The Medieval Garden

As well as food and medicine, the medieval garden provided pleasure, repose and refreshment to the senses.

From detailed manuscript descriptions and illustrations, this work presents a picture of the various styles of medieval garden from the small enclosed herber to vast cultivated parks of royalty and nobility.

The author combines her historical knowledge with practical experience of re-creating medieval gardens in various sites in England, explaining how she designed Queen Eleanor's garden at Winchester and Brother Cadfael's physic garden at Shrewsbury. She gives detailed descriptions of layouts, measurements, the types of tools required and the medieval gardener's calendar illustrated in the 12 "occupations of the months".

The book also offers practical advice to readers on how to create typical medieval features in their gardens, such as a turf-covered brick bench, a rose- or vine-covered trellis, or a wild flower meadow.