MRS. BERKELEY, OF SPETCHLEY.
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Cormorant Golden Plover
Shag Lapwing
Grey Goose Oyster-catcher
Pink-footed Goose Common Sandpiper
Sheld-Duck Redshank
Pintail Greenshank
Teal Curlew
Wigeon Common Tern
Pochard Little Tern
Goldeneye Great Black-backed Gull
Goosander Great Northern Diver
MRS. BERKELEY. OF SPETCHLEY.
ESSEX still possesses many distinguished scientists and
much else of which she may be proud, but she has sadly
fallen from her former high position of being one of the leading
Counties for accomplished and learned gardeners and plant
lovers, amateur as well as professional. So many of her gardens
were famed far and near that to enumerate them would fill
pages.
In the present dearth we cannot afford to cede to Worcester-
shire the whole credit to such a distinguished amateur gardener
as was Mrs. Berkeley of Spetchley, but must accentuate the
fact that half of her all too short life was spent at Warley where
she learnt garden craft from her mother, Mrs. Willmott, who
was herself skilful in the art and the third generation of enthusi-
astic amateurs.
Mrs. Willmott was one of the pioneers who broke away from
the Mid-Victorian tradition of carpet bedding and ribbon borders
and she sought to make her garden beautiful with the former
denizens of English gardens.
A few of Evelyn's plants still survived at Warley and they
were carefully tended. Other old favourites were enthusias-
tically collected from all over the country. They were not so easy
to come by as they are now and had to be hunted out of old gar-
dens such as Mrs. Willmott's old home, Fitz-walters, where the
gardens remained as they had been for generations.