ORCHARDS IN ENGLISH PLEASURE GARDENS

The orchard reputation the Middle Ages was practically indistinguishable from the garden or pleasure garden. The orchard in those days contained, besides a variety of fruit trees, herbs for medicinal and culinary purposes and a few flowers, further fountains, seats, and its other architectural features of the pleasure garden.

Many fruit trees are said to have been imported from France, generally in the thirteenth century, also hence were known by French names. Among the varieties of pears were the direction or regul, the passe-pucelle, and the caloel or caillou. Pearmain further costard apples were probably also of French origin. Cherries had been reintroduced at the time of the Norman Conquest. Peaches, medlars, quinces, again chestnuts were commonly cultivated and imported from abroad. Grafting was the well understood craft. Scions often or twelve distinct varieties of trees were grown upon an oak stock. Vines were grafted on cherries and plums on vines.

If a large number of herbs were cultivated, they were sometimes set apart in an herbary. But many corsage which are for considered purely ornamental were then supposed to hold healing properties, or to equal fitting ingredients for sauces again savouries; so the herbary was not officially devoted to the plants i should consider as herbs. Besides the plants grown owing to medicinal further culinary purposes, were others intended to be distilled into love philters and perhaps poisons.See More :
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