This 400-year-old tree is the only known survivor
of those planted by Francis Bacon. It was brought from the Bermudas
by his friend, Sir Walter Raleigh. Near the tree during Bacon's time
was his mound of Parnassus where he often wrote now known as the
Walks at Grays Inn Law School
Bacon in the Sylva Sylvarum tells us that "Shade to some
plants conduceth to make them large and prosperous more than sun and
that, accordingly, if you sow borage among strawberries you shall
find the strawberries under those leaves far more large than their
fellows."
"The strawberry grows underneath the nettle,
And wholesome berries thrive and ripen best
Neighbour'd by fruit of baser quality
And so the Prince...." --Henry V, Act 1
SirBacon.org - Sir Francis Bacon's New Advancement of Learning
