Garden Inspiration!

Gardeners looking for inspiration normally do not start by looking at Medieval Gardens, but this is exactly what The English Garden magazine is doing. With photographs and words they seek to provide new ideas from historic European gardens dating from 400 to 1450. This month’s article is the first of a series on the history of garden design.

Medieval Monasteries provided sanctuary for both learning and plants. Enclosed gardens used rectangular and square beds for potherbs, (vegetables), shallots, parsley and garlic and medicinal herbs, roses, kidney beans and rue. The Apothecary’s rose (Rosa gallica) was used medicinally, and the Madonna lily (Lilium candidum) was used for snakebites. The detailed artwork and photographs in The English Garden bring past gardens into the present.

The U.S. edition of The English Garden is written for North American gardeners. The writing is excellent and the photographs magnificent! The magazine can be seen at the Lexington Public Library or at www.TheEnglishGarden.co.uk

Each issue has interviews with professional gardeners who happily share their hands-on gardening information. They are really passionate about their gardens! If enough Watertown gardeners request that our library subscribe, I am sure that they will. This is a Two Green Thumbs-Up article series.