More on the garden

The seeds I planted in my tiny (four feet square) garden are sprouting.  I have parsley and beets, and pansies and nasturtiums and white morning glories.  I already had rosemary and oregano and basil in pots, and I added thyme, sweet marjoram and winter savory.  In researching medieval monastery garden plants, I discovered that many things I planted years ago for decorative purposes were cultivated by monks for medicinal or culinary purposes: violets, irises, and roses, and even the grasses that sprout from spilled birdseed.  The Internet has proven a rich source of knowledge and I am absorbing more information than I would have ever been able to before.

In a sense, this research itself is a "monastic activity." Much of the information about these plants was recorded in the Middle Ages by European monks, who gathered and tended them for use in the monastery kitchens, sick rooms, sacristies. They collected those plants that grew naturally around their monasteries and cultivated others to fill the gaps. They traded with other monasteries, sharing both plants and information about their uses.  In this way many herbs native to the Mediterranean were spread north and west, as far as the British Isles.

I love the connections to the past, and to religious communities. Though I don't expect to make my own medicines, I can at least use my herbs in cooking. And though I have used store-bought herbs for years and have plenty on my shelf, the fresh ones will surely taste better!