Women and the Garden

A Much Appreciated Versatility Award

2012-02-03T10:22:00.000-05:00

I am truly pleased and honoured to have received "The Versatile Blogger" award from T.S. at Casa Mariposa. It could not have come at a better time with the February blahs at my heels.

It seems that there is a ritual involved with this award which is to bestow it on fifteen other bloggers whose blogs I enjoy. Also I am to tell you 7 things about myself.

So let's start with me:

1. I never realized I liked 'history' so much until I began this blog.

2. I read quite a lot, and not just biographies on ladies of our past. I am a huge A.S. Byatt fan, love the Lord of the Rings and some science fiction.

3. I have a certificate in horticulture and do my best to use it well in my garden of just under one acre.

4. I have mostly had cats as pets, some goldfish and turtles when a kid.

5. My husband and I used to enjoy camping but now a comfy hotel room has its lure.

6. I am a real art and craft admirer and have a knack for knowing which piece is of the highest quality.

7. Macaroni and cheese is still one of my favorite things to eat.

I happily bestow the Versatile Blogger award to the following wonderful bloggers:

Jennifer @ Three dogs in a Garden for her wonderful cottage garden. She manages what I aspire to.

Bom @PlantChaser who shares an interest in history and his magnificent plant macros

Carolyn @ Shade Gardens for her native plant suggestions and inspiration

Charley @ 365 Things I love about France for helping me live in France from afar.

ts @casamariposa for her fun and humorous posts - Thanks again!

Denise in Japan for her wonderful bird photos

Donna @gardenwalkgardentalk whose 'magazines' are truly amazing

Diana @elephantseyegarden for showing me parts of South Africa I may never see

Julie @ TrulyUseful for her myriad of ways of helping one understand social media and for being a great librarian

Helen @ Masteringhorticulture who knows way more than I do and has a knack for making the science of plants easily understandable

Rob @ ourfrenchgarden who has a beautiful spot in the French countryside and who is presently tackling building stone walls

Helen @patientgardener in Malvern Hills whose trials and tribulations I can sympathize with as my own

Pomona, a goddess

2012-02-01T01:00:00.000-05:00

Pomona by Nicholas Fouche C.1700

Pomona is a Roman goddess of fruiting trees and orchards. She did not care for forests, she loved her cultivated countryside. She wields a pruning knife in her right hand for she is an expert in pruning and grafting. Despite the fact that she preferred to be alone to care and nurture her trees, this amazon-like beauty was besieged by suitors, in particular a god called Vertumnus. Vertumnus had the ability to take different human guises and made numerous attempts to woo Pomona but she turned him away each time. It wasn't until Vertumnus appeared before her in his proper person (apparently quite a good looking fellow) that Pomona gave in to his charms. Vertumnus is a god of gardens and orchards and so it appears they were a match made in heaven.

The name Pomona comes from the Latin word pomum, "fruit," specifically orchard fruit. ("Pomme" is the French word for apple.) She was said to be a wood nymph and a part of the Numia, guardian spirits who watch over people, places, or homes. While Pomona watches over and protects fruit trees and cares for their cultivation she is not actually associated with the harvest of fruit itself, but with the flourishing of the fruit trees. This is why the pruning knife was her sacred tool. In artistic depictions she is generally shown with a platter of fruit or a cornucopia.

William Morris, (whose tapestry of Pomona is shown above) left us this lovely poem:

Pomona

I am the Ancient Apple Queen,

As once I was so am I now.

For ever more a hope unseen,

Betwix the blossom and the bow.

Ah, where’s the river’s hidden Gold!

And where’s the windy grave of Troy!

Yet come I as I came of old,

From out the heart of summer’s joy.


Pomona and Vertumnus in the guise of an old woman, by Francesco Melzi 1570-20

If you are interested in reading a lovely interpretation of the Pomona myth check out Thalia's site. Her story is quite charming and fun to read.

Margaret Bentinck, Duchess of Portland (1715–1785)

2012-01-02T12:30:00.000-05:00

MargaretBentinck became known to me through my readings of Mrs. Mary Delany, the firstto make flower mosaics out of cut paper. Here's a link to my post on Delany. The two were lifelong friends,Margaret having met Mary Delany when she was a child of eight and Mary a youngwoman of 22 years. Mary Delany was introduced as a friend of Margaret’s mother,Henrietta, and yet as time went by Mary became one of Margaret’s closestfriends. Perhaps it was because of Mary’s older age that Margaret sought herout as a sister but the two had other interests in common, namely plants andanimals. This shared interest would last their lifetimes, and perhaps from thisMargaret would become an avid collector of shells, but also plants, fossils, birds,fungus, beetles, butterflies, porcelain and pottery. MargaretBentinck Duchess of Portland amassed the largest collections of fine art andnatural history in Britain.

BornMargaret Cavendish Harley, Margaret was the only surviving child of EdwardHarley, who would become the 2^nd Earl of Oxford, and thestrait-laced Henrietta Holles, daughter of the 3^rd Duke of Newcastleupon Tyne. Her father Edward was a great collector of manuscripts, books, andpottery, a landscape gardener and patron of the arts and unsurprisingly he encouragedMargaret’s collecting as a child. Their lifestyle was one of great wealth and thehouse was always visited by aristocrats, politicians, and writers. Margaretknew Jonathon Swift and Alexander Pope and the poet Matthew Prior who haddedicated the poem “A Letter to LadyMargaret Cavendish Holles–Harley, when a Child” to Margaret when she wasfive.

At the ageof nineteen Margaret married William Bentinck (1709-1766) Duke of Portland and she bore himsix children. The marriage brought her a town house in Whitehall and a countryhouse in Buckinghamshire called Bulstrode. She lived most of her life atBulstrode, the last twenty three of her years in widowhood. Margaret was notthe shy or reclusive type. She followed in her parents footsteps and madeBulstrode a place of great scientific and artistic activity. In time it beganto be known and referred to as the hive.Here she raised her children, entertained and worked with people of now greatrenown, developed the house, designed the gardens, and collected.

A glimpse is all we get of the gardens at Bulstrode as they no longer exist as they were in the Duchess’s time. A large estate of many acres, the park was renowned for its formal landscaped gardens. According to Repton, there were a botanic garden, flower garden, kitchen garden, ancient garden, American garden, shrubbery and parterre. In some unknown place there was an allee of lime fruit trees. While there is no listing of the plants in Bulstrode we can be sure that Margaret had one specimen of every plant available. Margaret built greenhouses, an aviary and a zoo to house the innumerable animals. There was also a pond and a shell grotto that Margaret and Mary Delany built with the shells they collected.

Margaret’sgreatest interest was botany. This was not unusual for the time as women wereencouraged to find interest in natural history in the eighteenth century. Whatwas unusual was the Duchess’s depth of knowledge and involvement in botanicalresearch. Margaret had cultivated an impressive, and from today’s perspective,a very distinctive number of friends in the field of science. Margaret employedthe Swedish botanist Daniel Solander to catalogue her botanical collectionsusing Linnaeus’s classification. Solander was a student of Carolus Linnaeus andwas part of the entourage of Joseph Banks’ trip with James Cook’s firstEndeavour voyage. Joseph Banks was knownto have brought back new plant specimens from North America for the Duchess. Othersincluded John Lightfoot her personal chaplain and conchologist, Philip Millerthe chief gardener of the Chelsea Physick Garden, and Georg Dionysus Ehret aGerman botanical illustrator who Margaret hired to engrave the native plants inher flower gardens, as well as, teach drawing to her daughters.

In 1766 Margaret was introduced to Jean-Jacques Rousseau, through Mary Delany’s brother, Bernard Granville. Rousseau was a philosopher and his interest in botany helped to popularize natural history in eighteenth century Europe, America and Great Britain. Rousseau did not hold women high in his esteem. He believed that they were incapable of abstract thought in the sciences and should instead concentrate on matters of practical reason. Despite his beliefs, Rousseau appointed himself as the Duchess’s ‘herborist’ collecting and preserving plants for her. He seems to have held the Duchess in high esteem as he refers to her as his botany teacher and testifies that her botanical knowledge is far superior to his own.

The Portland Rose

Margaret lived a full and busy life. She must have loved life as she delved into its mysteries one shell, flower, and art piece at a time. Family was important to her, as well as, all the scientific friends and acquaintances she cultivated in order to pursue and fulfill her life’s objective “to have had every unknown species described and published to the World”, according to John Lightfoot. While she never published any of her findings (she left that to others) Margaret did leave behind notebooks and letters documenting her vast knowledge. The Portland name was given to a moth, a rose and an ancient glass vase, in her honour. It is her vast collections of natural history that she is best remembered and the gardens of Bulstrode that housed them.

Mired In, but...

2011-10-22T10:59:00.000-04:00

Research. That is what it comes down to. I have ideas for new topics but sometimes they go nowhere. It is like I am mired in tiny pieces of information and none of them fit together. They sit in piles on the floor and shift themselves about but never seem to coalesce. This is my present state.

However. I can see that proverbial light. I have noticed that a few pieces of information stick together haphazardly. It is just going to take a bit more time.

Thanks to Elephant's Eye who inquired into the lack of posts. To me it was like hearing Oliver Twist say "Can I have some more please". It is coming.

Tea Gardens – a not so romantic story

2011-07-07T17:04:00.001-04:00

Camellia sinensis

Tea estates or plantations have been known by another name for hundreds if not thousands of years as Tea Gardens. Imagine if you will rows of lush greenery rolling along the hillsides of mountains perhaps with a cool mist in the air due to the elevation. This lovely picture you have conjured is found in only certain countries in the world. The countries where the best tea is grown are in China, Japan, Taiwan (Formosa), and Sri Lanka (Ceylon). It has to do with their geography. Tea grows best in mountainous areas of elevations up to 6,000 feet, where there is a wet yet temperate climate, warm sunny days, and cool breezy nights. It is under these conditions that the Chinese tea plant Camellia sinensis flourishes.

Camellia sinensis is native to China, Japan, India and part of Russia. It has three main varieties: China, Assam and Indochine. There are also a number of hybrids. In the wild, a China tea plant may reach a height of nine feet and live approximately 100 years. It prefers a cool temperature and grows in altitudes over 6000 feet. In contrast, the Assam tea plant reaches 60 feet in height and lives 50 years. It requires more rainfall and grows in more southerly climes to 1000 feet in altitude.

Plants of Camellia sinensis are grown in nurseries before being planted out in the garden. Tea is planted in rows spaced 30 inches apart and the bushes are maintained at a height of four feet. Tea is planted on those rolling hillsides on terraces at an incline of 45 degrees where no machine can go, thereby requiring the harvesting of tea to be done by hand-the hands of women.

Tea cultivation and preparation has a very long history. No one knows with any certainty when the drink of tea was discovered and many legends abound with stories to tantalize. One such legend tells of the divine Chinese Emperor Shen Nung (2737-2697 BC), the ‘father of agriculture’, who by his experiments with hundreds of herbs discovered the drink of tea. Recent Chinese research discovered that tea was used as early as the twelfth century BC. , which was mentioned in a book written in 347 AD called the Treatise on the Kingdom of Huayang by Chang Ju. At that time tea leaves were boiled with water to make a drink. It was from the third century AD onwards that the plant underwent drying and processing. Since then very little has changed.

The Chinese introduced tea to Japan via Korea. Tea was introduced to Europe around 1610 by the Dutch and Portuguese who had dealings with the Japanese. By 1658 the British knew of tea and within one hundred years it became their most popular drink. In order to fill their appetite for tea the British attempted to trade for tea with China, which ended disastrously for China with the Opium Wars of the 1800s (a fascinating history with a residue that changed Chinese life and culture forever). With no trade agreement, the British East India Company began cultivating tea in Northern India in the Assam region and by 1870 in Sri Lanka (Ceylon).

Women pickers or pluckers

Whether it is in the tea gardens of China, Japan, India or elsewhere, the methods of cultivation and harvesting have changed little over the centuries. Tea Gardens may be as large as 1000 acres and are called such “because the tea is grown here, harvested according to traditional methods, and bears its name.” In India the gardens or estates have names like Castleton, Jungpana, Tukver and Badamtam. Depending in which country the estate lies, most tea is picked from April to September. The best tea or premium quality teas are picked with the ‘first flush’ or growth of first spring leaves. The removal of these leaves without ruining the quality is a delicate matter and has been carried out by women for hundreds if not a thousand years. Women move between rows of tea bushes picking leaves in both hands, tossing them into large baskets on their backs. This first flush involves removing the downy terminal bud on the stem and the first two leaves below it. This is also referred to as ‘fine plucking’. During the rest of the season a ‘coarse plucking’ is performed which includes the bud and three to five of the leaves below it. These leaves are used in more common teas.

Picking or plucking is the most crucial operation in obtaining the finest quality of tea leaf. It has always been said that women are the best at this type of work due to their smaller hands and fine dexterous skills. Only in legend are there better pickers, those being monkeys. The legend goes that centuries ago a monkey saw his master picking tea leaves and imitated him. It climbed up the tea plants and collected the tea leaves for its master. This tea had so distinct a flavour that people thought it was the result of the tea being picked by a monkey instead of humans. They too started training their monkeys to pick tea for them. There are claims in China of monkeys that pick tea but I would not believe it if I were you. An experienced picker is able to quickly determine the tender leaves from the mature ones. She must leave the buds, harvest the tender leaves and pick and discard the mature leaves. These are split second decisions that only come with experience, for she must move on, fill her basket and then take it to an assembly and weighing area before beginning again. Pickers who are capable of picking quantities of the finest leaves are considered an asset to the company and would therefore receive better wages than those with lesser skills or those in training. Unskilled pickers may have an adverse effect on the quality of the tea as well as on the yield harvested.

The work is strenuous; making their way from a central camp or perhaps from a nearby village to begin work at light, moving between bushes with intertwining branches through steep terrain, carrying heavy full baskets. The women are usually poorly dressed, although it is not uncommon to see them in colourful sarees, their head covered with a hat or wrap against the sun. Often they wear plastic aprons to keep the branches from tearing or catching their clothes. When the day is done sometime around 4 PM, they return home to their children and husbands and continue their day like all working mothers after a full day’s work.


Darjeeling estate

I am unable to tell you if these women are better off today than they were hundreds of years ago. Colonialization created tremendous problems that I will not get into here. It appears some estates provide childcare and education to the children of tea workers, and maternity wards with midwifes are on site for those who live on the estate. Trade Unions are also involved in some cases. However my impression is this is in the minority. The majority of female workers I believe are still underpaid, and left to look after themselves. Alcoholism is high for the men workers on the estate and therefore wife abuse follows. Needless to say, or is it, like Weeders (see my post on Women’s Work ) the female is once again performing the work no man wants to do. The argument that women’s hands are small and dexterous and therefore better suited to picking, or that they do not have any suitable skills does not hold water. Three million women are pickers worldwide. They provide the cheapest labour for the most important role in the tea industry. Despite this, the world of tea is changing. Fair Trade communities are increasing and have set their sights on the tea industry. In India’s Darjeeling area the Makaibari Tea Garden is one of the pioneers in fair trade. They offer an education program for children, scholarship funds to study horticulture, microcredit is available to their workers and an ‘organic union’ program which supports 200 organic farmers in 8 communities outside the estate.

The history of the Tea Garden and tea is enormous and much information has been omitted as I endeavor as always to focus on the women who play a part in this history. In this case, the line between history and current affairs is blurred when determining women’s role in the Tea Garden as her role has in fact changed little in hundreds of years.

Canadian Gardening, eh?

2011-05-25T15:13:00.001-04:00

Canadian gardens are in many ways a new idea. Our history is a short one spanning 400 years or so and those who arrived before us certainly did not garden in today’s sense of the word. For those early settlers and the indigenous people already on the land, gardening meant agriculture. It meant survival. Today a Canadian garden is no longer an oxymoron. Canadians have now lived in this beautiful country long enough to have thrown off the cultural ties that bound their gardening style to parts of Europe and instead have integrated these ways into something inherently Canadian.

Trillium by Catharine Parr Trail

The indigenous peoples of North America are known for their great medicinal success with the local flora. Lobelia, Gillenia, Sassafras are only some of the thousands of plants known to have curative properties that are still in use today. Their diet was as varied as the country; it comprised of nuts, berries, crabapples, ferns, roots, mushrooms, various rhizomes, roots, rice (zizania aquatica), seaweed and corn (maize). By 1600 they had developed 150 different kinds of corn. Women and children were the actual gardeners or farmers, and either collected these food items from the wild or cultivated them near their camp. The men concentrated on growing tobacco which was used in tribal rituals and was eventually traded to the Europeans. By the 1600’s, and European contact, the indigenous peoples were also growing beans, squash and corn (the Three Sisters) sunflowers and Jerusalem artichoke.

Samuel de Chaplain was the first to bring new French settlers to Quebec in 1605. This turned out to be a false start, and so he tried again in 1617. It was then that Louis Hebert and his wife Marie Rollet came to Canada. They are considered Canada’s first gardeners. They must have felt like babes in the woods. Even I cannot fathom what it must have been like arriving in the New World which must have seemed like a never ending forest. Difficult terrain, difficult weather conditions, and nothing familiar to the eye was what laid in store for them. They faced starvation, sickness, and threats of Indian attack. Yet they succeeded. By 1626 they had cleared eight hectares and were cultivating grain fields. They had a vegetable garden and an orchard of apple trees from Normandy, France. They managed all this with only hand tools.

Throughout the 1600’s the basis of economy of the settlements was agriculture and food production. Wheat, corn and potatoes were the major crops. Other crops included onions, leeks, cabbage, melons, lettuce, peas, carrots, beets, turnips, cucumbers, thyme, marjoram and tobacco. The women of the house had a jardin potager, an enclosed garden where they grew the vegetables and fruit for the household. Anything more than the family could use would be taken to the market or village square to be sold. An ornamental garden was not even a practical thought.

Early Settler

By 1760 the face of early settlers was changing. New colonists were arriving from England, Germany, Scotland and Ireland. The English brought hemp with them as a crop in order to supply the British Navy with rope. The American Revolution brought 50,000 Loyalists to Ontario and the Maritimes. Mennonites moved to Canada in search of fertile land. The Mennonites called their search “the trail of the Black Walnut” and settled where they found stands of black walnut, cherry, beech and maple trees. They revolutionized Canadian farming by introducing crop rotation, the use of animal manures and lime as soil fertilizers and the planting of legumes to enrich the soil. Any semblance of ornamental gardening may have been occasionally seen as a clump of flowers in an unplanned garden.

However the early 1800’s brought stability and a measure of wealth. Merchant families would have carefully arranged flower beds and fruit trees around the house. The wealthiest built greenhouses and hired gardeners from England or Scotland. The public park emerged. All were based on the current styles from home, wherever home may have once been. By mid-19^th century a new generation was born. This new generation never had to clear land, nor was it tied to old customs that did not apply to them. This generation would create botanical parks, experimental farms, railway gardens, horticultural clubs, and war gardens. The Canadian gardener was born.

Mary Granville Pendarves Delany 1700-1788

2011-04-28T11:27:00.000-04:00

“I have invented a new way of imitating flowers”

(Mary Delany)

I have come across the name Mary Delany twice in my research, usually in the field of botanical art. I thought her art interesting but perhaps not worth commenting on. Then I changed my mind. A new book on her life came into bookstores last year and that is where I stumbled upon The Paper Garden, Mrs. Delany {begins her life’s work} at 72, by Molly Peacock. Her life is simply fascinating. This book is well written and full of interesting tidbits; well worth reading. Along with The Paper Garden and other sources, I will tell you about Mrs. Mary Delany of London and hope that it tempts you to learn more.

Mary Delany made quite a stir within the nobility and the various famous botanists, musicians and artists who were part of her circle in the late 1700’s. At the grand age of 72 Mary Delany began the new form of paper collage creating fine crepe-like floral art pieces all set on a black paper background. The voyage to this new type of creation was conceived and nurtured slowly by a life of riches and poverty, marriages and deaths, and flower gardens that inspired.

Mary Granville was born into a British noble family in 1700, Coulston, Wiltshire, England. Her great, great, great grandfather was a member in the royal court of Elizabeth 1. The Granville’s were loyal to the crown of King George the second and his Queen Caroline (who we know from the Kew Gardens (link) post). Mary was the second child, Bernard her older brother and Bevil and Anne who followed. It was with Anne for whom she held strong affection and was her lifelong confidante.

A child of a noble family meant that Mary was well educated. She learned English, French, history, music, needlework and dancing. It was expected and hoped that Mary would gain a place in the English court as a lady in waiting for Queen Anne. When this failed to happen, the family took the advice of Mary’s uncle Lord Lansdowne and married her to Alexander Pendarves at the age of 18.

Winter Cherry

Alexander Pendarves was a man of 60 years and known to drink. He kept a house called Castle Roscrow in Buckland which was close to the sea. This was an unhappy and difficult marriage for Mary. She was a young woman living with an aging alcoholic who was jealous of any male who called. Mary would find some freedom there when Alexander was away on business, as she took to riding along the beach and collecting seashells. During their second year of marriage Alexander’s gout conditioned worsened and they returned to London. She was alone with no friends or family during the first year of the marriage and then his nursemaid for the next 6 years. Upon his death in 1724, it was discovered that Alexander had not provided for his young bride apart from a widows pension. Perhaps it was good fortune that Mary never got pregnant.

For the next twenty years Mary lived with various friends and relatives. She spent much time at the court still hoping for a placement. She remained the single widow but kept herself quite busy with painting and drawing (taught by Louis Goupy) and was friends with many interesting people such as Captain Cook, Handel, Jonathan Swift, painter William Hogarth and botanist Joseph Banks . Mary also met her future husband Dean Patrick Delany, an Irish clergyman, who was engaged to be married at the time. She was very close friends with the Duchess Dowager of Portland (who truly deserves a post on the blog soon). The two women shared a common interest in botany and flowers. It was the Duchess who encouraged Mary to continue with her collages.

How does a noble woman come to create her “flower mosaicks” as she called them? According to Molly Peacock, it was in part due to her collaboration with the Duchess in the creation of the shell grotto at Bulstrode, in part her interest in beautiful court gowns made of fine layers of fabric, but most importantly her marriage to Patrick Delany a garden enthusiast.

Passion Flower

The Delany’s were married in June 1743 and divided their time between England and Ireland where Patrick had his congregation. Patrick already owned a home in Ireland called Delville and was very involved with the gardens and the property. Theirs was no small house in town. Delville was very large even by today’s standards (but not for one of noble birth). A circular road ran around the house and was wide enough for a coach and six horses. The property’s plantings followed the contours of the land, and included “a bowling green, a high bank, a circular terrace, flowers walks, and fruit trees”. There was a kitchen garden and two fruit gardens near the house, and beyond were fields “planted in a wild way”. Mary was no stranger to gardens and is known to have enjoyed those at Bulstrode with the Duchess, as well as gardens of other acquaintances. At Delville Mary had built an orangery and a grotto. The Delany’s spent much time in their gardens and the love of gardens solidified a happy marriage of 25 years. Patrick’s “ encouragement of her gardening, painting, shell-work and needlework resulted in a surge of activity in a variety of media in all of which the basic theme was the flower, whether in stocking the Delville garden, painting garden landscapes, decorating interiors with shells, or working embroideries." After a long illness, Patrick Delany died at 84. Mary was 67 years.

Mary was forced to sell the properties and their coach to pay debts to lawyers for a law suit that had plagued the Delany’s years ago. Without sufficient funds to live on her own, again, she was fortunate in her friendship with the Duchess of Portand who gave her a room at Bulstrode. It was here, at the age of 72, that Mary began cutting pieces of paper with a knife, arranging, layering and gluing them on a black paper background. Her flower mosaicks became a project called the hortus siccus (dry garden) and then later renamed the Flora Delanicus. The Duchess of Portland was the one that encouraged Mary in her work and supported her talents by spreading the word around her circle of friends. Through the Duchess Mary met two prominent botanists Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander, who in their way encouraged her fascination in the details of plant structure. Even King George the 3^rd heard and viewed Mary Delany’s mosaicks.

Eventually Mary was unable to continue her flower collages due to failing eyesight. She had hoped to create a round number of 1000 and nearly achieved it, needing to stop at number 985. Today her flowers can be seen at the British Museum. They also house most if not all of the surviving letters, including her correspondence with Anne.

Asphodil Lily Crinum zeylanicum

Flower Mosaicks courtesy of the British Museum

The Presentation

2011-04-04T12:58:00.002-04:00

One of the reasons there has not been a post here for a while is that I have been working on a presentation for Women and the Garden. On April 2, I was invited to speak at a small fundraiser for the Stephen Lewis Foundation (Aids) for the Burlington Ubuntu Grandmothers. As I have never presented anything before I devoted quite a lot of time choosing my subject and creating a PowerPoint creation. As an initiate to PowerPoint I found I could waste lots of time getting little done- that is mostly because I am technically challenged.

I chose to look at two 17th century women I have already posted about, Sister Maria Celeste and Maria Sibylla Merian. My reasons were that they were both from wealthy families, both well educated and both lived in the early Renaissance when a shift was taking place. Despite their similarities they lived starling different lives. This societal shift was in some ways regarding the new trends of landscape gardening but women were also starting to have some freedoms they did not have earlier nor would they have later.

The presentation went smoothly, my 'ums' were kept to a minimum and the slides looked pretty good on the screen. A few kind comments were received and appreciated and then it was all over. Quite the feeling of vacuum afterwards.

I am not yet sure where the research is going next, but I will have something up in the next two weeks.

by M.S. Merian

Jane Colden, botanist, New York

2011-03-10T12:40:00.000-05:00

The story of Jane Colden is short. Yet, by the late 20^th century her name and place in American history began to emerge. Today she is considered the first female American botanist, or as Asa Gray himself said in 1843, the “first botanist of her sex in her country”.

Jane may never have become a botanist without the urging of her father, Cadwallader Colden, himself a physician and practicing botanist. Originally from Scotland, Cadwallader married Alice Chryste in 1715. They moved to the USA and had a farm in Newburgh-on-Hudson, New York when Jane was born in 1724. Cadwallader had by then built a successful political career and was the surveyor general of New York.

Newburgh-on-Hudson was a remote area in the 1700’s. The American outdoors was still wild and life for the early colonist out of doors was not entirely safe. Jane and her siblings (10 in all) were given a basic education at home by her mother, while her father provided Jane with knowledge in science, particularly, botany. She was taught the Linnaeus system by her father who translated it from Latin to English in order to make it easier for her to understand.

Jane embarked on her own study of the flora around the Newburgh-on-Hudson area. She took impressions of leaves on paper with printer’s ink to distinguish the various species. Jane eventually compiled a collection of some 300-odd impressions with written descriptions of the surrounding native flora. The descriptions showed that Jane was interested in the plants common names and possible medicinal benefits. It is noted by the writer James Britton that she “went among the country folk and noted their names and rustic remedies. Thus of Pedicularis tuberosa (No.41) she says; “The Pedicularis is called by the country people Betony: they make Thee of the Leaves, and use it for the Fever and Ague.” Obviously, she is a woman following in her father’s footsteps.

Remaining nature print by Jane at the British Museum

Jane benefitted from her father’s contacts and is known to have corresponded with many leading botanists of the time. Their impressions of the young woman seem to have been quite positive. Collinson wrote to Linnaeus in 1756 saying she “is perhaps the first lady that has so perfectly studied your system. She ought to be celebrated.” Another correspondent, John Bartram replies to Jane “I read it several times with agreeable satisfaction; indeed, I am very careful of it, and it keeps company with the choicest correspondence.” Jane was in contact with Alexander Garden regarding the plant Hypericum virginicum, a plant she first discovered and named Gardenia in his honour. It is somewhat ironic that Jane Colden never had a plant named in her honour.

Jane’s botanical research seems to have ended with her marriage to William Farquar. She died sometime after giving birth to a baby that also died. The date of her death is in dispute, and is either March 10, 1760 or 1766.

Her collection, however, still had a life of its own. It appears it remained in her father’s possession until his death in 1776. Then during the American Revolution the collection somehow ended up in the hands of a German officer, F. von Wangenheim. Sometime later it became the property of Godfrey Baldinger and then most remarkably became the possession of Joseph Banks, the British botanist of great renown. Banks bequeathed the collection to the British Natural History Museum on his death and that is where it is today.

According to the British Museum the bound manuscript is titled Flora Nov-Eboracensis:: Plantas in solo natali collegit, descripsit, delineavit, Coldenia C. Coldens filia &c. Only one of Jane’s nature prints has survived. The rest is comprised of 340 line drawings that have a light wash.

Line drawings by Jane at the British Museum

Jane Colden lived to receive some accolades from her peers, male peers, which I feel is worthy of note especially in consideration of her time. She is the only woman botanist whose work was included in Linnaeus’s botanical Species Plantarum.

In 1963, the Garden Club of Orange and Dutchess Counties published fifty-seven of Jane's descriptions of species native to North America in commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the Garden Club of America. More recently, The Jane Colden Native Plant Sanctuary was named in her honor at the Knox's Headquarters State Historic Site in Vails Gate, New York.

Plum Blossoms and dew drops, the ladies of Japan

2011-02-17T15:03:00.000-05:00

The reverence of nature in the Japanese garden has not changed since ancient times. Tied to the religious beliefs of Shinto, kami, spirits in rocks, plants, animals and the departed ancestors, played a role in the process of garden design that we have today. Gardens became symbolic and minimalist in their layout due to the confines of the geography of Japan.

When considering the garden and women of Japan the most interesting time is the Heian period (794-1185 AD). The Heian period is considered Japan’s Golden Age and for many reasons. It was a time when the Japanese withdrew themselves from contact with the Chinese. China was the big brother to Japan and had always been an enormous influence on the Japanese way of life. The Chinese did everything first and they did it extremely well. However at this time the Japanese edited and enhanced what they learned from China and made it their own. Buddhism, which had come to Japan through China and Korea, was adapted to allow it to coexist with the traditional Shinto religion. In painting, the emaki picture scrolls were at their artistic height at the end of the Heian period. Kanabungaku, a phonetic writing form based on spoken Japanese, was used to create some of the greatest literature of the Far East. This form of writing was known as ‘woman’s writing’. While both men and women were taught this phonetic language the men still preferred to write in the more prestigious Chinese. This gave women an advantage and the Heian period produced some of Japans greatest women writers. It is thanks to these writers that we have some understanding of Japanese Imperial Court life and an insight to how Japanese women were involved in the garden.

Women’s life in Japan was a constant throughout the centuries. The social strata was simply the very poor or the very rich. The peasant was simply trying to survive. Most women worked long hours in the rice paddies and much later in the textile industry. The nobles or aristocrats had large homes with large gardens. Life was better still for the ladies who lived and worked in the palace at Kyoto and partook in court life. They comprised primarily of ladies- in -waiting to the empress, and came from aristocratic families. While the female was in every way subordinate to the male, the Heian period did allow the woman to inherit and keep property. This did not last.

The style of house at this time was the shinden, a series of pavilions that ultimately formed the shape of a quadrangle. Each pavilion was connected to others by the use of covered corridors, walkways and bridges. Some pavilions had their own private gardens called the tsubo garden, intended primarily for the ladies of the manor. The complex would be enclosed by stone walls and with entrances to the east and west. There would be gates on the north, west and east sides which varied in height and ornamentation depending on the wealth of the owner. The gardens therefore were oriented southwards usually comprising of a lake (artificial) with a treed island in the middle. Also in the lake would be a line of interestingly formed rocks, carefully placed to represent ships anchored at night in the harbor on their way out to seek treasure. Two parallel streams wound their way under pavilions and around the gardens to the lake. The earth at the lake edge would be covered in fine white sand to reflect the beauty of the moon.

Model of the Higashi Sanjō-dono, a typical shinden-zukuri architectural complex (no longer extant).

The intent was to absorb and reflect on the natural world (despite its artificial creation) in as much a harmonious way as possible. The architecture of the manor allowed for this with its sliding screens and removable blinds. The manor could be open to such a degree it would seem that there was no real division between the indoors and out. Naturally this had its drawbacks in the winter months when the cold permeated the entire home, but was a relief during the hot and humid days of summer.

There is very little extant historical information regarding the day to day lives of the aristocracy. That is why the literature left to us from Sei Shonagon (The Pillow Book) and Murasaki Shikibu (The Tale of Genji), among others, is so important. Aristocratic ladies and ladies of the Imperial Court spent most of their lives indoors. They were raised to become wives of important men, ruling men (Japanese society was polygamous, and it was not unusual to be a second or third wife). They were literate, played various instruments, wrote poetry, and excelled at calligraphy – they were required to hold their own among the men. Notes written on paper to lovers, poetry contests or poems alone tended to involve nature and were full of symbolism. Despite a lack of context, as an example, the following two notes were sent between Her Majesty and Murasaki in The Tale of Genji.

“Though yours be a garden where only springtime is of price, suffer it that from my house autumn should blow a crimson leaf into your hand.”

“The light leaf scatters in the wind, and of the vaunted spring no tinge is left us, save where the pine-tree grips its ledge of stone.”

Ladies had plenty of leisure time and needed ways to keep themselves occupied. The garden provided a quiet place to reflect on nature. Shonagon talks of taking walks under the full bloom of the cherry trees, of ‘moon-viewing’ at night, admiring the fall blooms of chrysanthemums, and of building snow mountains in winter. It is known that the ladies delighted in rolling snowballs or piling snow in tubs or silver bowls. If the estate was large enough they would go out on the lake in boats and float around. They also enjoyed watching a form of boat racing called funakurabe.

Ume Blossom

Gardens were a hub of activity throughout the year with a seemingly endless list of festivals or ceremonies (I counted 34). Festivals were looked forward to in great anticipation by all sectors of society as a relief from dull hard lives, and so the festivals brought people to city gardens, temple gardens, and palace gardens.

The one festival that survives from Heian time is the Hanami or ‘flower viewing’ of the plum blossom or ume blossoms (Prunus mume or by common name Japanese apricot or Chinese plum). This festival was limited to the elite of the Court during the Heian period but eventually spread nationwide. Other festivals that are floral in symbolism included the Kamo Festival where Palace buildings, carriages, and private houses were decorated with hollyhock and the people wore hollyhock in their hair. There would be a large procession to the Kamo River followed later by sacred dances; The Iris Festival in which iris flowers were used for decoration and made into tea, horse racing and archery contests for the Guard; The Chrysanthemum Festival where the Emperor and his court inspected the chrysanthemums, drank tea infused with chrysanthemum, and followed by dancing.

Such was the use of the garden for the Japanese lady. Natural disasters and wars completely destroyed all of Heian architecture leaving only the natural surroundings. In time tea drinking and the tea ceremony changed the face of the garden, strolling gardens were created, and even later the addition of dry Zen gardens. The intrinsic nature of the Japanese garden remains.

“If any one asks where is the heart of a true Japanese, point to the wild cherry blossom, where it grows upon the tree.”

(Old Japanese saying)

Why did gardens evolve from East to West?

2011-01-24T14:28:00.001-05:00

In all my garden research thus far, I have often wondered why there is so much information on gardens in Europe, the Middle East, China and Japan and seemingly less so or else very hard to find in other countries such as South America. These other civilizations survived for millennia and yet it is only with their colonization that there is the mention of gardens. I realize that most likely all civilizations had gardens in some form or another, and if that is so, the information was never written or passed down or perhaps it was destroyed by its conquerors.

However, for me, the question is still pertinent. Why did the evolution of the garden form move east to west, from Asia to Europe? Why not north- south?

Map location

I think part of the answer may lie in a book written by Jared Diamond called, Guns, Germs, and Steel. The idea behind this book is that from the earliest civilizations Eurasia had advantages over other countries on Earth. Simply put, that area had a large variety of plant and animal species that were easy to domesticate. As well, climatic conditions and the geographic locations were more favorable; hurricanes, tornados, flooding and drought were minimal and the many rivers and mountains provided natural protective barriers.

Early civilizations were nomadic but as they developed towards an agrarian way of life they started to remain in one place to farm, raise animals and raise their families. They might settle in areas where berries, nuts, roots were naturally available and cultivate them in place. The Middle East in particular had the widest variety of plants and animals suitable for domestication. They grew two kinds of wheat, barley, flax for textiles, and kept sheep, cattle and goats for meat and their by-products such as dairy products, wool, leather and glue (from horns and bones). They had animals such as horses and donkeys and camels that were used for transportation of their goods and therefore for trade.

When you look at north- south options it becomes clear that there were disadvantages that inhibited the success that was had in Eurasia. For example, if we look at Africa, desert areas are inhospitable with poor plant life, and a scarcity of water. Available animals such as the zebra and onagers (both part of the horse family) are not easy to domesticate, and the existence of lions, cheetahs and other deadly animals certainly made life interesting. In addition, useful plants that survived at one end of the continent usually could not survive the conditions if moved to another area, whether due to soil, weather or available sunlight. Mr. Diamond also cites examples from the Americas and Australia which support this idea.

Chinese Cherry trees at the Royal Botanical Gardens, Hamilton

Seemingly, this advantage of living in the Eurasian zone led to advances in all areas compared with other civilizations. With better food options there is increased food production; a larger food base allows for larger societies; large societies support the division of labour, permit more ‘free’ time, and allow specialist areas to evolve such as gardens and gardeners. The East – West orientation of Eurasia allowed for an easy exchange of ideas. Trade routes over land were possible since the animals used were accustomed to the similar climates and change of seasons. The discovery and the exchange of plant materials fared the same regarding seasonal changes and climate, and a plant brought over from China or Turkey could grow just as successfully in its new home country.

In my own view, this East- West continuum eventually includes North America. Evidence is the ease in which plants from the east grow in our homes and gardens, and the same is true of North American plants growing in Europe and the Far East (I do not know if the Middle East grows plants from North America). We also share many siblings in common such as the maple, cherry and dogwood, and yet without similar climate growing them here would not be possible.

I have also found it odd that this question of East-West garden evolution does not seem to be raised by other garden writers. It is always referred to as a fact and left at that. Perhaps it is simply that I have not read books that do discuss this, and so I call out to you to tell me wrong and refer me to books where I can find more of the information that I seek.

-Patty

Josephine and her rose garden

2011-01-06T12:05:00.003-05:00

Josephine Bonaparte (1763-1814) was born Marie Josephe Rose Tascher de La Pagerie. She was born to a wealthy white family that owned a sugar plantation in Martinique. After hurricanes destroyed their estate the family looked to improve their finances and Josephine was married in 1779 to Alexandre de Beauharnais, himself from a wealthy aristocratic family. They had two children, a son Eugene and a daughter Hortense. In 1794 during the Reign of Terror both Alexandre and Josephine were arrested as aristocratic suspects. Alexandre was sentenced to death in July while Josephine remained imprisoned until her release 5 days later.

Then in 1796 she met Napoleon Bonaparte who would marry her on March 9, 1796. Their life together was difficult at times due to infidelities on both sides and differences of opinion regarding money. They never had any children together and this would be the reason for their divorce in 1809.

In 1799, while Napoleon was away fighting the Egyptian Campaign, Josephine bought Malmaison. Malmaison was a small chateau in the country just outside of Paris. She paid 300,000 francs for the house on an allowance of 4,000 francs. The house was in very poor shape and needed renovations. Upon his return Napoleon was angry at Josephine for buying the house but in a short time they restored the house to a state of glory. From 1800-1802 Malmaison was the headquarters of the French government.

Malmaison

The estate of Malmaison comprised of 650 acres. Three hundred acres were landscaped by Berthault in the English Landscape fashion with rolling hills and dotted with pockets of woods. Pavilions were built as well as grottoes. Vineyards and wheat fields filled other areas. Napoleon later added the woods of Butard increasing the estate to 4500 acres.

Josephine was interested in the plants and grew and collected anything that was considered rare. She brought in flora and fauna from around the world such as “kangaroos, emus, black swans, zebras, sheep, gazelles, ostriches, chamois, a seal, antelopes and llamas to name a few”. In 1800 she built a heated orangery to house some 300 pineapple plants and five years later she had a greenhouse built for all her exotic plants. It is said she cultivated 200 plants new to France. Josephine wrote: "I wish that Malmaison may soon become the source of riches for all [of France]"...

Her favorite plant was the rose. Between 1804 and 1814 Empress Josephine built her rose collection. It was to become the greatest and largest rose collection in the world, unsurpassed until the creation of Sangerhausen in Germany and L’Hay outside Paris, one century later. The collection was made up of about 250 species and varieties; ”Josephine grew 167 Gallica roses, 27 Centifolias, 22 Chinas, 9 Damasks, 8 Albas, 4 Spinosissimas, 3 luteas, R. moschata, R. carolina, and R. setigera”. Being Empress had its benefits and rewards during time of war. The French Navy was enlisted to confiscate any plants or rose seeds from ships at sea and her large purchases from the British nursery Kennedy and Lee were permitted safe passage through the naval blockade.

Josephine’s rose garden was important for other reasons besides being the largest collection. The acquisition of Slater’s Crimson China, Parson’s Pink and Hume’s Blush Tea Scented China (through Kennedy and Lee) was of great importance for France, for they were among the first new everblooming roses to come from China which would later produce everblooming rose cultivars. Her collection encouraged French hybridizers to work on new varieties. Josephine’s own head horticulturist Andre du Pont grew 200 new varieties, many of them new introductions. In addition, by 1830 some 2500 different rose varieties would be available to Parisian rose lovers, all influenced by Josephine’s zeal for rose collecting. It was also the first time that anyone had had thought to create a garden with only one type of plant. Pierre-Joseph Redoute was commissioned to illustrate each rose. Redoute, a botanist as well as artist, made 117 coloured drawings of roses from the garden of Malmaison which culminated in the book Les Roses, completed after the death of Josephine.

After her death Malmaison was left to neglect. It seems that the roses were dug up after Josephine’s death- almost certainly stolen. Perhaps they were removed to the gardens of her gardeners or rivals – it is not known. Malmaison was eventually purchased and later sold to the French government who now exhibit it as a tourist destination. The rose garden however is still neglected according to some tourist reviews I have read which is a real shame. Regardless Josephine’s legacy remains, perhaps not the garden itself but the legacy of the growers and hybridizers who were influenced by her love of the rose.

The Women of Kew – Workers

2010-12-16T14:57:00.003-05:00

Marianne North (1830-1890)

Marianne North is known at Kew for her botanical oil paintings. She traveled the globe twice, once in each direction, with a purpose. She intended to paint as many flowering tropical species as she could and any others she saw along the way. Her travels eventually made her sick and she died before the age of 60. Her collection of 832 oil paintings of over 900 species of plants, resides in a studio space in Kew Gallery that Marianne had constructed and paid for herself.

Born in Hastings, England, to an aristocratic family, Marianne was educated as a gentlewoman. She had a fine singing voice and took music lessons. She could draw and paint well but did not receive any formal training. When she was 25 years of age her mother died of a long illness. As a promise to her mother Marianne spent the next years taking care of her father and being his companion. Marianne and her father settled in London where she met Sir William Hooker (botanist and director of Royal Botanical Gardens Kew) and where she could visit Kew and Chiswick Gardens and develop her painting skills. With her father she made many journeys and traveled to Hungary, Italy, Greece and Egypt. At the age of 40 her father died and Marianne found herself alone.

Blue Lily
Agapanthus umbellatus (link)

She traveled some on her own but it wasn’t until she was invited to the United States that Marianne had found a renewed purpose to her life: to paint all the flowering species in all the tropical countries in the world. Armed with letters of introduction she began her first trip around the world. Her modus operandi was to either stay with someone she knew or met through her letters of introduction or rent a small house from which to do day trips. There she would walk the area alone or with a hired guide and spend the day painting. She frequently encountered people who thought it dangerous and shocking for her to be traveling on her own. Marianne would first sketch her subjects in pen and ink on paper and then finish it by squeezing the paint right out of the tube onto paper. She had developed a quick way of painting and is known to complete a picture a day. She was never considered a professional botanical painter as her paintings often lacked details due to the speed of her work. They are however, considered accurate. The result was bright, bold paintings of tropical plants in their natural settings.

Marianne’s travels were not without incident, however she certainly did not encounter difficulties or life threatening situations compared with other early travelers of the period. She did develop rheumatism which plagued her on her return trips home or in cool, high altitudes. It would be rheumatism that hastened her early death.

Four species and one genus are named after Marianne North; Northia seychellana a tree in the Seychelles, Crinium northianium a relative of the Amaryllis, Areca northiana a Feather Palm, and Kniphofia northiana the African Torch Lily.

Margaret Meen (fl.1775-1824)

Strelitzia reginae (link)

Born in Suffolk, England, Margaret moved to London to teach painting of flowers and insects. She exhibited her work as a botanist at the Royal Academy and the Watercolour Society.

Margaret Meen‘s output of floral paintings is considerable. She made many hundreds of paintings of exotic plants at Kew Gardens and elsewhere. Her collection is now part of the Kew Herbarium. The Victoria and Albert Museum houses a handful of her watercolours. Although prolific, her work is considered amateur by botanical standards. Margaret did publish “Exotic plants from the Royal Gardens at Kew” (1790), which is dedicated to Queen Charlotte. Her intention was to publish two parts a year but that never materialized.

Alice Hutchings, Gertrude Cope, Eleanor Morland

‘They gardened in bloomers the newspapers said,

So to Kew without waiting all Londoners sped;

From the tops of the buses they had a fine view,

Of the ladies in bloomers who gardened at Kew.’

Punch, 1896

In 1896 the director at Kew decided to hire three women gardeners. It was a bold move and one it seemed he was hesitant to make. The Horticultural College for Women at Swanley in Kent approached Mr. Thiselton-Dyer to hire two of their qualified students as improvers. Alice Hutchings and Gertrude Cope were the first to be admitted and later in the year they were joined by Eleanor Morland. However Thiselton-Dyer allowed their admittance on the condition that they wore clothing that would not arouse their fellow workers.

Our ladies wore brown knickerbocker suits (bloomers), thick woolen stockings and brown cloth peaked caps – just like the men. Over this uniform they wore long mackintoshes when walking to and from work. Apparently the caps caused some discomfort as the ladies wore their hair long and it was difficult to keep it under the cap. According to the Journal of Horticulture the wearing of knickerbockers was preferred as ‘ the need to avoid potential damage to plants by voluminous skirts in crowded glasshouses.’ Perhaps that is so as the ladies did on occasion work in the orchid glass house, but also worked outdoors in the ‘pit’, the Rock Garden, and the Locked Garden.

Eleanor, Gertrude, Alice

The ladies did cause a stir in the village of Kew. The Daily Telegraph wrote articles on them and commented that ‘Mrs. Grundy will, no doubt, raise her hands in horror at the idea; but, after all lady -gardeners in trousers are much better equipped for the work than was the first gardeneress, Eve, when she showed Adam how to gather fruit, and afterwards eat it.” The Gardener’s Chronicle did not approve of the idea of women ‘ digging in manures and tramping over the fields’, and the Journal of the Kew Guild admitted ‘The experiment has so far proved satisfactory…’ however qualified with but ‘…they can scarcely hope to become all-round gardeners capable of managing a garden single-handed’.

The Horticultural College for Women at Swanley in Kent opened in 1889, teaching a two and three year program for both men and women. In 1895 it became a college for women only. It existed until 1945 when the property was bombed. Later the college became part of Wye College, Ashford, Kent.

The Women of Kew - Royalty

2010-12-06T17:18:00.001-05:00

Kew Gardens in England is one of the world’s most renowned botanical gardens. Kew has a very long history and has seen and undergone many changes in its time. It is a place that has been farmed on, built upon, designed, land added to and removed, re-designed, re-built, over and over again by its various owners. It has been graced by the designs of Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown and others of equally great import and reputation. While men deservedly bear the majority of the honors there are many women in Kew’s history that deserve more recognition. I will present this in two parts. The list is long, so let us begin.

Queen Caroline

Caroline's Hermitage

Following the Jacobean Rebellion of 1715, the owner of Richmond Lodge was forced to flee and abandon his lands. Soon after, the lands reverted to the crown and became the new home of the Prince and Princess of Wales. Prince George II of Hanover married Caroline, Princess of Brandenburg-Anspach in 1705.

Caroline was an intellectual and very much interested in the arts. She was acting regent while George was in Hanover and appeared to be the one who really ruled. After a quarrel with George I, the two moved into Richmond Lodge with its extensive grounds.
Caroline was an avid gardener. She knew the formal gardens of Herrenhausen in Hanover and Charlottenburgh near Berlin. She was also quite aware of the gardens of Versailles with their avenues, parterres, fountains and statuary. Caroline did not want the formality so popular everywhere. She is known to have said that she wanted to set about “helping Nature, not losing it in art”. And so a patron of the early English Landscape movement was born. She added houses and garden buildings such as the Hermitage, the Queen’s Pavilion, and Merlin’s Cave, although none survive today. When George was crowned king in 1727 he gave the grounds of Richmond to Caroline as a gift. Two years later the estate covered 400 acres. By the time of her death in 1737 she left debts of £20,000 for all her gardening activities.

Princess Augusta

The Orangery

In 1736 Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha married Prince Frederick, Prince of Wales, son of George II and Caroline. They lived at the White House (renamed from the former ‘Kew Farm’ property) next door to Richmond Lodge.

Both Frederick and Augusta were avid garden enthusiasts. Frederick had many plans for the White House gardens. He added 75 acres of land and various trees, shrubs, water features, temples, and some Italian statuary. He wanted to include an aqueduct and a “mound to be adorned with the statues or busts of all these philosophers and to represent the Mount of Parnassus”. Unfortunately he died before implementing these plans.

Augusta took up Frederick’s plans with great speed and with the help of Lord Bute and Reverand Stephen Hales, botanists. With the mound and the aqueduct finished by 1754, she added the House of Confucius and the Chinese Arch. These were some of the earliest examples of chinoiserie that was influencing Europe at this time. William Chambers, architect, was hired to add even more buildings such as The Orangery, the Great Stove (the largest known hothouse), Alhambra, Domed Mosque and the Pagoda.

Princess Augusta had a keen interest in plant collecting. She was fortunate to belong to a time when the accessibility of species from new worlds was peaking. Comprised of both tender and hardy exotics she labelled them according to the new Linnaean system. The collection contained over 2,700 species and formed the basis of the Royal Botanic Gardens.
The Princess of Wales Conservatory was named for Princess Augusta, and opened by Princess Diana on July 28, 1987.

Queen Charlotte

Charlotte's Cottage

Augusta’s son George III married Charlotte-Sophia, Princess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz in 1761. After the death of Princess Augusta in 1772, Richmond Gardens, Kew Gardens and other properties came under single ownership for the first time. George III had been deeply influenced by Augusta and was involved in all aspects of the gardens. He was nicknamed ‘Farmer’ George for his interest in agriculture.

His wife Queen Charlotte shared his enthusiasm but she leaned towards botany. Along with four of her daughters, Charlotte took lessons in botany and in botanical illustration (in part from Margaret Meen). She increased the collections of new and exotic plants and purchased a herbarium to assist in their studies. The magnificent Bird of Paradise, Strelitzia reginae, was named in her honour. She did take pleasure in her cottage ‘ornee’, a thatched cottage near the menagerie created by Augusta. It was not unusual to see kangaroos, various species of cattle and birds from the aviary around the cottage grounds.

Queen Victoria

Giant Amazon Waterlily

Granddaughter of King George III and Queen Charlotte, Queen Victoria added crown lands to the gardens. She opened the grounds to the public in 1898.
The Victoria Medal of Horticulture was established in her honour, and is conferred to 63 of Britain’s horticulturists. The Giant Amazon Waterlily (Victoria regia) is named after her as was the Victoria Regia House, now the Waterlily House.

Elizabeth Blackwell, Botanical Illustrator

2010-11-29T14:25:00.003-05:00

The eighteenth century proved to be the time for budding female botanists. Women were allowed to pursue the study of plants and encouraged in illustration, but any deeper interest such as, a professional career, in the actual science of the field was discouraged. It seems a natural evolution that women who have always been involved in herbal preparations for the sick in their homes would develop such an interest. Those who came from a wealthy family with an education would be the ones to push the boundaries. Elizabeth Blackwell would be one of those women. She was of a later time than Maria Sibylla Marian and more than likely knew of her work.

Elizabeth Blachrie was born into a wealthy merchant family (1707–1758) in Aberdeen, Scotland. She trained as an artist and also studied music and languages. She fell in love with her cousin Alexander Blackwell, a medical practitioner. They eloped, and moved to London. In London, Alexander started out as a proof reader in a printing house, but opened his own printing house in the Strand in 1730. He met opposition from other rival printers. Alexander was charged with not having served an appropriate apprenticeship and sent to prison.

Elizabeth was now destitute. She had one child to care for, with no income, and in debt from Alexander’s lavish spending and from the court fines. However Elizabeth was quite a resourceful woman. Realizing that there was no up to date reference book for apothecaries on the newly discovered plants from the new world (North and South America), she set out to fill the gap. While Elizabeth held an interest in botany, and could draw very well, she knew that she would need assistance in writing the book. Elizabeth enlisted the help of her husband (while still in prison) for his medical knowledge of plants. She also found the support of the Worshipfull Society of Apothecaries and other leading doctors. She befriended Isaac Rand, curator of the Chelsea Physic Garden (a teaching garden established in 1673) and took rooms in Swan Walk next to the gardens to be able to draw and paint the plants from the new world.

Her book ‘A Curious Herbal, containing five hundred cuts of the most useful plants which are now used in the Practise of Physick, to which is added a short description of ye plants and their common uses in Physick’ was published in several volumes between 1737 and 1739. Elizabeth engraved her own images on copper plates and then hand-coloured the prints herself. The book was a financial success, which allowed the release of Alexander from jail and freed Elizabeth of all debts.

Unfortunately Alexander could not keep himself out of trouble. He eventually was retained as physician for King Frederick of Sweden., but was soon accused of quackery. Alexander next published an essay on agriculture and was put in charge of a farm which he mismanaged and again found himself in a delicate position with King Frederick. He was later alleged to have been involved in a plot to dethrone the king, and was sentenced to death in 1747.

Between 1747 and 1773 “A Curious Herbal” was later enlarged and improved by Christoph Jacob Trew, and was published in both English and Latin. It was entitled Herbarium Blackwellium in five volumes, the sixth volume titled Herbarii Blackwelliani auctarium.

Comfrey

Little is known of Elizabeth’s later life. She had three children, all of whom died young. It is said she took up midwifery. She was a devoted wife to her husband, working hard to free him from jail and clear all their debts. She shared loyalties with him from her book and also gave up the copyright of her book to pay his debts. Elizabeth never gained the popularity like others of her time, and has been overlooked by history, however she made great contributions to the science of botany and left behind detailed botanical illustrations.

Elizabeth Blackwell’s herbal was reprinted once in the 20th century and, in the 1920s.

*Elizabeth should not be confused with another Elizabeth Blackwell (1821-1910), the first woman to be openly recognized as a physician in the USA.

Woman's Work

2010-11-18T15:56:00.003-05:00

By Pieter Bruegel the Elder

Chores in the field and garden were often divided between men and women by body strength, a strategy that has been passed down through time. It has its benefits, but truly is unnecessary. Most of the time the basest of garden chores were handed down to women; the weeding.

In English estates weeding was done almost exclusively by women. English records from Rotherhithe (Surrey) for 1354 list women as weeders. Women employed in the 16 century show rates of pay at 3 d a day to remove convolvulus, dandelions, charlock, cockles, dock, dodder, groundsel, thistles and nettles. The women were paid less than the men, but also seemed to hold less value than many of the garden implements they may have used: wheelbarrow 1 s3 d, a shovel 4 d, a ceramic watering pot 1 d. In France, La Quintinie, head gardener to Louis XIV, preferred hiring married men over single men, as their wives might be available for weeding or scraping of pots. In the Orient women weeded the rice paddies. I am sure countless of other examples can be found.

Queens and their kings, estate owners or nobles from any country in any time period had slaves or paid labourers to do the gardening for them. Often times women were part of the labour force. Wives of garden labourers, widows or other respectable women in need of extra income, peasants from the nearby village, would all be willing to work as weeders. It was monotonous, labourious work that was little regarded and poorly paid.

By Pieter Bruegel the Elder

On the other end of the scale were the peasants who farmed the land of the wealthy. Woman, man and child were all involved in the success or failure of the farm. Weeding was part of the women’s work but not limited to it.

“Gentle huswyfes” of the low to middle class, took care of most aspects of the kitchen garden. If they were fortunate to have help, it was a young girl sent out to the garden to weed. If not, they did it themselves.

The question must be asked of times past, why was the woman not allowed to become head gardener? Why was she not allowed to take care of growing the fruit trees or design a garden? It was only by the 17^th century that European upper class women were learning to read. It was only in the 18^th century they could travel to distant lands to paint exotic plants, or learn the new and exciting field of botany. It was not until the 20^th century that womens names were among those of garden designers. There are names not listed among the lists of great botanists, explorers, designers. Female names. Why was woman’s work not valued?

Of course we know why. The type of work women have done has always been too demeaning for a man to do. Whether in the economy of the 16^th century or the 21^st century, the pay rates and working conditions for women are lower than those of men. However it is not the actual physical labour but the value given to the labour that is important. The more a particular type of work has been valued the more male dominated it has become. When it is a necessary work it is done by women.

For a short time at Woburn Abbey in England, in the late 1600’s, there was a stone statue of an old weeding woman. The Duke of Bedford had her made to commemorate the working woman. Alas, she stands no longer.

Chinese Flower Goddesses

2010-11-14T10:55:00.001-05:00

While researching for another post I came upon this web site from China that lists gods and goddesses and the flowers that they represent. In my attempt to confirm the names and the story behind each one I was only able to find one other listing. This listing had some duplication of goddess and flower but not all. Perhaps there is more than one list, or perhaps it depends where in China you live. It seems that these goddesses were real people, usually of high society and from what I can tell of ancient times. I was able to confirm a couple of the stories, which were quite lengthy, but not all. My lack of Chinese history and culture, and of course language, is obviously a detriment in this case. Modern China does not appear to follow these gods and goddesses. If someone knows differently I would love to hear from you.

The list numbers twelve flower gods and goddesses: five gods and seven goddesses, one for each month. I am copying directly from the web site, omitting some pictures and the male gods. The link to the site will follow at the end of the post. Enjoy.

Chinese Flower Goddesses

Goddess of the Daffodil - Ehuang and Nu Ying

Ehuang and Nu Ying, daughters of Yao (the Emperor of China during 2358 – 2258 BC), were the wives of Shun (a 23rd-22nd century BC leader of ancient China). They got along with each other very well. When they heard the death of their husband, both of them throw themselves into the river. Legends said that they became the Goddess of Daffodil after their death.

Goddess of the Laurel Blossom - Xu Hui

Xu Hui was a concubine of Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty. It was said that she was so clever that she was able to speak when she was five months old and when she was at the age of 8, she can even write poems.
Due to her talent, she was selected as one of the concubines for Emperor Taizong. However, such a genius died when she was 24 years old because she could not overcome the grief of the Emperor’s death.
She wrote many poems about Laurel Blossom when she was alive. Therefore, she was chosen as the Goddess of Laurel Blossom because of these poems and her intelligence.

Goddess of the Hollyhock Blossom - Lady Yi

Lady Li, the favorite concubine of Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty, was a dazzling beauty.
There was a song as the witness of her extraordinary beauty.

In the North there is a beautiful woman,
Unique, Unequal in the world.
With one glance she conquers a city of men,
With another glance a country of men.
Don’t you know? A city and a country conquering
Beauty cannot be found again. (Hans H. Frankel)

However, Lady Li’s physical condition was not so good and she died several years later after she was chosen as a concubine. Her life was just the same as the hollyhock blossom, short but flowery. Therefore, she was regarded as the Goddess of Hollyhock Blossom.

Goddess of the Lotus Blossom - Xi Shi

Xi Shi, a legendary beauty, was one of the Four Beauties in ancient China. Legends said that in summer she always went to pick lotus on Lake Jinghu. She was so beautiful that no one could rival her beauty. Therefore, she was crowned the Goddess of Lotus Blossom.

Goddess of Peach Blossom - Lady Xi

Lady Xi, renowned for her beauty, was the wife of the ruler for the State of Xi during the Spring and Autumn Period in ancient China. Salivated over her beauty, the King of Chu defeated the ruler of Xi and took lady Xi.
Lady Xi had children with him but never spoke a word to him any more. She killed herself later when she heard the death of her ex-husband. She died in March, when all the peach trees are in blossom. Moved by her firmness, people called her the goddess of peach blossom to show their respect.

Goddess of Apricot Blossom - Yang Yuhuan

Yang Yuhuan, also called Yang Guifei by most Chinese (Guifei was the highest-ranking imperial concubine at her time), was one of the Four Beauties in ancient China.
During the Anshi Rebellion, she was forced to hang herself. Legend said that after the rebellion, the emperor wanted to locate Yang’s body and rebury her with honor. However, they could not find her body but apricot blossoms. People believed that she was ascended to the heaven and became the Goddess of Apricot Blossom.

Goddess of Plum Blossom - Princess Shouyang

Princess Shouyang, the daughter of Emperor Wu in the Nan Dynasty’s Song Era, was a plum blossom lover. On lunar January 7th, when she slept beneath a tree, a plum blossom fell on her forehead, leaving a floral imprint. With the imprint, she looked much more beautiful. Soon, all the ladies followed her to paste plum blossom shaped ornaments on their foreheads. It was then called Plum Blossom Makeup. Hence, Princess Shouyang was crowned Goddess of Plum Blossom and lunar January 7th was regarded as the birthday of plum blossoms.

Photos and text from :

http://www.chinancient.com/category/chinese-literature/flower-goddess/

Magic Carpet Ride : Persian Gardens

2010-11-05T18:44:00.003-04:00

Garden in a Persian miniature - Musee des Arts

Now we turn our thoughts to ancient Iran or Persia. The history of Persia is one of a country invaded many times over. In the 7th century the Arabs invaded and conquered the Persian people. The Moguls with leader Genghiz Khan invaded in the 13th century and again in the 16th century by Tamerlane. Each conqueror brought something to the existing culture and yet the traditions and culture of Persian garden design remained and was absorbed and integrated into the cultures of each occupying force.

As Egypt was a leading influence on garden style and design in the Mediterranean region, (in particular the Romans who brought it to the lands they vanquished) Persian gardens became the ideal from Spain to India. The earliest gardens were most probably influenced by the Egyptians, with walled enclosed gardens, primarily rectangular in shape, and shallow crossing water channels. Within this formal arrangement would be fragrant flowers such as rose, narcissus, tulip, lilac, jasmine and orange tree, some of which were brought in from China in exchange for grapes and horses as early as the second century. However the greatest influences on Persian gardens were climate and geography, religion and the love of beauty; their culture.

The majority of the country is high above sea level and is arid desert or steppe. High temperatures with searing sun in the summer, cold temperatures and blizzards in the winter, strong winds, fierce sandstorms and a lack of fresh water created a need for protected areas with ample shade. Enclosed gardens protected against wind, trees for shade and wind barriers, and where possible water was channeled in. Within this difficult terrain are green valleys and lush forests. Recreating this paradise in the more inhospitable areas became a goal.

On the small scale the garden was attached to the house with perhaps a portico as the link. On a grander scale, beyond the palace there were pavilions connecting gardens along with channels of water. Outside of the walls were parks. Parks were just as important, if not more so, than gardens. Persians revered trees and had cults dedicated to trees (as did the Egyptians). Part of every young boys education was to learn to plant and care for trees. Tree planting was a sacred occupation. Parks were planted formally, in rows. The initial intention of the park was a hunting ground but also served as an area for feasts and audiences for great princes to take place.

Court of the Lions, Spain

The gardens were designed in the classic arrangement of the charar bagh. The chahar bagh, or four gardens, has a fountain in the centre where two channels of water intersect. Channels of water may also follow the perimeter of the garden, along with paths of stone. It is thought that the charar bagh may represent the four quadrants of the Persian empire. This basic form became the ideal for all Islamic gardens.

To the Persians gardens were like heaven, filled with birdsong, fruit to eat, fragrant flowers, water and cool shade. The Persian word for garden is pairi-daeza; pairi (all around) and daeza or diz (shape) or wall enclosed. They followed the teachings of Zoroaster who spoke of a heaven with paths of gold and pavilions that glittered like diamonds, filled with fruit and fragrant flowers. To the Arabs that arrived later, the gardens looked like the gardens promised in the Koran, with the charar bagh symbolizing the Four Rivers of Paradise that flowed to the north, east, south and west. “This is the Paradise which the righteous have been promised. There shall flow in it rivers of unpolluted water, and rivers of milk forever fresh; rivers of delectable wine and rivers of clearest honey. They shall eat therein of every fruit and receive forgiveness from their lord.”

Persian "Wagner" Garden Carpet

Almost all of the original gardens are gone, in ruins or built upon by later civilizations. It is by the sheer force of the Persian love of beauty that we can know today something of their gardens. It is from their poetry, paintings or miniatures and carpets they we weave together this information. Miniatures give us some examples of how the garden may have looked, what flowers and trees they grew. We know that they built platforms into trees to enjoy the flowering spring time. On the platforms they laid pillows and carpets for comfort. Carpets were also placed on the grass and under trees. The designs on carpets were filled with gardens. Explosions of flowers, birds and other animals filled the interior. Borders of colour or borders with swimming fish may have represented the channels of water typical in gardens. Bare tree branches may symbolize the four rivers of paradise and squares of colour may be the garden beds.

One of the earliest extant accounts of a Persian carpet belonged to the Sassanid prince

Persian Carpet

Chosroes 1 (531-579). The carpet was woven of the finest materials with coloured stones and threads of gold and silver. It was 60 yards square. It “represented a pleasure- garden, with streams and paths, trees and beautiful spring flowers.” Unfortunately when the Arabs found the carpet they had it cut up and sold, but not before recording it by their historians.

The Persian garden became the ideal for all Islamic gardens and were taken eastwards to the Taj Mahal in India and westwards to the Alhambra in Spain where wonderful examples live on.

Sister Maria Celeste, Italy

2010-10-31T10:19:00.010-04:00

Born Virginia Gamba (1600-1634), she was the daughter to Galilieo Galilei the famous Italian scientist who proved that the Earth revolved around the sun. Virginia was the eldest of her siblings sister Livia and her brother Vincezio. The three were all born out of wedlock by Maria Gamba, the life and love of Galileo. The girls were considered unmarriageable by Galileo since he never married their mother. When Virginia turned thirteen years of age Galileo decided to send both girls to the nearest convent, just south of their home in Florence, the Convent of San Matteo in Arcentri. There they both lived out their lives in extreme poverty and seclusion. Maria Celeste died from dysentry at the age of 33.

The Convent of San Matteo belonged to The Order of Saint Clare which was established by Saints Clare of Assissi and Francis of Assissi. The Clares, or Poor Clares dedicated themselves to the strict principles of Saint Francis, never able to leave the grounds of the convent and living in extreme poverty far severer than that of any female order of the time. There, their hair was cut round and they wore rough habits of dark brown with black linen veil and knotted cordbelt. They were always barefoot, slept on wood boards covered with a straw mattress, and were seemingly always fasting and praying. Viginia named herself Maria Celeste honouring both the Virgin Mary and her father with her name.

Maria Celeste proved to be an industrious woman for she had little free time to herself. The day was spent cleaning, cooking, and producing articles for sale on the outside such as fine embroidered handkerchiefs, lace, herbal medicines and bread in the summer when it was too hot for most other people to bother. She directed the choir and taught the novices to sing the Gregorian chant. In her few spare moments at the end of the day she wrote letters to her father. In these letters she enquired after his experiments and his poor health.

The convent did have a farm that was tended by outside labor. They grew wheat, millet and other grains, grape for wine and kept some animals. It is not clear if there was an orchard but fruit trees were grown around a central well at the back of the church. There they grew pears, plums, quince, almond trees, pine trees and olive trees. Rosebushes were plentiful and said to bloom even at Christmas.

At the convent apothecary Maria Celeste assisted the visiting doctor by fabricating remedies in pill or tonic form and nursed the sick nuns. Rosemary was grown for nausea, rhubarb was dried and used as a laxative, and rue to staunch a bloody nose or to drink with wine for headaches. A syrup made of rosebuds was used as a purgative: 'prepared from several hundred roses, picked when the buds were half open, then steeped a full day and night in sugar and hot water.'

Galileo's own garden grew lettuce, bitter oranges, portuguese oranges, lemons, grapes for wine (which was made on the premises). There were white beans, chickpeas, broad beans, capers, plums, pears, an orange tree in a pot, a mule for transportation and a dovecote.

Galileo and his daughter Maria Celeste lives were intertwined in inumerable ways and linked by letters. If you are interested in knowing more please read the book Galileo's Daughter by Dava Sobel for a fascinating look at both their lives.

The Garden in a Nunnery, Part 2 Hildegard von Bingen

2010-10-26T13:00:00.001-04:00

Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) Germany

Much has been written about this remarkable woman. She has been and continues to be studied by scholars in diverse fields that include spirituality, theology, music, medicine, herbalism, and illumination (illustration). She was also a visionary and prophet. Hildegard had the intellect and the opportunity to address her numerous talents to all these fields. I will attempt to give you some idea of her life with an emphasis on her interest in medicine and herbalism.

Hildegard was the 10th child born to a noble family. Traditionally the 10th child is given to the church as tithe, and so at the age of 8 Hildegard was sent to the Benedictine monastery of Disibodenburg in Bingen for her religious upbringing (this was a double monastery with male and female sections). There she was entrusted to the anchoress Jutta for her education.

From a very young age it had been apparent that Hildegard had prophetic visions. These were often recorded by Jutta and later by a scribe Volmar. Today, it is suggested that the visions were caused by migraines.

Hildegard refered to Jutta as an "unlearned woman" and while Jutta taught the young girl to read and write Hildegard may have taken it upon herself to educate herself. The Benedictines believed that both men and women should have access to learning. They followed a tradition of community where all members were expected to participate in prayer, reading and work. Music was part of their lives as was the making and illustrating of manuscripts. This lifestyle would have been the greatest influence on a young Hildegard.

Upon the death of Jutta, Hildegard then 38, was named Prioress by her fellow sisters. Hildegard moved the convent from Bingen to the St. Rupertsberg monastery in 1150. In 1165 she founded a second convent in Eibingen.

A major turning point in her life took place at the age of 42 when she received a vision from God (as they all were) to begin writing down her visions.

Opening lines of Causae et Curae

In her lifetime she wrote between 70 and 80 musical compositions, 72 songs, 70 poems, 100 letters and 9 books. Hildegard wrote 2 books on medicine, Physica and Causae et Curae. Physica, written in nine parts, describes the characteristics of elements, birds, fish, mammals, reptiles, trees and plants, and precious stones and metals. It details the medicinal uses of more than 200 herbs and plants with some descriptions for identification. Causae et Curae combines the mystical beliefs of the time with early German folklore and Hildegard's own herbal experience. It lists more than 200 diseases with information on their causes, symptoms and treatments. In this same book Hildegard also lists 300 plants, with medical and physiological theory as well as herbal treatments. While both books list herbal treatments, the latter includes actual proportions for the ingredients in the recipe.

It is believed Hildegard would have read and used older texts on medieval herbs, and presumably worked in the gardens at Disibodenberg and St. Rupertsberg. It is not known if she practiced medicine, but she was well known for her cures, both supernatural and natural. Some are still used today. These two books would have been written for use by the nuns of the convent. Their use would not only be of immense benefit to sick or ailing nuns and monks, but would also provide medical aid to travelers and the people of nearby communities who turned to the monasteries for help.

There are many books and websites devoted to her for those of you who want to delve deeper into certain aspects of her life. This is I'm afraid, only a tiny sliver of the information on Hildegard of Bingen.

The Garden in a Nunnery, Part 2 Radegund of Poitiers

2010-10-21T21:41:00.003-04:00

Radegund of Poitiers, France

Radegund of Poitiers was one of the first Frankish women who founded and ruled over nunneries in France. Her life reads like a soap opera. Born around the year of 520, Radegund was the daughter of a Thuringian King, Berthaire. While just a child, her father was murdered by his brother, Hermanfred, who took Radegund and her brother to raise as his own. But in 531 the Franks invaded Thuringia and defeated and destroyed the Thuringian royal family. The children were captured by the invading Frankish King Clothaire I, who claimed them as spoils of war. Radegund lived with Clothaire in Athies when at the age of 18 he moved her to Soissons to be his queen. She did not want to marry this brute Clothaire but eventually consented to marry him in 540, while apparently goading the man to fury with her austere and devout way of life. She used her revenues from land she received from her wedding to found hospices and was involved in much charitable work on behalf of the poor.

Ten years later, Clothaire murdered Radegund's brother, the last surviving male of the royal family. Radegund fled Clothaire's court, went to Noyon where she managed to be consecrated as a deaconess and eventually made her way to Poitiers. Clothaire tried many times to reclaim his devout wife but failed as now she had the power of the church behind her. In 561 Clothaire died, releasing Radegund from any claims.

During these years Radegund founded the Convent of Our Lady of Poitiers. She laid down the Caesarian Rule in the convent which is that once cloistered, a nun can never ever leave the convent. She further stipulated that the sisters must be able to read and write in addition to the other female tasks of weaving and needlework.

She must have been a powerful woman or perhaps one with a gilded tongue as next she petitioned the Byzantine Emperor for relics from the Holy Land to sanctify her convent. Over time she received the little finger belonging to St. Mamas of Caesarea and a fragment of the True Cross, a large piece of wood from the cross upon which Jesus was crucified. Radegund renamed the convent the Abbey of the Holy Cross, and it became a destination of pilgrimages throughout Frankish lands. Having accomplished so much Radegund removed herself from the day to day goings-on in the convent, and isolated herself in a walled-up cell where she devoted herself to prayer and meditation. She died on August 13, 587.

Now what does she have to do with gardens or flowers? Well Radegund loved to decorate the church altar with flowers, and 'a profusion' of flowers at that. A great friend of hers was the poet Venantius Fortunatus and he wrote many flowery poems of love to her. He claimed that at one dinner he shared with Radegund at the convent, the table was barely visible as it was strewn with roses, greenery, and flowers.

Violets were sent along with this poem to Radegund :

'If the time of year had given me white lilies,

or had offered me roses laden with perfume,

I had culled them as usual in the open or in the ground of my small garden,

and had sent them, small gifts to great ladies.

But since I am short of the first and wanting in the second,

he who offers violets must in love be held to bring roses.

Among the odorous herbs which I send,

these purple violets have a nobleness of their own.

They shine tinted with purple which is regal,

and unite in their petals both perfume and beauty.

What they represent may you both exemplify,

that by association a transient gift may gain lasting worth.'

The Garden in a Nunnery, Part 1

2010-10-21T20:22:00.002-04:00

"Come, I'll dispose of thee among a sisterhood of holy nuns".

Romeo and Juliet.

Monasteries have been around in many forms. In the East men attracted by the hermits life preferred living in isolated cells (room) to the cloistered community. Early monks depended on the alms collected to survive. If these were insufficient then there would have been a need for a garden. Western monasteries appear to have always been cloistered as a community. Gardens were always part of the plan.

Some of the earliest gardens were found in monasteries all throughout Europe. The monastic gardens served many purposes. Food for the table, flowers for the altar and herbs for the sick were all grown within the walled grounds of the monastery. Most importantly, from an historic view, was that these gardens along with the techniques of gardening were preserved for the future. The medieval period ranged from approximately 500 -1500 AD. It was a time of war and a time of crusades. Without the monastic gardens the art of gardening would certainly have been lost to ruin and neglect.

Most monastic gardens were laid out following the lines of the Roman villa. It formed an atrium and peristyle , surrounded by a colonnade – this enclosed area was renamed the cloister. Cloisters were sanctuaries where the good and wicked could flee and be safe. In time the simple courtyards grew into extensive buildings and enclosures. Then the outdoors would be divided into four areas; the physic garden, a cloister garth (garden), a vegetable garden and an orchard. The cloister was divided into four parts by paths that intersected in the middle and marked by a fountain, well, or sometimes a tree. The number four had a number of meanings here as it does in Islamic gardens: the four rivers of paradise, the four cardinal virtues, the four evangelists.

The medieval period is when monasteries and nunneries were at their highest numbers in the west. Nunneries differed from monasteries in that the women or young girls who joined them were always from noble and wealthy families. The poor needed to keep their girls home to help with the family and house. Nuns also, were never permitted to leave the convent. They were expected to lead a life that strictly followed their vows of chastity, obedience and poverty.

Areas of work attached to the garden include the work of the cellaress (food), sacrist (for the church flowers and candles), and the infirmaress (hospital). Convent food primarily came from their own resources; the vegetable/kitchen garden, the orchard and a farm. The kitchen garden, orchard and farm was managed by the cellaress and provided most of the bread, meat, vegetables and beer or wine, as well as some dairy produce. Typical crops of the kitchen garden were turnips, parsnips, onions, leeks, various legumes, mint, basil, wormwood, borage, mugwort, nettle and melons. Fruit trees were grown in the orchard such as pears, apples and cherries, figs and grapes for wine. Whatever else that was lacking was purchased.

The herbularis or physic garden grew, among others, sage, rue, aloe, rosemary, southernwood, poppy, mint and pennyroyal, parsley, gladioli and marigolds. The infermaress took care of the ailing nuns and was able to make salves, potions, ointments, and pills. Women were not allowed to be physicians and so a male doctor was always brought in when a nun needed greater care.

The sacrist was in charge of the care of the chapel and flowers were frequently used as offerings and adornment. Flowers grown for the church included roses, lilies, asters, primroses, violets, carnations, marigolds and many others.

The life of the nun is extremely interesting. I would love to keep writing about their lifestyle but instead I will tell you about three nuns from different time periods in part 2 of The Garden in a Nunnery.

Get thee to a nunn'ry, why woulds't thou be a breeder of
sinners?

Hamlet

The Hortus Conclusus

2010-10-13T12:47:00.002-04:00

I am continuing the theme of the Virgin Mary and the garden because I feel that the idea of the hortus conclusus should not be left out.

The hortus conclusus is a particular type of enclosed garden in the sense that it is tied symbolically to the Virgin Mary. While the hortus conclusus takes the form of a garden in Medieval and Renaissance art it is actually a representation of the Virgin Mary. And yet many of its actual physical attributes are taken from even earlier centuries of garden making. When we look far back to the earliest Oriental gardens of Persia, Egypt, Babylon and Mesopotamia we see walled gardens filled with fruit trees, flowers, water and places to sit. Medieval Europe took these traditions and transformed them to their ways and will.

After the fall of Rome, medieval Europe (500-1500 AD) was a place of transition. It was a time when kings were fighting wars against other rival kings and a time of crusades. Castles and monasteries were built high on hills or mountains and walls were erected to protect against invaders. Erecting barriers became part of the psyche with the result that virtually all gardens were protected not only against invading armies but also against thieves and marauding livestock. Monasteries also followed this layout and it is known as the cloister (from Latin claustrum, "enclosure"). With the number of monasteries at their highest during the medieval period it is significant that the origin of the cult of the virgin and the increase of devotion to Mary may have spurred the revival of the idea of the hortus conclusus.

Note Eve with the Tree of Life in the center

"Hortus conclusus soror mea, sponsa, hortus conclusus, fons signatus"

translated:

"A garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse; a garden enclosed, a fountain sealed up"

These now famous lines are from the Song of Solomon. Written by King Solomon as a nuptial song for his bride, and quite the sexy one at that, it is a dialogue between bride and bridegroom using the garden as metaphor. In Europe, during the medieval times the main religion was Christianity and they believed the Song of Solomon to be an allegory of the union between the church and Christ. Other religions have found their own interpretations or allegories in the poem. Often, though, the allegory is, the lover is God, the beloved is the Virgin Mary.

Purity, or the pure woman, is what it seems to distill down to. In paintings of the Virgin Mary it is she that symbolizes purity surrounded by her chastity belt or the wall. The garden is of no actual import other than perhaps from a religious view as a paradise, and one she can not leave.
For the medieval woman the enclosed garden was designed to be her chastity belt. Purity of the bloodlines was a great concern for the medieval husband. When kings and lords left home to go to battle they wanted to feel assured that upon their return their queen or wife remained inaccessible to rapists or even suitors, and shut their women up as tightly as they could. In this way, she could enjoy the outdoors and all that nature offers in the confines of the garden and remain pure in the eyes of her father or husband. As for the suitors, that is another story.

Flora, Goddess of Flowers

2010-10-02T13:23:00.001-04:00

OK, so she is not a real person but Flora certainly had an influence in early Greek and Roman societies and later in the art world. But already I must partially retract the words that Flora was not a real person, because there seems to be some disagreement on this point. The Romans said that Flora was a woman of pleasure, wealthy due to her trade, and left her wealth to the Roman senate on the proviso that the money was used to celebrate her birthday. The seemingly embarrassed senators agreed to this donation (could it be because they were clients?), gave Flora the title of goddess and thereafter held the Floralia on her birthday.

True or not it makes a great story.

Flora is the Roman goddess of flowers but at one time also over fruit trees, vines and cereals. Her name comes from the Latin floris, meaning flower and her season is that of spring. It is known that Flora was honoured by the Sabines an old Italic tribe of the Appennines before the founding of Rome. The Italic people celebrated her as a fertility goddess. It is also known that a statue of Flora existed in Greece where she was worshiped (and known as Chloris), prior to the time of Roman worship. It was believed Flora could avert rust, a fungal disease of plants that causes orange growths the colour of iron, that is a particular problem for wheat.

The Floralia was a public religious festival to honour the goodwill of Flora. Created in the 6th century BC by the Romans, it took place in spring and lasted six days, the last three days of April and the first three days of May. The festival consisted of games and theatrical performances. Chariot races and circus games took place and everywhere were the symbols of Flora. It was traditional to have goats and hares running around. As well, flowers of lupines, bean flowers and vetch were scattered about. The Romans walked around holding bouquets of flowers or wore wreaths of flowers around their neck or in their hair. The theatrical performances were known to be 'lewd' or 'bawdy' and it was not at all unusual for prostitutes (who were devoted to Flora) to remove their clothing when called upon. It looked to be quite the wild party.

From Roman times through to the Renaissance Flora became equally known for her ties to the natural world as for her ties to prostitution and lewd self display. In paintings she would be portrayed either as the goddess of spring surrounded by plants and flowers with the emphasis on nature and abundance, or in contrast, an emphasis on nutrition, reproduction, and a recreational paradise.

Today her name is used botanically. By the eighteenth century the goddess of flowers metamorphosed into a scientific term. 'Flora' no longer represents flowers but "the plants of a particular region or period, listed by species and considered as a whole." (see dictionary) Kind of sad.

If you are interested in one of Flora's counterparts check out my post on Pomona, the goddess of fruiting trees and orchards here.

The Mary Garden

2010-09-25T12:34:00.001-04:00

The Medieval period in Europe was an interesting but bumpy time for women. Women were viewed as the instrument of evil, an attitude encouraged by the church. They were subservient to men and led degraded lives. There existed anti -feminist literature and the fabliaux, which are rhymed verses that spoke of contempt for women and their deceit.

In the early twelfth and thirteenth centuries this attitude began to change. Part was due to the introduction of the chivalric code of honour. The cult of chivalry, or courtly love, existed only among the nobility. The gentlewoman who looked for love or romance outside of marriage found it with the chivalric knight's attention. Women of nobility enjoyed great attention, were deferred to and paid homage to.

A typical hortus conclusus

The Cult of the Virgin further enhanced the concept of woman. Pilgrimages to shrines of the Virgin Mary were widespread. Shrines were dedicated to her, flowers named after her and Lady Chapels were established in churches. Due in part to this Cult of the Virgin women slowly enjoyed a position of greater esteem in man's eyes.

The Mary Garden came about in the late Middle ages. Increased interest in the Virgin Mary took place in the 15th century primarily due to the Rosary Movement in Germany. The movement spread throughout German speaking areas and into Italy. The Mary Garden was most likely inspired by the monastery's cloister, a walled garden with a fountain or well in the center. The flowers grown in this garden took on a symbolism to represent the qualities of the Virgin Mary. The primary flowers are the rose (martyrdom), the lily (purity) and the violet (humility). Over time many more flowers became associated with Mary or were named after her, some which may be familiar to you such as Mary's Gold, Madonna's Herb, Our Lady's Delight.

The Virgin and Child in the hortus conclusus by Stefano da Verona c1410

These attributes to Mary show up in paintings during the 15th and 16th centuries. The Virgin Mary is sitting in an enclosed garden or hortus conclusus, which symbolizes the chastity belt. Most times she is sitting on the ground amongst the flowers with the Christ child and angels playing musical instruments. Often there is a unicorn which represents the mystical hunt, an allegory of the Incarnation. The fountain in the garden symbolizes the Virgin's purity and abundant giving.

Mary Gardens are still grown today. Sometimes they are found in church gardens but mostly they are made for personal use. Instead of the fountain or well a statue of the Virgin Mary is the focal point in the garden.

Mary on a Rose Bench - note the violets and lily of the valley

The Ancient Egyptian garden

2010-09-18T16:19:00.009-04:00

The Ancient Egyptian garden goes back to 2800 BC. It was formal in structure. Attached to the house was the portico, a covered porch that could be supported by pillars. The portico connected the house to the outdoors and the garden. In the center of the garden was a pool, either rectangular, oblong or T-shaped. Around the pool could be trees of fig, palm, sycamore, pomegranate, nut trees and jujube. Sometimes arbours of grapevines circled the outer edges of the garden. Flowers would be grown in beds or in pots lining walkways to the house. Flower beds tended to be in solid colours and contained cornflowers, poppies, papyrus, daisies, mandrakes, roses, irises, myrtle, jasmine, mignonettes, convolvulus, celosia, narcissus, ivy, lychnis, sweet marjoram, henna, bay laurel and small yellow chrysanthemums. Typically the garden would be enclosed by walls.

Not everyone enjoyed a garden. It seems gardens were for the officials and for the temples. The house or temple was usually built on a hill not too far from the Nile in order to be able to provide irrigation. Temples were places of divinity and different temples prayed to different gods, each symbolized by a sacred tree. Temple gardens could be quite large and in fact some would be considered arboretums by today's standards. Flowers were also grown and used extensively in temples as offerings to the gods in the form of wreaths and oils for perfume.

Egyptian society was hierarchical and divided into many social classes. Those in higher classes always enjoyed more benefits than those below them, however all people within a class were treated equally. Egyptian women had more rights and freedoms than the Greeks and Romans. Women could work along side their spouses in business and certain professions were open to them such as, dancing, music, mourning, midwifery and the priesthood. Women were equal in the eyes of the law and could own, manage and receive property, including slaves who were considered property. Marriage for Egyptian women was usually arranged, with a contract, that could be broken with a divorce. Most of the laborers were slaves (the lowest class) and the majority of slaves were women. They could be found doing many types of work, farming and household work included.

The wife was head mistress of the house and she made all decisions in regards to it. She had influence over the plantings in the garden and ensured the necessary plants were grown for medicinal purposes as well as, growing flowers to decorate and perfume the house. In small homes the wife would work in the garden with perhaps a female slave. Gardeners in large estates were men, women and children. They kept the gardens cultivated and made garlands and wreaths to be used in festivals and for worship. For them as it is for us, the garden was a place to find quiet and privacy, shade from the heat of the day, a place for entertaining guests and a place for the family to be together.

Egyptian tidbit:

* Roof gardens were already in existence at this time, as was topiary.
* Imported flowers (!) included the rose, anemone, poppy, thistle, reed, chrysanthemum and cornflower.

Hanging Gardens of Babylon

2010-09-11T16:28:00.000-04:00

Considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Hanging Gardens are still a mystery today. The story goes, around 600 BC, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon (now modern day Iraq) created these wondrous gardens to appease his new homesick wife the Princess Amytis of Persia (now northern Iran). She missed the green hills of her homeland and the King who was considered to be a great builder of his time, thought nothing about building lush green gardens for her. Now that's love. The garden was terraced with arched vaults and stood 75 feet high (22.5 M) and 100 feet square (30 M). It was built of stone and brick and was capable of growing large trees. A well with conduits provided the irrigation.


One of many suggested looks to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon

Unfortunately the evidence of its existence is poor. The gardens may have been the creation of a later King Sennacherib or of an earlier king for his Persian courtesan.

The typical garden of this time period for Babylon, Assyria and Egypt was laid out in a formal manner. The gardens were usually walled with a fountain or a pool in the center. From the pool the garden was divided into four quadrants. This pattern shows up over and over through out history and is extremely important to the Arab cultures. In each quadrant a tree would be planted and around the garden edge trees would be planted regularly spaced along with arbours holding grape vines. Flower gardens were planted near the house and this is where we are first to find a woman's influence in the garden. The gardens were cool and shady places for the family to relax and dine al fresco.

The palm tree held enormous importance for these people. Beside the obvious shade it provided trees did not grow easily in these arid countries. Water was always a concern and getting water to the gardens was utmost on their minds. The palm or date palm gave timber, its fruit gave milk, from its sap wine, from its syrup sugar. Its tender tips were cooked for a vegetable and its fruit was a staple in the national diet.

Maria Sibylla Merian, illustrator and naturalist

2010-09-06T14:13:00.004-04:00

A few summers ago I was in New York city enjoying the artwork of the Frick Museum. I always like to check out the museum store afterward and this time I came upon a small book of illustrations by Maria Sibylla Merian titled Insects & Flowers. A wonderful little book with large and colourful illustrations of exotic flowers surrounded by creepy crawlers of all sorts. I had to have it. Little did I know that this Renaissance artist had regained popularity in the last few decades. Her story is one you will admire.

Maria Sibylla Merian (1647–1717) was born in Frankfurt Germany. Her father, Matthias Merian, was an accomplished printer and engraver known for his scientific illustrations. With his death a few years after Maria's birth, her mother married Jacob Marrel a still life painter, engraver and art dealer. With such a background it is not surprising that Maria would become an artist as well. At the age of thirteen she was capturing caterpillars and drawing them in a journal. She wrote,"In my youth, I spent my time investigating insects. At the beginning, I started with silk worms in my home town of Frankfurt. I realised that other caterpillars produced beautiful butterflies or moths, and that silk worms did the same. This led me to collect all the caterpillars I could find in order to see how they changed." It is this beginning that would revolutionize the science of zoology and the art of illustrating it.

Drawing was always part of her early years along with the interest in nature. Maria married Johann Andreas Graff, her stepfather's apprentice, and they had two daughters, Johanna Helena and Dorthea Maria. Maria continued painting and worked on embroidery patterns. These 'models' for embroidery were published in her first book Flowerbook. Her sketchbook was later published in 1675 at the age of 28 under the title Neues Blumenbuch -- New book of flowers. The following year she published a book on the life of the caterpillar and it's food sources called Der Raupen wunderbare Verwandlung und sonderbare Blumennahrung -- The Caterpillar, Marvelous Transformation and Strange Floral Food.
Her family life appeared to have suffered as she left her husband and moved her children and mother to a religious commune the Labadists. This was short lived and eight years later moved to Amsterdam. Maria did divorce her husband, which in these times is an event of note, but shortly thereafter embarked on a journey that for a woman seemed next to impossible.

In 1699, at the age of 52, Maria Sibylla Merian and her daughter Dorthea, by then an accomplished artist herself, boarded a ship and left for Suriname, a Dutch colony in South America. For the next two years the ladies traveled through the rain forest collecting, drawing and painting plants and animals. It is not clear how they paid for this trip (I have found contradictory stories). Male explorers were usually sent by Kings or other wealthy patrons, but this does not seem to be the case here. Maria and daughter were assisted by African and Amerindian slaves from the Dutch plantations. Maria certainly made an effort to understand the people she was encountering as it is noted she learned Carib, the language of the local Amerindians, and Negerengels (Black English) the Dutch name for the creole dialect of the African slaves. While accustomed to owning slaves herself, Maria was upset over some of the harsh treatment she witnessed and was vocal with her opinions.
Upon the return from Suriname, she published the book that would give her some renown in the scientific world. Metamorphosis of the Insects of Suriname was published in 1705 and contained sixty full-paged engraved plates. Each plate was accompanied by a description of the plant and animal and labeled in Latin and native names. She also documented the traditional use and preparation of various plant and animals for food and medicine as witnessed on her trip from the South American women she met.
The book brought her acclaim and some financial success. It had its detractors though. Some colonial officials did not like her comments on the treatment of slaves and nineteenth century naturalists made the case that her illustrations of bird eating spiders was pure fantasy - this was later dis-proven. On a positive note and much more important, her work was cited over one hundred times by Carl Linnaeus (Sweden 1701-1778), considered the father of modern zoological classification.

Today she is receiving the acclaim she deserves. Strangely, or not, her face was put on the German stamp before the euro was brought in, her name is attached to a modern research vessel, her books have all been reprinted, schools are named after her and her illustrations after being purchased by Peter the Great Csar of Russia, can still be seen in a museum in St. Petersburg.

Down but never out

2010-09-03T13:26:00.002-04:00

My desire to look further into the role of women in the garden came about while reading the book 'Green Thoughts, a writer in the garden' by Eleanor Perenyi. A gardener and a writer, she had definite ideas and opinions on the status of women not just in the garden but through history. Once one starts to research this area it becomes abundantly clear quickly that women were encouraged to enjoy pretty flowers to keep them out of man's way and his domains. Both Eleanor and I are 'modern' women (she died in 2009 at the age of 91) which makes it difficult at times to look at this history and keep it in context, especially since our modern selves continue to bounce our heads off the Plexiglas ceiling.

Eleanor says women were the first horticulturists. While the men hunted the women searched the land for plants that could be used for medicinal purposes and those that were edible. This information was passed down through the generations and continues to be of immense value today (consider pharmaceuticals and the health trade). With the decline of the hunt men took over this role and gave women the jobs they did not want to do themselves. And so it began.

Without a doubt, the male sex is at the forefront of garden history, but there are wonderful stories of the women standing behind or beside them. It is these women I want to highlight. The idea of what a garden is has changed over time. Their use and their structure has evolved or mutated (take your pick) and differs from place to place, country to country, era to era. Somehow I am going to wade through this and bring it to you.

Madame de Pompadour

2010-09-02T12:33:00.009-04:00

Why start with the Madame, you are thinking. Reasonable question of course. The Madame has been on my mind since a certain history class in high school. I had a wonderful teacher, a woman whose name is long forgotten, who taught me french and history. She gave details to people and events I could never have realized were so important. Like when Marie Antoinette was to be sent to the guillotine, the night before her hair turned white! Imagine what that says to a ten or eleven year old. One day she told us of Madame de Pompadour, the mistress of Louis the XV King of France. I am sure there was some important information said that day but all I remembered was that Madame loved flowers and had hundreds of them made by the French porcelain company Vincennes. She put them in vases, on tables, in the garden and amazingly sprayed them with perfume so they would smell like the actual flowers themselves ! I was riveted by this thought for many years. I always wondered if this story was true. It is only now because of the internet, with all its information and books available online to read that I was finally able to confirm the story of Madame and her porcelain flowers.

Madame de Pompadour, also known as the marquise de Pompadour, is not known for her porcelain flowers. Most people may know she was mistress to a king, or that the pink of Sevres porcelain is called la rose de Pompadour and that the Pompadour hairstyle and the Pompadour heels are named after her.

The Madame did love flowers, and as a sign of the times was totally enchanted with exotics. This was a time when expeditions were made to other countries to search for and procure new and wondrous plant material and to bring it back home. Once home large portions usually ended up in the greenhouses of kings and queens where their gardeners would try to keep the plants alive and with hope propagate them. Her favorites were white flowered exotics, in particular the highly scented jasmines and gardenias.

I do not know if she gardened. I doubt it. She was intelligent, beautiful and musically talented. She came from a wealthy family and ended up in the French court. She had great influence over Louis XV and it seems to have been a benefit for France. She planned the buildings of Le Petit Trianon and Place de la Concorde. She was responsible for the development of the porcelain factory Sevres (originally Vincennes), one of the most famous in Europe. It was at Vincennes that the porcelain flowers were made and interestingly by the wives of the workmen. They were made to look as real as possible. Madame de Pompadour is known to have purchased some in 1748 at the cost of 3,000 livres. There is a story that Madame once received the king in a room filled with porcelain flowers in bloom that emitted wondrous perfume. The story relates that the king was surprised, deceived, and delighted at the spectacle; but it is probable that the surprise was feigned, since another story, also exaggerated, but founded on fact, says that the king once ordered porcelain flowers,chiefly for the marquise and the Chateau of Belle Vue, of the amount of eight hundred thousand livres.

That is my story of Madame de Pompadour.

Porcelain flowers from Vincennes - photo from John Whitehead works of art