It was a pleasant thought, that of the lover of good flowers and firm
friend of many good people, who first had the idea of combining the two
sentiments into a garden of enduring beauty.
Such a garden has been made at Easton by the Countess of Warwick. The
site of the Friendship Garden has been happily chosen, close to the
remains of an ancient house called Stone Hall, which now serves Lady
Warwick as a garden-house and library of garden books.
The flower-plots are arranged in a series of concentric circles; the
plants are the gifts of friends. The name of each plant and that of the
giver are recorded on an imperishable majolica plaque. Many well-known
givers’ names are here, from that of the very highest in the land
downward. The plants themselves comprise many of the best and
handsomest.
The picture shows the garden as it is about the middle of September; the
time of the great White Pyrethrum, the perennial Sunflowers and the
earliest of the Michaelmas Daisies. The bush of Lavender is blooming
late, its normal flowering time is a month earlier. But Lavender,
especially when some of the first bloom is cut, will often go on
flowering, as later-formed shoots come to blooming strength. Let us hope
that the giver is not shortlived like the gift, for Lavender bushes,
after a few years of strong life, soon wear out. Already this one is
showing signs of age, and it would be well to set a few cuttings in
spring or autumn, or, still better, to layer it by one of the lower
branches, in order to renew
[Illustration: STONE HALL, EASTON: THE FRIENDSHIP GARDEN