Shrubbery

A shrubbery was a feature of 19th-century gardens in the English manner, with its origins in the gardenesque style of the early part of the century. A shrubbery was a collection of hardy shrubs, quite distinct from a flower garden, which was a cutting garden to supply flowers in the house. The shrubbery was arranged as a walk, ideally a winding one, that made a circuit that brought the walker back to the terrace of the house. Its paths were gravel, so that it dried quickly after a rain. A walk in the shrubbery offered a chance for a private conversation, and a winding walk among shrubs surrounding even quite a small lawn was a feature of the garden behind a well-furnished Regency suburban villa.

Related Topics:
Shrub - Flower garden - Regency - Villa

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"Mr Rushworth," said Lady Bertram, "if I were you, I would have a very pretty shrubbery. One likes to get out into a shrubbery in fine weather." —Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey (1798, published 1803).

Related Topics:
Jane Austen - Northanger Abbey

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The genteel country-house connotations of a shrubbery were exploded by Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1974) in the demand of the Knights who say Ni! for an instant shrubbery:

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:ARTHUR: O Knights of Ni, you are just and fair, and we will return with a shrubbery.

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:HEAD KNIGHT: One that looks nice.

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:ARTHUR: Of course.

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:HEAD KNIGHT: And not too expensive.

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:ARTHUR: Yes. http://www.rit.edu/~smo4215/monty.htm#Scene%2013

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