Gardens in Art: Medieval Farm-Garden Complex
Karen One of the best and most well-known sources of information on medieval gardening is Petrus Crescentius, jurist from Bologna Italy, who worte an agricultural treatise based on classical and medieval…
Gardens in Art: Medieval Monastic Garden-St. Gall
The plan of St. Gall dates from 820-830 AD and showed an ideal Benedictine monastic compound including buildings and gardens for a total of 110 monks, 115 visitors, and 150…
Gardens in Art: Medieval Landscape from De proprietatibus rerum
This watercolored illustration from the 13th century work De proprietatibus rerum (On the Properties of Things) shows some of the plants that grew during the Middle Ages in Europe. De…
Gardens in Art: Nebamun’s Garden
A wall painting from the Tomb-chapel of Nebamun in Thebes (present day Luxor), Egypt, gives us a look at the kind of garden the ancient Egyptians enjoyed at the time.…
The Language of Flowers: Michaelmas Daisy aka New York Aster (Aster novi-belgii aka Symphyotrichum novi-belgii )
Michaelmas daisy is a common name referring to at least two asters, one European (Aster mellus)and the other North American (Aster novibelgii). This entry refers to the latter but the…
The Language of Flowers: Aztec Lily (Sprekelia formosissima aka Amaryllis formosissima)
In spite of its name, Aztec lily is not a lily and belongs to the amaryllis family, Amaryllidaceae, that also includes snowdrops, narcissus, and crinum lily. It is native to…
Plants of Colonial Williamsburg: Elecampane (Inula helenium)
Also called horse-heal, scabwort, and elfwort, and wild sunflower, elecampane is a herbaceous perennial and a member of the aster family, Asteraceae, that also includes daisy, yarrow, and lettuce. It…
The Language of Flowers: Globe Amaranth aka Gomphrena (Gomphrena globosa)
Globe Amaranth is a compact annual growing up to twenty four inches tall and belongs to the Amaranthaceae family that also includes spinach, celosia, and quinoa. It is native to…
The Language of Flowers: Amaranth (Amaranthus spp)
Amaranths are annuals or short term perennials and belong to the Amaranthaceae family that also includes spinach, celosia, and quinoa. Three species, love lie bleeding (A. caudatus), Joseph’s coat (A.…
Plants of Colonial Williamsburg: Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)
Also known as swine’s snout, Irish daisy, puffball, and peasant’s cloak, dandelion is a herbaceous perennial and a member of the aster family, Asteraceae, that also includes daisy, yarrow, and…