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Monastery Gardens

In the Middle Ages, the main role in setting up gardens was played by monasteries, which owned vast lands with forests, fields and meadows. Hidden behind the monastery wall: decorative Orchard, utilitarian vegetable garden with small beds rectangular shape and, hidden from prying eyes, a heavenly courtyard. Based on modern knowledge and the experience of previous cultures, the monks cultivated all kinds of plants, first of all, they grew medicinal plants and cultivated the gardens.

Paradise Court

Paradise Court was a must integral part monastery complex.

There was a real sense of nature here, nurtured by the tradition of the biblical paradise. When the monks worked in the garden, it was believed that they purified their souls with the earthly vision of the lost Garden of Eden. Paradise Court - inner space quadrangular in shape, closed by an ambita with a covered arcade. This type of garden has its counterparts in the Roman peristyle. There was a source in the center clean water most often, it was a tank for clean water or a well; sometimes a pool was set up there to raise fish used for preparing Lenten Christian food. The territory of the paradise courtyard was divided by paths to the source into four sections correct form. Very rarely, low trees or bushes were planted here; as a rule, flowers to decorate the monastery church and medicinal herbs were grown in the neatly cultivated beds of the paradise courtyard. Since ancient times, every flower has had its own symbolic meaning. For example, it symbolized the purity of the Virgin Mary, the red rose symbolized the shed blood of Christ, White Rose-queen of heaven -Mary, etc. Other wild and garden flowers also grew in the flower beds. We can admire the natural beauty of plants, especially flowers, captured by medieval masters, by looking at wall paintings, icons, manuscripts and embroideries preserved in Gothic monasteries.

Old indoor garden or part of it, depending on the type of planting and purpose, was called: herbarium - a garden specialized in growing medicinal herbs or flowers; gardinum - kitchen garden with vegetable beds and roots, if possible, in combination with an orchard; viridarium (no longer just a monastery) - a garden for recreation and entertainment (recreatione et solatio). The decorative orchard had only one function: here one could admire the blooming fruit trees and walked in their shade, often along the banks of a river, pool or pond.

The first herbarium with the character of a botanical garden appeared in 1333 in Venice, and soon Prague had a similar botanical garden.

Secular gardens of the Middle Ages

Own garden plots had not only palace complexes, but also other urban secular buildings, located own plot lands, more extensive gardens were laid out during hailstorms.

Some information about what secular gardens looked like in the houses of the nobility and medieval towns comes from poetry, literature, minstrelsy and troubadour songs. Illuminated miniatures and manuscripts contain descriptions of the composition, atmosphere and details of late Gothic gardens. These gardens always had a fence; stone walls were often supplemented with turrets with pavilions, and sometimes with a moat with water. Stone, plank or brick ones were laid between the rectangular beds. Among the beds with vegetables and roots, as a rule, they did not forget to create beds with plants for: repelling insects, preparing a “love potion,” and also making poisons.

Images of landscape parks are already found in medieval paintings.

Covered with turf, the low wall was a kind of medieval one. In the middle of the garden there was usually a stone well or an iron fountain with drinking water, sometimes with a swimming pool, as well as a tank for watering plants and a stone table for food.

Even then, evergreen trees and bushes were trimmed, giving them bizarre shapes and placed in stone vases.

Occasionally in the garden there were labyrinths, the ornament of which was created from low bushes, the design of which led to the center in complex ways. was made in the similarity of the patterns on stone floors Gothic cathedrals.

City gardens were invariably an integral part of the knights' way of life, accompanied by gallant courtship, music and dance. In some gardens that belonged to wealthy owners, colorful birds flew freely, and noble peacocks often walked around. In the copper garden enclosures lived not only warblers, blackbirds and starlings, but also pheasants and wood grouse.

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The fundamental principle and model of all gardens, according to Christian ideas, is paradise, a garden planted by God, sinless, holy, abundant with everything that a person needs, with all types of trees, plants, and inhabited by animals living peacefully with each other. This original paradise is surrounded by a fence beyond which God banished Adam and Eve after their fall. Therefore, the main “significant” feature of the Garden of Eden is its enclosure; the garden is most often referred to as “hortus conclusus” (“fenced garden”). The next indispensable and most characteristic feature of paradise in the ideas of all times was the presence in it of everything that can bring joy not only to the eye, but also to hearing, smell, taste, touch - all human senses. Flowers fill paradise with color and fragrance. Fruits not only serve as a decoration equal to flowers, but also delight the palate. Birds not only fill the garden with singing, but also decorate it with their colorful appearance, etc.

The Middle Ages saw art as a second “revelation” that revealed wisdom, harmony, and rhythm in the world. This concept of the beauty of the world order is expressed in a number of written works of the Middle Ages - in Erigena, in the “Sex Days” of Basil the Great and John Exarch of Bulgaria and many others. etc.

Everything in the world had, to one degree or another, a multi-valued symbolic or allegorical meaning, the garden is a microcosm, just as many books were a microcosm. Therefore, in the Middle Ages, a garden was often likened to a book, and books (especially collections) were often called “gardens”: “Vertograds”, “Limonis”, or “Limonaria”, “Prisoned Gardens”, etc. The garden should be read like a book, extracting from it benefit and instruction. The books were also called "Bees" - a name again associated with the garden, for the bee collects its honey in the garden.

As a rule, monastery courtyards, enclosed in a rectangle of monastic buildings, were adjacent to the south side of the church. The monastery courtyard, usually square, was divided by narrow paths crosswise (which had a symbolic meaning) into four square parts. In the center, at the intersection of the paths, a well, a fountain, and a small pond were built for aquatic plants and watering the garden, washing or drinking water. The fountain was also a symbol - a symbol of purity of faith, inexhaustible grace, etc. It was often arranged and small pond where the fish were bred for fast days. This small garden in the courtyard of the monastery usually had small trees - fruit or ornamental trees and flowers.

However, commercial orchards, apothecary gardens and kitchen gardens were usually established outside the monastery walls. A small orchard inside the monastery courtyard was a symbol of paradise. It often included a monastery cemetery. The pharmaceutical garden was located near the monastery hospital or almshouse. The apothecary's garden also grew plants that could serve as dyes for painting initials and miniatures of manuscripts. AND healing properties herbs were determined mainly by the symbolic meaning of a particular plant.

Evidence of how much attention was paid to gardens and flowers in the Middle Ages is the rescript of 1812, by which Charlemagne ordered the flowers to be planted in his gardens. The rescript contained a list of about sixty names of flowers and ornamental plants. This list was copied and then distributed to monasteries throughout Europe. Gardens were cultivated even by mendicant orders. The Franciscans, for example, until 1237, according to their charter, did not have the right to own land, with the exception of a plot at the monastery, which could not be used except for a garden. Other monastic orders were specifically engaged in gardening and vegetable gardening and were famous for it. Every detail in the monastery gardens had a symbolic meaning to remind the monks of the basics of divine economy and Christian virtues.

Gardens in castles had a special character. They were usually under the special supervision of the mistress of the castle and served as a small oasis of calm among the noisy and dense crowd of inhabitants of the castle that filled its courtyards. They were also grown here medicinal herbs, and poisonous, herbs for decoration and had symbolic meaning. Special attention devoted to fragrant herbs. Their fragrantness corresponded to the idea of ​​paradise, delighting all human senses, but another reason for their cultivation was that castles and cities, due to low sanitary conditions, were full of bad odors. Ornamental flowers and bushes were planted in medieval monastery gardens, especially roses brought by the Crusaders from the Middle East. Sometimes trees grew here - lindens, oaks. Near the defensive fortifications of the castle, “meadows of flowers” ​​were set up for tournaments and social fun. "Rose Garden" and "Meadow of Flowers" - one of the motifs medieval painting XV-XVI centuries; The Madonna and Child were most often depicted against the backdrop of a garden.

Part IV

Daisy

Delicate daisies were the favorite flowers of the Virgin Mary and appeared from the reflections of stars in drops of dew. In the northern sagas daisy was dedicated to the goddess of spring and love and was considered the “bride of the sun.” Well, in the times of troubadours, knights and beautiful ladies, the game of “frank daisy” appeared - fortune telling “loves - does not love.”

In general, luxury in the Middle Ages ornamental gardens did not have. Troubled times forced the construction of high walls and towers and the reduction of interior spaces. Fortresses were built on inaccessible peaks or surrounded by wide ditches, so only tiny gardens could be built in castles, which were loved by everyone and were interpreted as “oases of calm.” Meadows were arranged around the castles for tournaments and social entertainment.

At first, castle gardens were more utilitarian - they provided for the needs of table and treatment. Apothecary gardens supplemented with fruit trees and shrubs, as well as vegetable plots. “Sweet-smelling” plants were grown: roses, lilies, primroses, violets, cornflowers, which were used in rituals, decorations and foods. Perfumes and spices were made from flowers. Violets were added to salads. Primrose, violet, pink petals and hawthorn mixed with honey and sugar constituted a favorite delicacy. Girls and women wore flowers in their hair and wreaths on their heads. In France, wreaths made from flowers were called “chapeyron-de-fleurs”, and those made from roses were called “chapel”. People who knitted wreaths began to be called “chapeliers,” just as hat makers are called today. Obviously, from these wreaths came French word"shapo" - hat.

First mention of flower garden roses and violets dates back to approximately 1000. From this time on, the orchard often contained decorative plots. The favorite tree was linden, which was often planted next to the well.

At the beginning of the second millennium, centralized states were formed in Europe, cities grew, crusades spread, a worldly spirit began to permeate the culture, and the level of education of the population increased. An interest in man and earthly life awakened. Now it was already possible to show the beauty of the human body and express love for earthly things. Monasteries are losing their role as cultural centers to cities.

An important part of mature culture Middle Ages there was a knightly culture. The concept of “knight” has become synonymous with nobility and nobility. A “code of knightly honor” and “rules of courtliness” emerged. The reflection of knightly culture was the poetry of troubadours, trouvères and minnesingers, “chivalrous novels”, as well as the “pleasure garden” of knightly society. These gardens served as prayerful or philosophical retreats. Mandatory activities included reading, playing music, singing and dancing.

The structure of such a garden was described by the Dominican monk Albertus Magnus (1193-1280), a famous naturalist Middle Ages. He wrote that for a “pleasure garden” “there is always a place in any territory that is unsuitable for growing crops. "Pleasure gardens serve primarily to satisfy the two senses of sight and smell, and they require little maintenance, since nothing is so pleasing to the eye as a wonderful layer of grass of medium height." These gardens were built on leveled areas, cleared of old roots (to destroy old seeds in the ground, Albert the Great suggested pouring boiling water over the entire area). The garden included a rectangle of flower beds for aromatic plants. The center of the garden was a wonderful clearing where you could sit, relax and restore peace of mind. Between the clearing and the flower beds, beautifully flowering plants grew on a hill.

He formulated and practical recommendations: “Trees and vineyards should be planted on sunny side glades; their foliage will protect the clearing and provide refreshing shade.” They are not suitable for this because they do not provide much shade and require fertilizer, which can damage the clearing. The "Garden of Pleasure" should be open to the north and east winds, as these winds bring health and purity. But it is closed to winds of opposite directions (south and west) because the stormy nature of these winds and impurity have a weakening effect. The north wind can interfere with the ripening of fruits, but is very beneficial for human health. The "Garden of Pleasure" provides pleasure - not fruit." At the same time, an anti-feudal and anti-church culture, in opposition to the knightly one, was spreading in the cities. Works of urban satirical epic appeared. This is the famous “Romance of the Rose” in two parts, the first of which was written by Guillaume de Lorris in 1220-1230. The author describes the “garden - earthly paradise”:

“... I saw that garden in a dream;

I saw blooming May in a dream,

When everyone is so happy about spring,

When everyone and everything is delighted:

And all the little birds, wearing fluff,

With the foliage of a new oak grove,

And all the gardens, bushes and herbs."

He is led into this garden by Lady Idleness herself, wearing a delightful wreath and a garland of roses. Along a path among fresh fragrant herbs, he comes out into a clearing where Mr. Myrtle (the owner of the garden) and his friends are frolicking; and seven maidens, adorned with wreaths and garlands of roses, dance with them. Lorris sees many trees from warm and distant countries (originally from "Alexandria": date palm, figs, almonds, pomegranates, cypresses, pine trees, olives and laurels. Some trees are connected by branches together and form arches. The air is intoxicating with the spicy aroma of ginger, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon. The picture is enlivened by the presence of animals - roe deer, deer, rabbits, squirrels and birds, and water jets gushing from a clean transparent source sprinkle flowers and grass with wet dust sparkling in the sun. However, on the garden wall the author sees a gallery of paintings and sculptural portraits: Hatred, Betrayal, Greed, Avarice, Envy, Sadness and Old Age.

Miniature from "The Romance of the Rose" pleasure garden

This talented work has been translated into many languages ​​and republished several times. The original gardens of the castles have not survived, but the bright miniatures illustrating “The Romance of the Rose” brought to us the atmosphere medieval knightly “garden of pleasures”, smoothing out the satirical and edifying sharpness of literature.

Gardens mature Middle Ages purchased decorativeness(About the appearance of the first ornamental gardens you can read in the article Gardens Ancient Egypt and Crete). The development of crafts affected the art of decorating fountains, benches, gazebos, and mosaic paving. The entrances to the garden were decorated with ornamental wooden gates with shingle roofs. Parts of the garden were also separated by light fences with gates. Pergolas and trellises dating back to ancient Rome were common.

Important!

Another achievement of the Middle Ages was the emergence of botanical gardens who were of Islamic origin.

The Arabs translated and preserved the scientific heritage of antiquity, expanded their knowledge in the field of botany and horticulture, and collected descriptions of many plants. Harun al-Rashid and his successors brought plants and their seeds from Asia and Africa. The great botanist Ibn al-Baytar of Malaga classified approximately 14,000 plants. Participants crusades brought information about different countries and plants, developing interest in natural sciences.

Important!

Arabic method of sowing seeds different plants the lawn was also adopted by Europeans, and a similar lawn got the name Moorish.

Lawns are not only Moorish, but also decorative, parterre, ordinary, meadow. This is written about in the article Classification of Lawns on our website.

Botanical Garden

In 1250 there was already a Botanical Garden, part of a medical school established by Arab doctors in Spain. Education ceased to be a monopoly of monasteries, and gardening became the business of merchants and scholars interested in botany. The creation of universities also encouraged the gathering botanical collections. At the beginning of the 14th century botanical gardens appeared in Salerno, Padua, Pisa, Bologna, Venice, Prague. This passion for collecting rare and foreign plants has survived to this day.

Important!

In the XII-XIII centuries they began to appear public outdoor gardens of a representative nature for the recreation of citizens.

At first they were organized in the cities of Italy and France. They occupied relatively large areas and were used for city fairs. The space was formed by meadow-type lawns and shady alleys with decorative garden elements. Lawns are classified into decorative, meadow, ground floor. You can read about this in the article Classification of Lawns. In later Middle Ages, when the cities achieved economic prosperity and relative peace, they were surrounded by peripheral green belts with meadows and groves. These meadows were named in Latin: "pratum commune", from where the names "Prado" in Madrid and "Pratter" in Vienna came.

One day, Charlemagne's son Prince Pepin asked his teacher: “What is rain?” And the learned Anglo-Saxon Alcuin is one of the revered “encyclopedists” Middle Ages, answered: “The conception of the earth, ending in the birth of fruits.” Perhaps this is where we can end the story about the Middle Ages - the “bad weather” in which the socio-cultural community of Europe was conceived and born. End.

1. Gardens of the Arabs in Spain.

At the end of the 4th century. The brilliant era of antiquity with its sciences, art, and architecture ended its existence, giving way to a new era - feudalism. The period of time spanning a thousand years between the fall of Rome (end of the 4th century) and the Renaissance in Italy (14th century) is called the Middle Ages, or the Middle Ages. This was the time of the formation of European states, constant internecine wars and uprisings, and the time of the establishment of Christianity. “But at the same time, in these torments, a new human society was born. In wars and uprisings, famine and epidemics, slavery was destroyed and replaced by the feudal system.”

In the history of architecture, the Middle Ages are divided into three periods: early medieval(IV-IX centuries), Romanesque(X-XII centuries), Gothic(late XII-XIV centuries). The change in architectural styles does not significantly affect park construction, since during this period the art of gardening, which is the most vulnerable of all types of art and more than others requires a peaceful environment for its existence, suspends its development. It exists in the form of small gardens at monasteries and castles, that is, in areas relatively protected from destruction.

Monastery gardens. Herbal medicinal and ornamental plants. The layout was simple, geometric, with a pool and fountain in the center. Often two crosswise intersecting paths divided the garden into four parts; in the center of this intersection, in memory of the martyrdom of Christ, a cross was erected or a rose bush was planted.

Castle gardens arranged inside their territory. They were small and introverted. Flowers were grown here, there was a source - a well, sometimes a miniature pool and fountain, and almost always a bench in the form of a ledge covered with turf - a technique that became widespread in parks.

Garden labyrinth- a technique that was formed in the monastery gardens and took a strong place in subsequent park construction. Initially, the labyrinth was a pattern, the design of which fit into a circle or hexagon and led to the center in complex ways. IN early middle ages this drawing was laid out on the floor of the temple, and later transferred to the garden, where the paths were separated by the walls of a trimmed hedge. Subsequently, labyrinth gardens became widespread in regular and even landscape parks. In Russia, such a labyrinth was in the Summer Garden (not preserved), a regular part of Pavlovsk Park (restored) and Sokolniki Park, where its roads looked like intertwined ellipses inscribed in the spruce massif (lost).

The late Middle Ages are characterized by the opening of the first universities (Bologna, Paris, Oxford, Prague). Horticulture and botany have reached high level development, the first botanical gardens appeared (Aachen, Venice, etc.).

Arab gardens in Spain

In the 8th century Arabs (Moors) settled on the Iberian Peninsula and stayed here for almost seven centuries. Toledo became a major center of education, and Cordoba the most civilized city in Europe.

Borrowing the experience of Egypt and Rome in constructing irrigation structures, the Arabs were able to use the melting snow on the mountain peaks and created a powerful hydraulic system, turning waterless Spain into a flourishing land. Formed here new type garden - Spanish-Moorish. This is a small courtyard (200-1200 m2) of atrium-peristyle type (patio), surrounded by the walls of the house or fence, and is a continuation of the front and living quarters in the open air.

A complex of such miniature patio, included in the complex structure of the palace, are the gardens of Grenada, created in the 13th century. in the residences of the caliphs - Alhambra (650X200 m) and Generalife (area 80X 100 m).

In the Alhambra, the palace premises were grouped around the Court of Myrtle and the Court of Lions. The myrtle courtyard (47X 33 m) is surrounded by walls of buildings with an elegant arcade, richly decorated with ornaments. In the center there is a pool (7X45 m), elongated along the long axis and framed by rows of clipped myrtle. The main effect is the reflection of the arcade of the tower in the water of the pool. The Court of the Lions (28 X 19 m) is also surrounded by walls and an arcade, crossed by two mutually perpendicular channels, in the center of which there is a fountain of two alabaster vases supported by 12 black marble lions.

There is also the Queen's Courtyard, decorated with a fountain, 4 cypress trees in the corners, and most importantly - a complex covering ornament, into the design of which both the pool and the places where the cypress trees are planted are woven.

The Generalif Ensemble is the summer residence of the caliphs, located 100 m above the Alhambra. It is a complex of isolated patio gardens on terraces. The most famous is the courtyard with the canal. It is elongated and surrounded by an arcade; in the center there is a narrow 40-meter canal, decorated with two rows of fountains. Their thin streams form an arched alley. The garden is freely planted with small trees and shrubs.

In general, the traditions of the Spanish-Moorish garden are characterized by the following features: simplicity of planning and individuality of the solution. The layout is regular, determined by the geometric plan of the patio. The garden has a compositional center, most often a swimming pool. The entrance to the garden is often placed not in the center, but on the side, thereby breaking symmetry and enriching the overall picture of the garden.

The connection between the indoor and outdoor spaces of the garden appearance is achieved by arranging viewpoints decorated with arcades. This method of interconnection was subsequently widely developed in landscape art.

Water is the main motif of the garden. It is present in every patio in the form of channels, pools, and springs gushing out of the ground. The water either flows down channels made in the railings of the stairs, then permeates the plane of the garden in a narrow strip, then spreads out like a vast mirror (Myrtle Courtyard), then forms fountain streams. In all its diversity there is a desire to show the value of every drop.

Vegetation is used in such a way as to demonstrate the individual merits of each specimen. Cypress trees, orange and tangerine trees, jasmine, almonds, oleander, and roses were planted freely. Haircuts were rarely used as an architectural element.

The hot climate did not allow the use of a lawn, so most of the territory was decorated with decorative paving.

IN color scheme characterized by a combination of a general restrained color scheme of the walls, greenery of trees and shrubs with bright splashes beautiful flowering plants or colored coatings. Decorative paving is one of the important elements Spanish-Moorish garden. Sometimes retaining walls and garden benches were lined with colored majolica. Primary colors are blue, yellow, green.

Thus, the Spanish-Moorish style was formed with a set of its own techniques that corresponded to the requirements of time, nature, and national traditions.

At the end of the 4th century. the brilliant era of antiquity with its sciences, art, architecture ended its existence, giving way to new era- feudalism. The period of time spanning a thousand years between the fall of Rome and the Renaissance in Italy is called the Middle Ages, or the Middle Ages. Change architectural styles does not significantly affect park construction, since during this period the art of gardening, which is the most vulnerable of all types of art and more than others requires a peaceful environment for its existence, suspends its development. It exists in the form of small gardens at monasteries and castles, that is, in areas relatively protected from destruction. The Middle Ages, which lasted almost a thousand years, did not leave exemplary gardens, did not create its own gothic style garden architecture. A gloomy, harsh religion left its mark on the life of the peoples of Western Europe and dulled the joy of perceiving the beauty expressed in gardens with beautiful flowers. Gardens first began to appear only in monasteries. The fundamental principle and model of all gardens, according to Christian ideas, is paradise, a garden planted by God, sinless, holy, abundant with everything that a person needs, with all types of trees, plants, and inhabited by animals living peacefully with each other. This original paradise is surrounded by a fence beyond which God banished Adam and Eve after their fall. Therefore, the main “significant” feature of the Garden of Eden is its enclosure. The next indispensable and most characteristic feature of paradise in the ideas of all times was the presence in it of everything that can bring joy not only to the eye, but also to hearing, smell, taste, touch - all human senses. The monastery garden - its layout and the plants in it, were endowed with allegorical symbolism. The garden, separated by walls from sin and the intervention of dark forces, became a symbol of the Garden of Eden. As a rule, monastery courtyards, enclosed in a rectangle of monastic buildings, were adjacent to the south side of the church. The monastery courtyard, usually square, was divided crosswise into four square parts by narrow paths. In the center, at the intersection of the paths, a well, a fountain, and a small pond were built for aquatic plants and watering the garden, washing or drinking water. The fountain was also a symbol - a symbol of purity of faith, inexhaustible grace or the “tree of life” - the tree of paradise - a small orange or apple tree, and a cross was also installed or a rose bush was planted. Often a small pond was built in the monastery garden where fish were bred for fasting days. This small garden in the courtyard of the monastery usually had small trees - fruit or ornamental trees and flowers. A small orchard inside the monastery courtyard was a symbol of paradise. It often included a monastery cemetery. According to their purpose, the gardens were divided into apothecary gardens with all kinds of herbs and medicinal plants, kitchen gardens with vegetable crops for the needs of the monastery and orchards. Monasteries at that time were, perhaps, the only place where they provided medical care, both monks and pilgrims. On small patches of land, sparingly illuminated by the sun due to high walls and roofs, only a few favorite plants were grown - roses, lilies, carnations, daisies, irises. Since there were few gardens in the Middle Ages, the plants grown were highly valued and strictly protected.

The labyrinth garden is a technique that was formed in monastery gardens and took a strong place in subsequent park construction. Initially, the labyrinth was a pattern, the design of which fit into a circle or hexagon and led to the center in complex ways. In the Middle Ages, the idea of ​​labyrinths was used by the church. For repentant pilgrims, spiral mosaics were laid out on the floor of the temple. winding paths, along which believers had to crawl on their knees from the entrance to the temple to the altar to atone for their sins. So, from performing a tedious ritual in the church, they moved on to cheerful walks in the gardens, where they moved a labyrinth, where the paths were separated by high walls of trimmed hedges. From such a labyrinth there was, as a rule, only one or two exits, which could not be so easily discovered . Occupying a small area, this labyrinth created the impression of an endless length of paths and made it possible to take long walks. Perhaps in such labyrinths the hatches of a secret underground passage were hidden. Subsequently, labyrinth gardens became widespread in regular and even landscape parks in Europe. Castle gardens or Feudal type gardens Gardens in castles had a special character. Feudal gardens, unlike monastic ones, were smaller in size, located inside castles and fortresses - they were small and closed. Flowers were grown here, there was a source - a well, sometimes a miniature pool or fountain, and almost always a bench in the form of a ledge covered with turf - a technique that later became widespread in parks. They arranged covered alleys of grapes, rose gardens, grew apple trees, as well as flowers planted in flowerbeds according to special designs. The castle gardens were usually under the special supervision of the mistress of the castle and served as a small oasis of calm among the noisy and dense crowd of castle inhabitants that filled its courtyards. Both medicinal and poisonous herbs, herbs for decoration and those with symbolic meaning were grown here. Ornamental flowers and bushes were planted in medieval gardens, especially roses brought by the Crusaders from the Middle East. Sometimes trees grew in the castle gardens - lindens and oaks. Near the defensive fortifications of the castle, “meadows of flowers” ​​were set up for tournaments and social fun. It is at this time that such decorative elements, like flower beds, trellises, pergolas, fashion appears for potted plants. Spicy aromatic plants, flowers and exotic plants were grown in pots. houseplants that came to Europe after the Crusades. At the castles of large feudal lords, more extensive gardens were created not only for utilitarian purposes, but also for recreation. Gardens of the late Middle Ages were equipped with various pavilions; hills from which one could look at the surrounding life beyond garden walls- both urban and rural. During this period, labyrinths, which were previously common only for patios monasteries. The paths of garden labyrinths are surrounded by walls or bushes. Judging by the frequent images gardening work, the gardens were carefully cultivated, the beds and flower beds were enclosed in stone protective walls, the gardens were surrounded either by wooden fences, on which images of heraldic symbols were sometimes painted, or by stone walls with luxurious gates.