Garden with the Bard

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S SCRIPTS and sonnets are strewn with plant imagery — flowers, trees, orchards, meadows, and herbs. In his works, women’s lips are compared to roses; gardeners give political speeches; and herbs are used as symbols of characters’ personality traits.

The Bard clearly knew a lot about plants and horticulture and respected the natural world. Having grown up in the countryside, Shakespeare can be assumed to have had some gardening experience. More than that, during the 16th century — and specifically the reign of Elizabeth I, when he was writing — gardening was the newest craze. The upper-middle classes and aristocracy installed private gardens on their properties and filled them with fragrant flowers, healing herbs, and decorative topiaries, all arranged in elegant, cohesive designs. Shakespeare and his audience understood plants and their appeal, and today, Shakespeare inspires many gardeners.

Shakespeare-themed gardens are fairly common. Most are public, located in large parks