What kind of garden would Shakespeare have had? Well, here are some of the plants he knew well and referred to in some of his plays and other works. If you'd like to make a garden or border with a Shakespearean theme, here's what you'll need:

Cowslip (Primula vulgaris): Shakespeare used common yellow English primrose to describe the size of fairies.  Ariel in The Tempest, for instance, was small enough to be able to rest in the tiny bell of a cowslip. (``In cowslip's bell I lie. There I couch when owls do cry.'') You'll find cowslips growing in England in pastures and hedgerows. They are hardy to -20F, like moist, fertile soil in partial shade and grow to about six inches high. .

Ragged Robin or Crowflower (Lychnis flos-cuculi): In Hamlet, Ophelia's "fantastic garlands'' contained ragged robin, a hardy perennial with delicate bright-pink petals that resemble a cluster of bird's feet. It thrives well enough in moist soil throughout Europe and almost qualifies as a bog or damp meadow plant in some parts. Lady's Smock (Cardamine pratensis): This is also known as the "cuckoo flower'' because it blooms around the time when the first cuckoo is heard in spring. In Love's Labour's Lost, spring sings a song about ``when daisies pied and violets blue,/And lady-smocks all silver white/ And cuckoo-buds of yellow hue,/Do paint the meadows with delight . . .''

Lady's Smock grows about a foot high and likes a sunny, well-drained position in the garden. Long Purples (Arum maculatum): This is also known as cuckoo-pint and is not the most desirable form of arum that you would want for your garden. The plant has arrow-shaped leaves, tinged with purple, but it was the erect flower spike (the spadix) that caught Shakespeare's imagination when in Hamlet he referred to ``long purples'' as the flower ``liberal shepherds

give a grosser name/ But our cold maids do dead men's fingers call them.'' The Italian arum (A. italicum `Pictum') is one of the best varieties for the home garden)   Sweet briar or Eglantine (Rosa eglanteria): With leaves that smell of green apples when touched, this vigorous shrub/climbing rose produces dainty pink flowers in clusters in late spring. Shakespeare used the sweet smell of briar's leaves to describe the heavenly scent of Imogen's breath in Cymbeline. Harebell: Shakespeare compares the blue of these wispy bell-shaped flowers to

the color of Imogen's veins in Cymbeline -- ``thou shall not lack the flower that's like thy face, pale primrose, nor the azur'd harebells, like thy veins.'' Some think the flower was actually the Bluebell of Scotland (Campanula rotundiflora), which has grey-green leaves and bright blue, one-inch flowers. Others think the harebell could be the English bluebell or wild hyacinth (Scilla nutans, also known as Hyacinthoids non-scripta.)    Oxlip (Primula elatior): Oberon, in A Midsummer Night's Dream, says: ``I know a bank where the wild thyme blows, where oxslips and the nodding violet grows.'' The oxslip produces a simple, beautiful loose cluster of yellow flowers at the top short single stem. This primula is very common in woods in eastern England, around Cambridge and into Norfolk.   Sweet Violet (Viola odorata): Shakespeare refers to the pansy, which he knew better as ``love-in-idleness'' or ``heartsease,'' at least 18 times in various works. Scholars believe he singled out the sweet violet (V. odorata) for special attention, perhaps again because of his love for deeply scented flowers and the color blue.

Roses: ``What's in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet.'' Shakespeare mentions roses in his plays and poems more than any other flower, but they would have all been the oldest of old-garden varieties, Rosa gallica (red rose of Lancaster), Rosa alba (white rose of York), the rich scented Damask roses as well as musk and cabbage roses

Herbs: No Bard's Yard would be complete without herbs. Shakespeare referred to lavender, mint, marjoram, chamomile, garlic, parsley and thyme. For fun: It would not be amiss to add into a Shakespearean garden, Johnny Jump-up, which has the longest common flower name in the English language: Meet-her-in the-entry-kiss-her-in-the-buttery. It's proper botanical name is Viola cornuta.  It is also known under many other names including Kitty-come, Kit-run-about, three faces under a hood, come and cuddle me, pink of my Joan, kiss-me, Tickle my fancy, Kiss me ere I rise, Jump up and kiss me. So, to be or not to be - a Bard's garden? That's a good question.