour the time of flowering is in July the seed is ripe presently after then dieth the plant This plant is raised only of the seed in the Spring time I shall not stand to set down every particular concerning the ordering of it but so as you raise Monks-hood so you may raise this you may have that at one end of the border and this at the other Nurssusuly They are a kind of Daffodillies the difference is these flower after the Daffodilly and is of a milk white colour something smaller growing upon longer stalks These are planted of the root as I told you of the Daffodillies the place is chiefly upon borders of high walks because they are of a hardy nature and nothing else might so well grow there as they because of the drithe you may set them in any place else and they will grow and flower yearly neither weeds nor grasse nor any thing that groweth nigh them will kill them some will plant them in their Orchards round their fruit-trees Oxslips The double sort are planted in Gardens because they flower early in the Spring and for using of the Flowers in Salets and for strewing Flowers Oxslips are set of the slip onely in the Spring or fall the place fit for it is on bank-sides where they are once set they alwayes continue Oak of Paris It resembleth a young Oak plant the leaves being much smaller body and branches also are of a short substance the plant spreadeth at the top whereon are many pretty Flowers they flourish chiefly in August the seed groweth in great cods eight square wherein is brown seed as small as Parsley-seed after this seed is ripe the plant dieth This plant is propagated of the seed only in the beginning of May the place fit for it
dayes covering of it with a little straw to keep in the heat and at the third dayes end take off your straw and set some bended sticks over the bed then prick in your seeds at a handfull distance then cast a Mat on the top of your sticks this done you shall see your seed to come up the fifth day as I told you before Now take notice that you must give these plants some air once a day if the weather be warm this done you may transplant them in the middle of May into the out-borders of your Garden of pleasure there setting of them at half a foot distance and one chase in a border this done it will flower and the flower will keep fresh long on the stalk it seldome beareth seed in England without great care and industry I should speak much more of it but that it is of a tickle nature as to the alteration of it in germination which I have been informed by others and being not well acquainted with it I shall cease to give any arguments to the contrary and leave those experiments with you which are set down Angulshenelus It was never called by any other name I 'am not very well acquainted with this Flower and therefore I shall not affirm any thing of experience but take this description as I received it from a friend he saith this Herb or Flower whether you please to call it hath such a property that there is none like it viz. saith he when this Flower hath its seed full ripe in its self then if you go to it and touch it with your hand presently the Cod that the seed lyeth in breaketh whatever he be that toucheth it from the nature of this Flower viz. saith he I have gone to one that hath been counted for a Maid and I have desired her to touch the Cod wherein lay the seed of this Flower what if I should saith she why then saith he if you have lost your Maiden-head then this Cod will break at your touching of it she cannot believe that but boldly toucheth it then it breaketh and she is convinced of her fault and confesseth thinking the seed were sensible of her fact by this saith the Author I have found out my desire as to the knowing whether a woman hath lost her Maiden-head or not this I thought worthy of the reciting Now I will give you a description of it It is much like your purple valaren in shape but in colour of a whitish green the Flower being of a blewish colour it never groweth above a foot high and it flowreth in August and hath a hundred seeds in a Cod and it is much like Rose-campion seed It is raised of the seed in the Moneth April in the same manner and place as you do your Clove-gilliflowers as you may see hereafter and at the Moneths end it will be fit to be transplanted into the borders amongst orher Flowers or you may let it stand in the same beds if you please this done it will grow up and flower as aforesaid and when the winter cometh the top-branches dye and at the top of the root remaineth a small spring being well shelterd but be as carefull as you will the third year dyeth both root and branch saith the same Author Batchelors Buttons Descrip It is a Flower that runneth on the ground like Water cresses with stalks like Pease with a thick round furrey leaf like Balm but only it hath a bright green colour the Flower is a round double Flower of the colour of a white and red speckled Cornation but something less this Flower seldome leaveth any seed behind the branches of it dye when winter cometh and springeth again in the spring Now for the propagating of it if you have it not already in your Garden then you must procure slips of it not that it hath slips from the branches which may be set to grow but they must be such slips as have both root and branch and such are easie to be had where they are growing for they spread mightily in the ground now having got such slips as I told you of prepare a border either a border round a quarter of herbs or an out-border of your Garden as I told you in the former part of this Book then set your line at the uppermost part of the border then your slips a hands breadth asunder only one chase in a border for they encrease exceedingly this must be done in March or August those that were set in August will flower early but those that are set in the Spring will not flower till July or August those that are set in August will flower in May June and July now observe that as soon as they have done flowering you must cut off the top-branches with a pair of Garden-shears then it will spring presently after and take notice this Flower never groweth out of a Garden being once planted though the old stock dyeth yet it sendeth forth young shoots in its stead which causeth them to spread mightily and therefore if you will keep them in uniform manner you must transplant them once in two or three years as I directed you before Bee-Flower It is so called because it beareth a Flower in shape like a Bee whether I may properly call it a Flower or the seed I 'le not dispute but such a like thing in shape and colour it putteth forth at the time of seeding therefore I call it a Bee-Flower I shall cease to give you any further description of it because I think it not worth the labour If you have a desire to raise them if you can procure the seed it is easily done by sowing of them in good mould in the Spring time with other Flowers in borders or beds setting a mark where you sow them you shall see them come up with a sharp leaf and in June or July they bring forth seed and dye the same year I have spoken with some which have been mightily taken with this Flower Balm of Christ Or if you please the hand of Christ the Romans in former time were wont when they found any excellent Herb or Flower to dedicate it to their Saints and call it by their names so I conceive that the name of this Flower was derived from some Romish Author because it hath this title and indeed it is a great rarity to see a Flower representing the figure of a hand as this doth when it is in the fulness of its perfection it will be needless to describe it any further Now for the propagating if you can procure the seed of it at the beginning of April then sow it but with a great deal of care and curiosity viz. First find out the warmest place in your Garden and there make a bed of Barley-straw and Bran then cover it with fine mould three inches thick then prick in your seeds half an inch deep then shelter this bed a nights with a Mat you
early flowering for these reasons we transplant them every year or every other year from the Qualon-Crokus you may save Safforn Lastly Some may enquire for experiment of moloration in the nature of the plant in ingemination there can be none for it is out of mans element because they are not produced of seed but encrease of themselves by the root in the earth now if any man should desire to alter the colour of this Flower I think it a vanity for no man can devise more rarity of colours than nature doth bestow in flowers but for promoting of the nature of this or any other which springeth of a bullous-root take these observations First fill some boxes of the finest mould that may be had and as dry as may be then put it into boxes then set these boxes in some garret or room or other where it may have the Sunne and Wind but no rain come at it have so much patience as to let it stand for a twelve moneth then get Sheeps-bloud the juyce of a Laren Camomile Mallows and Lapeons tails mix these juices and Sheeps-bloud together then water this dry earth with this substance then take your Bullous-roots as crotus Tulips crown Imperials Lillies Snow-drops and the like then plant them in these boxes at the times and seasons as I have directed you formerly and anoint the roots with this substance at their planting water them continually with the same let them have no rain or any kind of water else but only this besure they have Sunne Wind and Air enough for otherwise your flowers will corrupt this done your flowers will spring out of an exceeding large growth and produce them very early and I can positively say that it will make them differ from what they were formerly So much for that Crains-Bill It is a flower of a Bullous-root about the bigness of the top of a mans thumb long and flat on one side rising with branches like great rushes spreading every way with a stalk rising in the middle whereon groweth the flower with a few small long leaves hanging down of his head it is a flower of the Spring being once planted in a ground there it remains it will not be worth my labour to describe every particular of it to be short the time of planting of them is in April or August the place in some out-border in a physical or a kitchin-garden and there if they be but kept clean from hurtfull weeds they will flower yearly and increase so you may plant more ground with the suckers or pleasure your friend with them Cullenbines There is a speckled Cullenbine and the purple Cullenbine the white and the blew and many other mixt colours which I shall not stand to name The branches of Cullenbines die every year and the root springeth again the leaves are for good use for pot-herbs and for physical uses as you may see in Herbals the seed of this flower doth ripen the latter end of July and if you let it shed of it self it will spring up again if the earth be cleansed from weeds so where they are once soon the falling of the seed keepeth the Garden replenisht with them yet the old stock dieth standing four or five years the time for sowing of these is chiefly in August so that they may flower timely the place ought to be in some borders next a privy walk be sure you let them not stand too thick for then they will grow small and single let them be cleansed from weeds Thus much may serve for the ordinary sort of Cullenbines Now there is a more tenderer sort which we call the thrice double converted Cullenbine these are not much unlike the former but only they are much larger and much exceeding the other in orient colour these flower at the same time the other do they seldom bear seed but if you can procure either seed or slip you shall order them as followeth Prepare some fine boxes of earth and therein sow your seed or set your slip having a diligent care over them afterward by watering of the slip and transplanting of the seedlings sheltering of them from the frost and snow you shall have them to flower early in the Spring I cannot stand to set down every particular there may be many means used to set forward the nature of them but no way to alter the form setting forward of the nature is but a watery substance which I shall not speak of here but refer it to that place where I treat concerning Cornation Gilli-flowers Crown-Imperial Crown-Imperial or Imperial-Crown counted the worthiest of Spring-flowers for it flowreth at the beginning of April now understand that there are two or three sorts as the great Imperial the Italian Imperial they differ not so much but if you know one you may know the other Imperials at the first coming up are so like Lillies that they have been took for Lillies by some they rise to three foot high and at the very top shouteth out six flowers hanging directly downward above them rises sharp leaves eight in number sharp and small and a handfull long standing directly upright which resembleth an Imperial-Crown this flower keepeth fresh three weeks off the stalk in the middle of the flower standeth six blewish pearls the stalk of this flower perisheth every year after it hath born its seed which is about the middle of June the root remaineth in the ground which is as big as a mans fist yellow and round it stinketh mightily I need not give you any farther description The propagating of them is either by seed or slip First The seed that is raised as are Tulips of which I treat hereafter in the same time and place setting of the slip is presently after his flowering then if you have them not you may procure them and set them in your borders with your Tulips betwixt every Tulip an Imperial root so by that time your Imperials have done flowering your Tulips will begin so you shall have your borders to flourish all the Spring And not to be troublesome to you the Imperial-roots must be removed every year and the suckers took from the old mother and planted in a bed by themselves at a handfull distance and the next year you may replant them into the borders amongst your bearers they flower the second year Lastly To produce any thing by Art from this flower contrary to Nature if it may be done upon any it may be done upon this for you may take the root out of the ground for a moneths space and in that time you may water it or anoint it with such contrary colours as you desire most to have the flower of then this root is forc'd to participate this watery substance of contrary colours into its nature and some think that this must force the root to bring forth a flower like those colours like that substance that it was watered with but I am not of that
replant it once or twice at the Spring or fall and have it weeded carefully and after it is come to perfection they are very hardy Next I give you directions for setting of them of the root thus having roots of your own or procuring of them from some other place slip all the young roots off the old set the old by themselves and the young by themselves in the intervals of your knots or in borders where your fancy most leadeth you Lastly I advise you to cut off the dead branches when they have done flowering close by the earth and remove them once ntwo years Globe-flower It is known by no other name that ever I did hear of yet there are two sorts that is single and double they are of one nature to give you better knowledge of them this plant groweth up to two foot high with many branches of one stalk spreading with green leaves in shape like the ivy-Ivy-leaf but lesser rough and jagged this plant beareth many Flowers which are yellow round and of the bignesse of a Wallnut it flowereth in the latter end of April the branches die every Winter and springeth again early having stood four year root and branch dieth This Flower is propagated by seed or slip the slip is it which is taken from the side of the old mother which is taken from part of the root and part of the branch this is to be done at the later end of March the place for planting of it is where you plant your pot-flowers I hope I need not stand to insist upon every particular that appertaineth to this Flower Having given you the knowledge of ordering of more choiser Flowers I think your own discretion may guide you how to order this So to be short you may buy the seed and sow it in the Spring with other Flowers and it will come forward without any great care or curiosity Green Cowslips So called because part of the Flower is green for there are leaves that are mixed amongst the Flowers which maketh them appear to be green they flower early in the Spring and never beareth any seed This Flower is set only of the slip in the Spring or in August the place fit for it is upon the edge of borders you shall do it thus slip them into as many pieces as you can then prune them with your knife which is to cut off all the leaves within an inch of the root then set them down by a line one by one upon the edge of your border water them while they are rooted then afterward they need no care but cleansing of the weeds from them thus you shall have them alwayes after Holihock Or Mallows there are many kinds and full of many vertues but first I will describe which they are and then I 'le treat of them in particular First For worthiness and beauty that are placed in Gardens of pleasure is the white and red and double Holihock next the red white yellow and blew double Holihock forasmuch as they are called Mallows I take them to be two or three distinct kinds for there is the Kings-Mallow March Mallow and French-Mallow these bear single Flowers and so will the Holihock without good industry but that is not all they differ in vertue as the Kings-Mallow the French-Mallow these are for physicall uses and the Holihocks are very wholsome for the body and a very pleasant Flower they bear I shall not treat of every sort in this place because they fit not the Garden of pleasure I shall reserve the French-Mallow March-Mallow or Kings Mallow to the Treatise of the physicall Garden Holihocks I have described what they are in order to their places and names I think it is needless to write any farther description of them they are so generally known I now proceed to the propagating of them First To have them early from the seed you shall sow them in hot beds in the middle of March the seed is of a quick spirit and cometh up the sixth day these plants must be covered or else you will lose your labour by May day you shall replant these seedlings into borders next the walls set them at the innermost part at a yard distance set them nigh the wall because they spread much another reason is you may nail the body of it to the wall to keep the wind from breaking of them these will flower by the latter end of the summer A second and ordinary way of sowing of them is in the middle of April in beds of ordinary earth where you may let them remain till the next August then replant them as you did the former The third best way is to sow them in the middle of August so by the coming on in winter they will have four or five leaves be sure you shelter these plants in the frost and snow and the seedlings will flower as soon as the old standards which is in July and August the seed is ripe about Michaelmas which you may save and sow again Herbit If I am mistaken in the name I will give you a description whereby you shall know it it hath many jagged thick leaves rising half a foot from the ground in the midst of it riseth a stalk like the stem of a Cowflip though something bigger and higher it is bare without leaves the Flowers have many small leaves in the middle with five greater set round it this Flower is the bigness of a double Primrose white and red speckled the time of flowering is in May it seldome bringeth seed to perfection the nethermost leaves keep green all the year This plant is set of the slip in the Spring of the year I suppose it is needless to stand telling of you how in every particular the place fit for it is in a quarter laid out into beds for Flowers as before this being so planted it will endure any weather till the fourth year and then it dieth naturally therefore take off some of the slips from the branch and root and set them which will renew their nature and keep the Garden flourishing Humble-plant I suppose the name of it was derived from the nature of it for the nature of it is thus when it is in its perfection if a man or a woman go to it and touch it with their hand this plant will bow to them therefore an humble plant It 's a plant that riseth never above a span in heighth with a broad head only a single stalk with small sharp whiteish green leaves set thereunto about the top the foot of the stalk is without leaves it putteth forth a blossome before it yeeldeth its seed which I cannot fitly call a Flower the seed is in shape and colour like the Spanish-Broom seed though not half so big and a smooth glistering seed In the propagating of this plant there must be a great deal of care and diligence this plant is only raised of the seed
observe the time and season for it that is in the beginning of April the Moon being ten daies old or in the encrease at least the season being temperate for the time of the year then order this seed as followeth First Get a small quantity of horse-dung lay this in a bed of two foot square and a foot high lay upon your dung some barley straw and some bran which may make it rise to a hands breadth higher then get a quantity of Pigeons dung and lay atop of that an inch in thickness then sift some freckled mould and lay atop of all about two inches in thickness then prick a small stick through the middle of your bed so that it may reach to the bottome and stand an inch above the too of the bed the use of this stick is to let up the steme of the heat below when you see the plant shall want it now these things observed cover the bed with some litter for four and twenty hours both top and sides and when the time is expired then take the litter off from the top of it and prick in the seeds in such a circumference as a million glass may cover them I suppose no body will be willing to buy any more seeds than may be planted therein for they are usually sold at twelve pence a seed Now for the further care of the plant be sure that your bed be not too hot for if it be it will spend the spirit of the seed before it hath taken root and then it will fade immediately to prevent the bed for being too hot you shall make a hole with a stick of one side or both to let out the steme these things observed the plant will come up moderately the sixth day and afterward you must give it a little air by raising of the glass up on one side for without air your plant will never come to any colour or perfection if the plant stand at a stay by reason of the coldness of the bed then stir the stick of the middle of the glass to let up the steme and the heat which is at the bottome to the plants with this care I have raised them up in five weeks time fit to be transplanted into boxes of freckell earth and then I left them they left not me For the further preservation of them I have been satisfied by my brother Gardeners and by my own reason they may be preserved in boxes all the summer and in the winter housed in the same so they will continue two years before they die Hearts-Ease Or Wall Flowers by others yellow Gilliflowers I cannot stand to dispute why this Flower hath severall names The nature of this plant requireth to have a dry and a rich soyl for fear you should mistake there are two kinds sometimes called by one name the one is single and coveteth to grow upon walls the other is double and desireth such earth as I told you of This Flower yeeldeth a pleasant smell and keepeth green its leaves all the year and flowereth the most part thereof this plant is in shape and substance like the stock-Gilliflower the Flower is yellow intermixt with purple this plant being planted in earth that it liketh it continueth five or six years the double Wall-flower seldome beareth seed to perfection therefore I shall not trouble my self to set down directions for the ordering of the seed yet it is generally sold and sown but seldome or never hits This plant may be set of the slip at any time of the year save the middle of the winter and the middle of the summer the place fit for them is in the borders of high walks having prepared such a place then dress your slips which is to slip off all your under-sprouts and leaves then twist the nether end which you intend to put in the earth and thrust them in with a dove-tail setting stick about eight inches asunder by a line two rows in a border if this be done in the beginning of September most of them slips will flower in the Spring quarter those slips that be set in the Spring if they be well watered at the first planting they 'l come to flower in Autumn For preservation and doubleing of them first I advise you to cut most of the under branches away this will help to enlarge the rest of the Flowers and preserve the plant secondly they would be moulded up with fresh mould by these means many times such as are single are turned double The other kind of Wall-flowers are single with five leaves only they love to grow upon walls and are seldome set of the slip because walls are not a convenient place for it they are sown of the seed thus take a quantity of seed and cast it upon an old wall or pavement where you have a desire it shall grow this seed will spring forth without any more care and come to flower and bear seed which seed will fall and grow up of it self so where they be once sown they alwayes continue the time for sowing of them is when you please for if you sow them in the winter they will spring in the summer so it is no matter when So much for Wall-flowers it may be some may think it too much Jerusalem-Cowslips The least hair hath a shadow and every shadow hath a substance and this small Flower hath a property which maketh it to be cultivated in Gardens though it be but small yet it is pretty It hath many spindle leaves like soft rushes in the midst is a stalk of a handfull high very small with a Flower atop of it of five leaves usually of a blew colour in the shape of a Cowslip the root of it is a Bullous-root with many knots which increase in the earth for the Flower never bringeth seed to perfection The time place and manner of planting of them is as I told of Crocuses where they are once planted they alwaies continue Indian-wheat Indian-wheat or Christmas-flower it is known of a broad blade like a flager-leaf these leaves spring out of the earth on the stalk are a matter of four smaller leaves of one root springeth but one stalk and that stalk never beareth but one Flower rising to two-foot and a half high the Flower is like the Dragon when it first begins to open in the husks under the Flower grow seeds in colour and shape like a reddish seed only flatter of one side the time this plant flowereth is presently after Christmas if it be housed from the cold the seed never cometh to perfection in England but in the Indies from whence it had its name This plant is propagated by sowing of it upon hot beds in Marck these beds are only to be covered with mats the seed is of a quick nature and cometh up suddenly after it is sown the plants coming thus of seed are to be transplanted into boxes as I
the propagating of them they being of alike nature Both these sorts are raised of the seed only the time for it is in the beginning of March the place for it is in a bed in a quarter which is reserved for Flowers onely in manner as I shewed you concerning the Princes-feather if your seed be good in a short time it will come up and observe if your plants should be thick then pull some of them up and set them in another place or cast them away by the later end of July following your plants will flower according to their kinds The white Poppie is for general uses and for distilling as the Physicians Herbals will shew you The red is also good for the cure of many maladies The second season of sowing of Poppies is in the later end of August or the beginning of September in place and manner as aforesaid These plants will come to flower in the later end of May following Lastly Where Poppies are once they likely alwayes continue though the plant dieth every other year yet the seed that it sheddeth springeth up again naturally Pinks Two sorts there are viz. the matted Pink and the grasse Pink. I need not trouble my self to write any more of them they are so well known I will only acquaint you the easiest and the best way of propagating them by seed and slip which may be most for pleasure First For sowing of them of the seed the time which is seasonable for it is in the middle of April the place in some high border side or a high wall side provided that there be but earth drest conveniently and finely if the bank-side be ten foot high then make as many drils at a direct line and at an equal distance one from another in those drils sow your seed with an equal hand then cover it and fix the face of your bank smooth again Now understand that these seeds will come up in ranks which will be very pleasant to the beholders these plants must be well weeded the first Summer the second Summer they will spread so that they will cover the bank themselves so that no weed can possibly grow there then these Pinks will flower which will cause such a beautious sight as hath nor been seen in England unlesse it were the like Besides this they will alwayes continue there and need no labour but cutting off the dead stalks after they have done flowering The time for the setting of the slips is in the beginning of September the place is in the edge of borders round grasse-work or herb-work a single chace in every border set at three inches distance so done they 'll come to flower the later end of the next May following Purple-Primrose These are Flowers that differ not from the white Primrose in shape and growth but only in bearing purple Flowers and that which is more rare they flower twice a year in March and in September These Flowers are set only of the slip at two several seasons and those are presently after their flowering The place fit for it is in borders at the uppermost part thereof directly at a hands breadth asunder if this be done in the Spring time the slips must be well watered till they have taken root if in the fall you have no more care or trouble with them but to keep them weeded to cut off their dead leaves and stalkes after their flowering for the renewing of their nature and to cause them to look the pleasanter Pawmers So called because the seed is the figure of a Pawmer and upon this account men hold such a thing a great rarity and though of little use yet they will bestow the pains to propagate it as followeth About May-day this plant is only to be raised of the seed in this manner prepare a place in a border under a wall or some other warm place there prick in your seeds with your finger at a hands breadth asunder I suppose you will not set many of them because they are no more usefull and so by July they will come to flower and a moneth after the seed is ripe and the plant dieth Queens-Gilliflower Some call it the white Gilliflower whether it hath any more names I cannot tell yet I know it is usuall to give divers names to one and the same plant It hath many leaves growing and spreading close to the ground something long sharp-pointed of a dark green colour being hard rough rugged and grayish underneath of little or no sent but of a fine pleasant sharp tast above these rise a stalk two foot in heighth and at the tops of the stalks and branches stand many tufts of small white Flowers which smell sweet and in their places being fallen come cods wherein is a brown flat seed and at one time you shall have Flower and seed ripe upon the stalk the root is somewhat black and woodish with divers great strings the top branches die every year but the root and the under leaves perish not but abide many years the sides partly from the root send forth many young slips every year By this description I hope you understand the nature of this plant I shall not need to stand to treat of every particular in reference to its ordering to be short get of the slips of this plant either in Spring or fall and set them in a convenient bed or border of good earth c. The Flowers of this plant are good in nosegaies or to be placed in Flower-pots the leaves are a good pot-herb and serve for many physicall uses Rose-campions Be these the white the red the purple they differ not in form but in the colour let one description serve for all Rose-campions have white hoary leaves and soft sharp at each end the stalks are of the same colour weak and small as a Hop-vine not well able to support themselves from one root springeth many of them which spread mightily in June and July this plant hath its Flower richest in the branch these Flowers are made of five leaves the seed lieth in bags which are round and of the bigness of a mans fore-finger and when this seed is full ripe it will rattle in the husks the seed is as small as Gunpowder and of a dark brown colour on this plant will be ripe seed and a rich Flower at once this plant riseth to three foot high the second year the whole plant dieth naturally This plant is propagated only of its seed and in short I will show you the way viz. prepare a bed or one end of a bed in the quarter which is appointed for Flowers so done sow your seed then cover it thinly with a little ridled earth let this be done in the beginning of April or the latter end of August now observe that those that are sown in August if the winter following be hard they must be covered with a little straw and the
it is in drils round beds wherein is Tulips and other Flowers of bullous-roots the seed in like manner is sown in drils for the distinguishing of knots either division-work or running-drafts Now take notice that Hissop-seed thus sown or any other way being thinly covered it cometh up suddenly and by the later end of the Summer it will come to seed if you cut it not but I advise you to cut it every fortnight after it is grown to a handfull high for it is for profit pleasure and for the preservation of the Herb for that which is kept from seeding will flourish seven or eight years and the other not half so long Thirdly This Herb may be set of the slip at that time manner and place as was said of the seed and it will flourish accordingly if it be well watered at the first planting and afterward if the season be dry Lastly Hissop is the best of strowing Herbs both for sent and for growth and being distilled the water of it is very precious Housleek Housleek or Singreen is an Herb of general uses and though it be no art in the planting of it I name it for its worth and to put you in mind that you may plant it upon wals or thatcht houses of the slip in Cow-dung and earth and it will prosper very well and spread and continue with you without any more trouble Jerusalem-Sage It hath many rugged leaves to the sight and handling they are at a span in length sharp pointed at the upper end the lowermost part growing close to the earth spreading every way and of a greenish gray colour in the middest groweth many spindles something like Cowslips with Flowers on them like those of English-sage This Flower never yeeldeth seed it is propagated of the slip as followeth In March or September get the slip of this Herb and set it in a bed of good mould and it will prosper or otherwise it will not Now observe after these slips are rooted they will continue many years in that place without any more trouble and the leaves and Flowers are for sovereign Medicines although I cannot find the Physicians have treated of it either by name or description yet the vertues are these it cureth sore brests applied Poultiswayes and made up into salve it cureth all manner of green wounds and drunk inwardly helpeth women in travel and many other vertues it hath which I cannot dispense with time to repeat Kings-mallow Kings-mallows or March-mallows these are much like the Pot-mallows or Hollihock but a great deal bigger in body and leaves something rounder the branches grow not so high as the other and something crookeder The raising of this Mallow is of the seed in March the place fit for it is in some out-border of the Garden where it may grow without any replanting and so at the later end of August next after the sowing it beareth a small Flower in comparison of the Hollihock much like it and afterward the seed which seldom comes to perfection having done so three years root and branch dieth Kapons-tayles By some named Capons-feathers and by others Caponherb It hath winged leaves rising from the root of a foot long of a fresh green colour smooth to the sight and in handling in the middest riseth branches to four foot height weak and bending with many such like leaves as the former though not so big the top of the branches are huskey Flowers of a sad white colour which dry on to the stalk and never yeeldeth seed the roots are long and white full of knots and spreading which shoot up young branches every year Of the root this Herb is planted either in the Spring or fall the fittest place for it is in a bed with other pot-herbes and being done it needeth no more industry but will prosper according to the description This Herb is excellent good for broath and for Puddings made of bloud Lovage It hath stalks growing to a mans height hollow like Bean stalks with many branches spreading from the sides of them whereon are leaves much like those of Angelica and of a strong stinking savour the branches and stalks perish yearly and the root sendeth up the like again Now for the ordering of it I will be short for the Herb is hardy and requireth no more than to be set in the earth of the slip which is taken from the root either in the Spring or the fall and it will continue as was said in the description Liquorish I suppose the root of it is well known of all those that are troubled with colour that take any thing to prevent it the branches that springeth from the roots are in all respects like young Ash-plants at four foot high this may serve for the knowledge of it The way of planting of it for profit as many do now plant three or four Acres of it more or lesse according to their opportunities and abilities would take up a large Discourse and very probable I might outrun my judgement in some particulars Those that are Plantaginers of it differ in the way and judgement of planting of it so I will wave the quantity and speak of the nature and quality My reason is because I think that those need not my judgment that plant such great quantities so take the way of planting of a bed for a houshold use as followeth In March provide a bed of good earth either light or sandy and of three spit deep such a bed of earth provided and layed out at three foot in breadth then set three chace of roots at a foot distance each root a foot asunder now note the roots must be but half a foot in length at the most pricked in with a diber so that there be but an inch of earth above them atop of this you may sow any salletting the first year the second year it would have the bed to it self and the earth loosened about it and the third year in January or February it should be taken up and in the taking of it up note that such roots as run downward are good Liquorish and those that run side-waies are not so good but it is better for planting again than the other which you may plant in the manner as was said before in the March following and by this industry you may come to have acres of it as is at the neat houses nigh London Lastly See what profit is made of planting of Liquorish viz. the Apothecaries give fifty shillings for a hundred weight of the roots and upon this account some have made five hundred pounds upon the encrease of six acres of land Lavender-cotton Or white Lavender the branches of it are like Cypruss but of a white colour and riseth not altogether so high as the Lavender slip doth it beareth a yellow downy Flower and leaveth no seed the herb is bitter in tast and little better in sent Of the slip this herb is set either in March
according to the description that would be cut off at the Winters approaching and that is all that need to be done till the third year and then the root ought to be took up for its use and vertue the use is for Diers for dying and the Physical vertues the Herbals will shew you Marygolds There be double and single flowered ones and both of them yeeldeth seed and if it be sown in any place which is digged it will grow and keep the Garden full but if the ground be barren they will degenerate and turn single The use of the Flower of this Herb is for the pot for broth and the like and those that do think of the Winter in the Summer do gather the Flowers and dry them in the shade and put them up in paper bags for the like uses and others viz. for to make Posit-drinks for those that have any distemper at their hearts It is also thought that it is as effectual as Saffron Mother-wort It hath brownish strong stalks rising two or three foot high with many leaves cut deep into the very stem something like the Vine-leaf rough and crumpled of a sad green colour but many veins therein there are many branches and one stalk which also yeeld at the tops thereof a purple coloured Flower as small as that of Balm but in the same manner as that of Hore-hound after which come small blackish seeds in great plenty The bottome of the plant keepeth green many years before the root perisheth This Herb will seldom grow of the seed therefore it must be set of the slip or sucker which is taken partly from the root The time for it is either in the Spring or fall in a border or a bed of good earth where it will prosper and come to perfection according to the description Nip Garden Nip is much like Balm in the leaf but that they are sharper pointed whiter and hoary growing on four square stalks shoot up to three foot high with many small branches set thereunto having smaller leaves than those at the bottome This Herb yeeldeth a strong sent something sweet like Balm the Flowers grow in large tufs at the tops of each branch something like that of Sparemint of a whitish purple colour The root remaineth in the ground like that of the Mint and all the Winter some of the nether most leaves keep green The seed that this Herb yeeldeth is like Purslain in all respects but only it hath one white speck and that is where it grew to the cod and at that place it springeth its branch again Of the seed or slip this Herb may be propagated the seed if it hit it is long before it comes to perfection and it is very tickle in gemination as I have found by experience The best time for sowing of it if you will go to the trouble is in the later end of August but I think it better to set it of the slip if it may be had for that way it will prosper very well in any ordinary earth The time and manner of doing of it is as I told you of Balm in the former part of this Treatise in a bed by it self Orpine It hath round and brittle stalks with fat and fleshy leaves of a pale green colour the Flowers are white growing in tufts the roots are divers thick round tubelous roots and the branches fade yearly This Herb is set of the root onely in a bed reserved for it self The time is either in the Spring or fall and without any curiosity being committed to the earth in its season it will grow and flower as was said Pepperwort The root sendeth up leaves in shape like the Coursemary cut on the edges carrying the colour of the Horse-reddish leaves it hath a hard small round stalk with many branches like the same very thinly set with leaves and at the top of every branch are small white Flowers which leaveth a small seed that seldome cometh to perfection after the seed falleth the branch dieth and the root remaineth in the ground which sendeth up the like again This root is something like the wild Parsnip The way of propagating of this Herb is of the root the time for it is in March the manner thus Cut your roots into short pieces of three inches in length so done a bed of earth prepared for that purpose then prick in them pieces of roots at half a foot distance by May they will shoot up with leaves and by the later end of Summer with stalks as was said Now note that these roots must remain in that place untouched three years if you would have them at their full vertue and then they may be took up and the roots set again Pot-Margerum I imagine it is altogether needlesse to describe it seeing it is so common an Herb therefore take the propagating of it by seed and slip as followeth First Of the seed The season for it is either in the latter end of April or the latter end of August the place is in a bed by it self in a quarter with other sweet Herbs and done in the manner as I shewed you of Basil Secondly Of the slip that is done at the same seasons but sometimes not in the same places for we set it on border sides to keep them up where it will spring as well as in a bed and it will continue alwayes where it is once rooted in bed or border for it putteth forth side suckers which flourish after the old plant dieth I think it is but lost labour to write any thing more of it the Herb being so hardy and so well known Prick-Madam Or Prick my Dame Divers trailing branches upon the ground it hath composed of a soft substance not divided into branches or leaves but all parts alike which are round prickles like those of the Furse but as big as a Goose quill if you touch it a small matter breaketh it and it is not prickley at all though it seem so to be the colour of it is a blewish green and beareth a yellow Flower in August and a long seed a little after like that of Muscove but seldom to perfection This Herb is set of the slip in borders sides either in the Spring or the fall one chase in a border upon the uppermost edge thereof for after it is rooted it runneth upon the ground like Penny-royal and taketh root with its branches therefore it would be kept cut in order by a direct line at the nethermost part of the border and then it appeareth pretily it keepeth green all the year and continueth many so This Herb is eaten in Sallets in the Spring time Purple-grasse In Physicians Herbals I cannot finde this Herb named or described therefore I will describe this Herb and its vertues This Herb runneth on the ground like Clover-grasse with leaves and stalks of a purple-colour spotted as it were with blackish bloud and beareth a Flower
set in a decent manner and I shall spare the ink and paper to set it down but see as Hysop is done so is this The last thing that is to be taken notice of is that it be kept clipt so that it bring forth neither Flower nor seed for if it does it will not continue half so long and this you may know to be true by the Garden knots that are sown or planted with it and that being clipt alwayes to make it show pleasant continueth fresh seven or eight years when that which is sown in beds and let run to seed continueth not above half so long Tansie The double kind is planted in Gardens for its vulgar and physicall uses the place would be in some reversion or out-part of a Garden for it spreadeth very much where it is planted and abideth there alwayes only losing of its branches every winter I pray you excuse me for writing any directions for the planting of it it being such a vulgar hardy herb it is needlesse V. laren Of it there is two sorts in form and colour of Flowers and that is the purple Valaren and the blew Valaren they differ in seed as well as in colour yet they differ not so much in stature and growth but that one description will serve them both It hath leaves round and of a dark green smooth on the edges and all parts else many of them set on upon one stem much like that of Box these are set all upon stalks and the bigger of them are springing as it were from the root and spreading on the ground the stalk riseth to three foot high and on the top are many Flowers set one above another of a blewish or a purple colour glistering as it were the time it begins to flower is at the latter end of June and so continueth till after Michaelmas this causeth some seed to be ripe when Flowers are rich in the branch the nether most part of this herb keepeth green all the year and continueth many before it dyeth Now for the raising of it my words must be few that is this Herb may be sown of the seed or set of the slip in the latter end of March or in August in a bed by it self in the usual manner of sowing and planting of others and it will prosper according to the description Wormwood Of this there be three sorts viz. Sea Wormwood Field Wormwood and Roman Wormwood and the last of these is onely cultivated in Gardens for its cordiall and physicall uses This Herb is set of the slip or sown of the seed but the sowing of the seed I shall wave because nature doth it better than I can teach you the slip is set in the Spring time which is taken from the head of the root it prospereth well in any earth being something shaded Winter-savoury This is the last Herb in the Physical Garden as it fals out in the Alphabetical order though the vertues are the best of all others for vulgar uses Of Winter-savoury there is three sorts in form of leaves and only one in nature and vertue I will now give some directions for the propagating of this Herb though most men know it yet it may serve to put them in mind of that which they know in mid April and the later end of August either of these seasons the seed of this Herb is sown and the slip is set I shall not trouble you with the manner but as Hysop was sown in like manner is this so done it prospereth very well THE PHYSICAL GARDEN as it treateth of TREES A short Description or Direction for the Propagating of each TREE which is Fruitfull and Physical usually planted in a Fruitfull or Physical Garden Barberry I Will be as short on this and all the rest as possibly may be so that I may but give an information The plain way of propagating of each Tree as this is of the sucker which springeth partly from the root and being taken away in September and set in the nursery where suckers slips and seedlings are set and after they have taken root they may be transplanted into the quarters of the Garden in uniform order where they are to remain Currants Currants are generally white black and red but yet each of these sorts differ in greatness as well as in goodness according to the care as is used about them in the raising of them from suckers to fruitfull trees the thing is plain yet there are mistakes many times in it therefore I would willingly give my evidence in it to insist upon it presently after Michaelmas take your suckers from your Currant trees and if you have not ground ready for them to transplant them where they should alwayes grow then plant them in a piece of ground by themselves at a foot distance which may be fitly called a nursery let them stand there while that time twelve moneth then plant them into the middle of Strawberry beds at a yard distance each tree bound to a stake so that the wind may not break them and put them out of uniform order Lastly observe let these suckers be taken yearly from the roots of the old bearers or otherwise they hinder them from being fruitfull they must be pruned also which is to cut away the superfluous branches which run above the rest and never bear fruit Gooseberries Are distinguished into many sorts usually thus Dutch and English first with the Dutch there is white and red which are the worthiest of all other both to the pallate and the eye of the English kinds there are white and red also and many others but I will only name these that is the long yellow and the round yellow the amber and the christall the nepture and the wild all these are set of the sucker as I told you of Currants in like manner and transplanted into like places Many arguments of curiosity I could raise in the propagating of them which would appear to men of experience to be needlesse my self being sensible of the same I passe that and only desire you to remember to prune them so that the fruit may be the larger and the trees renew their nature and appear the more pleasanter Mulberries Are white red and black these trees seldome send forth any sucker neither are they to be grafted upon other stocks to advance the fruit but the way is to get young sprouts from the body and to set them in good earth in September or thereabouts so that they may take root and at two or three years end to be replanted into certain places where they may remain so done it is without question but these slips or cuttings will come to be trees and bring forth fruit according to its mother Quinces Are supposed to be of divers kinds by reason that they yeeld contrary fruits in vertue and in shape I shall not end the controversic here by any arguments but shall refer you to a Book of mine which
the summer are only used for Gerkings to insist upon the raising of them early about the middle of March make beds of new horse-dung of two foot and a half high and near that breadth then make a band of straw or hay and pin it upon the uppermost part thereof then lay some fine ridled mould atop near three fingers thick then cover this bed with some litter or straw and make a pent-house over it as I told you of the Sparrow-grass bed whereon must lye Mats then steep your Cucumber-seed in milk and suet for four and twenty hours by that time the bed will be hot then prick in your seeds at two fingers distance upon the bed and lay on the litter again be carefull afterward for once or twice a day to see that the bed be not too hot for then it will force gemination too soon and the plants will never hold it now observe that if the seed appeareth before the third day then that bed is too hot and too hasty a gemination but if they appear not before the fourth or fifth day then those plants are like to come to good if they be carefully looked after for the future and that is to set glasses over them all night and in boisterous dayes till towards the middle of April then transplant them from that bed into holes or trenches wherein is laid new horse-dung and Pigeons-dung if it may be had with four inches of good mould atop of it then set four Cucumber plants in the compass of a Musmillion-glass and with a glass over each four plants let these plants be watered with such water as hath stood in the Sun wherein hath been steeped horse-dung by these directions if you had any knowledge or insight in it before you may have Cucumbers fit for a sallet by mid May if the Spring be any thing favourable and that is counted great rarities The second and the ordinary way of raising Cucumbers for sallet to have them about mid-summer is to raise them in mid April upon a hot bed not so hot as the former only covered with Mats and the first week in May transplanted into holes as was said before you need not go to the charge to cover them with glasses for any thing else will serve that will only keep the frost from them anights let these be watered as the former every evening or every other evening if it rain not I cannot stay to treat upon every particular Lastly The ready way of planting or sowing of Cucumber-seed is to prepare holes which will hold a Wheelbarrow of good rotten dung or more let each hole be four foot asunder and earth atop of the dung and then half a score seeds pricked in each hole but if four of them come up it is enough and what more cometh up pull them away or else they will hinder one another and come to nothing note that the time of sowing is about May day let these be well watered the summer following and gelded and by August their fruit will come to perfection Colliflowers They are raised of the seed and I shall spare a great deal of labour in setting down the directions for it if you please to look back how beds are made for Cucumbers in the same manner and at the same time so make for these and they are governed up alike only these are without glasses at the middle of May transplant them into rich and forward ground setting each plant two foot and a half distance watering of them well at the first planting and by the latter end of July they will come to flower so that you may have a dish of them The second season of the sowing of Colliflower-seed is in the beginning of September in beds of very good mould being sown there and come up at a moneths end transplant them into another bed of three abreadth setting each plant at a hands breadth asunder in ranges by a line then make a shelter over them with sticks and mats to shelter the plants from the frosty nights the winter following the next Spring transplant them in like manner as I told you of the other and by mid-summer or soon after they will come to flower Cabidges Mistake me not I mean the propagating of Cabidge-seed to be Cabidges again which oftentimes through negligence and ignorance turn or come to be Cail or Colworts but I cannot stay to reckon up Colworts and Cabidges how many sorts there are and what a great commodity it is especially amongst the Plow-men but I shall proceed with all the brevity as may be possible what is to be observed in the sowing and governing of the seed that it degenerate not First of all observe the season that is if you sow seed for winter plants to be planted out of the Spring do it at the latter end of August in a light earth the Moon being at the full five or six weeks after transplant them into another earth laying or setting them at half a foot distance to the end that each plant may have its proportion of ground and be restrained of its high growth at the latter end of February and in March at the full Moon these may be planted into quarters of earth where they may stand at a yard distance now note the best ground for these to be planted in is the strongest clay or mawm earth that is with this provisoe that there be abundance of dung under it these Cabidges must be kept whole with earth about the stalks as the weeds rise and the under leaves stripped off to cause the Cabidges to grow the greater Lastly You may sow this seed in March for winter Colworts for they may be transplanted about the latter end of May or in the beginning of June in manner as aforesaid I cannot go farther I have spoken more than I intended Carrots I shall only give three directions for the propagating of them which vulgar people are not acquainted with though they may sow of them yearly the first is the earth that the seed is committed to that it be of a like nature and not wet when it is delved also observe that the Moon be of the first quarter the time of the year is even from the beginning of March till May. Secondly Observe the quantity of seed that you sow it not too thick and for a better help thereunto consider your quantity of ground and then note that three pound of seed soweth an acre and so proportionably sow your own Thirdly That you let them not grow too thick for then they will be very small and worth nothing the best way to prevent this is to hoe them as our London Gardeners do so that each Carrot stand ten inches one from another or thereabout Corn-sallet Whether any Countrey men know it yea or no I shall not dispence with the time to describe it but sow it in your Garden in the beginning of September in a good earth the seed being sound and
hath in it for the advancing of such a pulse as Millions that delight only in heat and moisture The third is That they be gelded and that is to nip off the leaves and fruit that spring very thick leaving but half as much as Nature commonly putteth forth upon every vine the end that this is done for is to cause the fruit to come to perfection the sooner which remaineth and also to have it the larger and ripe the sooner These are the ordinary wayes of raising Musmillions or as I may more fitly say the principle things to be observed yet there remains in each principle many particulars which when time shall serve I shall treat of at large in the mean space take these plain and serious truths as you shall find them if they be put in practice Onions I may not stand to multiply words where necessity requires not I suppose that Onions are so well known that there are few people that need any directions for the vulgar way of raising of them yet there is matter of consequence to be observed in the raising of them for profit and greatness and in that particular I will speak a word or two For the first consider the quantity of seed and the quality of the ground if it be stiff it requireth the more seed and to be sown the sooner if it be light the latter and the lesser quantity of seed will serve to guide you the better therein ten pound soweth an acre for large Onions which are to be hoed with hoes of three inches in breadth so that every Onion may have six inches compass to grow in The season for sowing of them in is the first full Moon in March another season is to sow them the first full Moon in August so that they may be Scalions by the next Easter but they never serve for dry Onions Purslane I may say of this as Culpepper saith of Saffron in the English Physician pag. 328. It is well known saith he generally where it groweth Now I say of Purslane if you know it not already and would willingly have it then purchase the seed and you shall obtain your desire by ordering of it as followeth At May day or a little before make a bed of dung a foot high of a yard in breadth as long or as short as you please according to the quantity as you would have of them Get then some riddled mould and lay thereon near half an inch in thickness so done cast the seed therin with a little mould upon it so that it doth no more than cover it if the season be dry after it then water it the seventh day it usually comes up and after that it must be continually watered every evening and by June it will be fit to be cut these directions will well serve if they be duly observed for the raising of it in its naturall season for salletting but for the producing of it early or late and for planting of it for pickling I shall passe at this time Parsley Parsley is sown of the seed in March it delighteth in a rich ground and continueth even the longest of all seeds before any of it cometh up but after it hath gotten above the ground it prospereth so that the more you cut it the better it groweth the second Spring after it is sown it runneth to seed and after that it usually dieth Parsnips To speak any thing for the sowing and governing of a small quantity it would be altogether needlesse seeing hardly any Countrey man is without them in his Garden For the ordering of a great quantity take it in short thus viz. four pound of seed soweth an acre then guide the quantity of seed by your ground at this rate Now the manner of sowing of it is severall for some sow the ground before they dig it if it be light and sandy but that I do not approve of The best way is to sow it after the ground is digged when it lieth as rough as may be possible then the seed may be covered the better if the ground be stiff and wet then lay it as smooth as you can before it is sown Lastly To cleanse these Parsnips from weeds after they be come up it is better to do it with a hoe than to weed it by womens hands for when they are hoed it taketh away the Parsnips where they be too thick which doth as much hurt as weeds considering they have not room to grow one by another it also looseneth the earth when weeders would beat it down and make it the harder and that which is more an acre of Parsnips will be hoed three times for the price that it will be weeded once Peas of all sorts Which are usually planted are these the hasting Spur and the ordinary Hasting the sugar Peas the blew Rousewell and the grey Rousewell the sanddige Peas and the bunch Peas for to treat of all these in particular is needless as to the manner the times of planting of them differ to have them early or late to have forward Peas plant them at Alhollentide or before in this manner when the ground is digged then hoe up ridges at two foot distance and in the tops of those ridges make drills with one corner of your hoe therein cast the Peas in pretty thick because the winter following the cold mice and worms will be apt to destroy them the reason why I counsell you to sow them on the tops of such ridges is because they should lye dry and warm for all kind of forward Peas delight in hot and dry soyl Lastly Take notice that Peas must be hone betwixt the chases the first time and the second time the earth and weeds must be raised up about them with the hoe there is much more belongeth to the planting of Peas for the guiding of great quantities for profit which I am very well acquainted with but too much engaged to treat of now Potatoes They are not known in the South parts of England yet in the North parts they are planted in poor and rich mens Gardens for the goodness that they yeeld to their tables in the winter when no other roots are to be had in Ireland they are so generall and so common that I never saw any man that had land and habitation there but that he had store of Potatoes for his use and those which plant them for profit have twenty or thirty acres of them more or less according to their abilities It were needless for me to set down the order of planting of them seeing it is not generally to be put in practice for I have not seen of them but in those places which I named and it were vanity for me to give them directions Pumpkins Are known of most Countrey people and I may say that there are few of them but would have great and sound Pumpkins if they took this advice about May day or a little before make a bed of Cow dung