“When daisies pied and violets blue And lady-smocks all silver-white And cuckoo-buds of yellow hue Do paint the meadows with delight. ” Love’s Labours Lost (5.2.900-4)
William Shakespeare (bapt. 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's greatest dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "the Bard"). His works, including collaborations, consist of some 39 plays, 154 sonnets, three long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. .
From Ophelia’s bouquet in "Hamlet", brimming with rosemary “for remembrance” and pansies “for thoughts,” to the “root of hemlock digged i’th’ dark” that boils in the witches’ cauldron in Macbeth, William Shakespeare’s plays are lush with botanical references. His works contain approximately 175 references of plants as well as commentary on planting, pruning, growing, grafting, weeding, seeding, folklore galore, and tributes.
Plants and their gardens play an important role in Shakespeare’s plays, as they did in Elizabethan life. He wrote of wild gardens in the beauteous fields and lush meadows as well as medicinal plants that grew outside the castle walls.
Elizabethan gardens included fruit, vegetables, and healing herbs and tended to be formal, often divided equally into symmetrical flower beds. Beds were frequently defined and protected by a hedge or stone wall. Flower gardens were structured to ensure they were always in bloom, with the colors and perfumes complementing each other.
"Here's flowers for you;
Hot lavender, mints, savory, marjoram;
The marigold, that goes to bed with the sun."
The Winter's Tale
You can use Shakespeare’s love of flowers, herbs, and trees to inspire your own designs.
Aloe vera
Balm/Lemon balm
Bachelor’s button
Bay laurel
Briar/Sweetbriar
Broom
Burnet
Chamomile
Carnation
Chives
Cowslip
Crabapple
Daffodil
Daisy
Dianthus
Fennel
Hawthorn
Holly
Honeysuckle
Hyssop
Ivy
Lavender
Marigold/Calendula
Marjoram
Mint
Myrtle
Pansy
Parsley
Poppy
Rose
Rosemary
Rue
Savory
Sycamore
Thyme
Violet
Yarrow
Wormwood
For a complete list of plants mentioned in Shakespeare's works, click here.
If you’re interested in visiting a Shakespeare garden, there are several across the country at city parks, libraries, or on university campuses. Many Shakespeare gardens are associated with Shakespearean festivals. In the United States, some of the largest Shakespeare gardens can be found in New York’s Central Park and Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, the Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, and the International Rose Test Garden in Portland, Oregon.
Resources:
Read more at Gardening Know How: Plants For A Shakespeare Garden: How To Create A Shakespeare Garden
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