Note to Julius Caesar, Act 2, Scene 1, 'Enter BRUTUS in his orchard'

     Shakespeare puts anachronistic clocks and chimneys in Rome, so I assume that when he uses the word "orchard" he has in mind what an orchard was in England.

     In England a gentleman's orchard was a walled garden which featured fruit trees and herbs, but it was most importantly a private outdoor living space, where the gentleman could dine with his friends (as in the woodcut below), take a nap (as Hamlet's father does), or meet with a group of like-minded individuals who desire to make important plans, say, for a political murder.

     Though Brutus' orchard is an appropriate place for the conspirators to meet, the stage direction is strange because it's not the kind of thing Shakespeare usually does. Usually Shakespeare's stage directions are simply "Enter," "Exit," or "Exeunt." If it's important that the characters are imagined to be in a particular place, they say something about the place, as happens repeatedly in this scene. So why does Shakespeare change his usual practice here? -- I have no idea.