Medieval Monastic Garden Design
Monasteries and manor houses dictated the garden style of the medieval period.
Medieval monastic garden design. Monastic gardens provided medicine and food for the monks and for the local community. A monastery would typically have a physic garden plus a secluded garden for contemplation and meditation. These early monastic medieval gardens were typically limited to the plants indigenous to the local environment.
A medieval garden could be a microcosm of paradise and seen as a recreation of good things. Monastic garden last updated september 27 2019. Over time the monastic garden would expand to include a wide variety of medicinal herbs for use and study.
Clearly this garden was not big enough to do anything like that so its suggested that possibly only used for finer crops and that bulkier crops like the beans peas and cabbages were grown in large gardens or even open fields outside the monastic precinct. See more ideas about monastic garden design garden inspiration. But as the missionary movement expanded its frontiers monks returning from the far off lands introduced new medicinal herbs.
The monks often grew herbs vegetables and flowers within a hortus conclusus enclosed garden courtyard or cloister of the. In many ways gardening was the chief method of providing food for households but also encompassed orchards cemeteries and pleasure gardens as well as medicinal and cultural uses. Generally monastic gardens consisted of several different types of gardens for different and specific purposes.
Medieval castles and to an even greater extent monasteries carried on an ancient tradition of garden design and intense horticultural techniques in europe. Gardens were funcional and included kitchen gardens infirmary gardens cemetery orchards cloister garths and vineyards. A monastic garden was used by many people and for multiple purposes gardening was the chief source of food for households but also encompassed orchards cemeteries and pleasure gardens as well as providing plants for medicinal and cultural uses.
Gardening was especially important in the monasteries in. The symbolic planting and use of gardens in the medieval era was a powerful metaphor for paradise as well as divine and romantic love. A monastic garden was used by many and for multiple purposes.