A small charming area in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, which is located at 900 Washington Avenue, in Brooklyn, New York, is the Shakespeare Garden. Composed in an English cottage-garden style, it exhibits plants mentioned in the Bard's poems and plays.
"There's rosemary, that's for remembrance. Pray you, love,
remember. And there is pansies, that's for thoughts." ~ Hamlet
An informational placard in the garden .. all photos will enlarge for easier viewing when double clicked. Use the back arrow to return to the blog post.
More than 80 of the plants mentioned in the works of Shakespeare grow here. Common or Shakespearean names, the botanical name, references for relevant quotations and, in some cases, a graphic representation of the plant, are displayed on labels. Complete list of all the flowers and herbs that are in the Brooklyn Botanic Shakespeare Garden can be view here.
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet." ~ Romeo and Juliet
An oval brick path, lined on either side with flower beds, leads into the garden, and a teak bench and fountain help create the atmosphere of an English cottage garden of Elizabethan times. It is a quiet place to stroll through or sit for a little while when you visit the large 52 acre Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
Do you have a favorite Shakepearean quote that contains the name of a flower? I've included a few of mine in this post!
“Tis in ourselves that we are thus or thus. Our bodies are our gardens, to which our wills are gardeners; so that if we will plant nettles or sow lettuce, set hyssop and weed up thyme, supply it with one gender of herbs or distract it with many—either to have it sterile with idleness or manured with industry—why, the power and corrigible authority of this lies in our wills.”
~ Othello
