Gothic Style

t’s an interesting phenomenon: the term “gothic” is associated with the darkness and the evil powers, almost represents a synonym for “scary” nowadays, but the Gothic style appeared at the time when the church was up to reach its highest point in influencing both institutional and human life. At that time gardens were created and maintained either in monasteries or in the closed spaces in-between the fortified walls of the castles. 

A monastery normally had more than one garden. There was a vegetable garden, which was used to grow food and herbs such as onions, garlic, leeks shallots, celery, parsley, chervil, coriander, dill, lettuce, poppy, savory, radishes, parsnips, carrots, cabbage, beets, and corncockles. The physic garden usually located right next to a window of the doctor's house, contained plants which were used by him. These herbs included rose, watercress, sage, peppermint, rosemary, pennyroyal, watercress, rue, tansy, and others. Many of these herbs were aromatic, and the location of the garden would allow the patients the benefit of their scents. Not wanting to waste space, the cemetery area of the monastery would have many trees planted in it, wherever there were not graves. Fruit trees were often grown in this area, including apple, pear, plum, fig, peach, and quince. Some nut and ornamental trees would also be grown in the cemetery. The cloister area would often have the physic herbs growing in it, as well as 'church herbs': those plants used primarily for decoration of the church and celebration of feast days and processions. These “church herbs” would also be planted in the area known as the “field of Paradise,” which was an open space at each end of the church. All monasteries would have an orchard, and many larger monasteries had a vineyard. Other gardens which might be found in a monastery included a Mary Garden, dedicated to the Virgin, or a Rosary, which originally just meant a rose garden. All the gardens would be under the care of the gardinarius, who had an assistant for each garden.

The architecture, the ceremony, the symbolism, even the mood of Catholicism made it a religion that attracted and fascinated the Gothic element, even if those Goths didn't actually practice the religion itself. The gothic aesthetics was obsessed with gargoyles, rosaries, gothic arches and stained glass, Orthodox icons, candelabras, crucifixes, and many trappings of the Catholic and Orthodox religions. While Catholicism may not have seemed as grounded in the fruits of the earth as, say, the Druids of Ireland were, there did exist connections between the Church and green growing things. Monks were some of the greatest vintners that Europe has ever had; almost every cloister had a herb garden for culinary and medicinal purposes. There are many plants which had a symbolic link to the Virgin Mary. And there are plants which have no real symbolic or religious connection, but have names that reflect those elements of the Church which people saw in their horticultural visage. Entire gardens were devoted to Mary or Christ or saints, one could say, they built Botanic Cathedrals. Fences, arbors, paths and walls all were very important visual elements. Well-placed statuary (gargoyles, griffins and dragons) provided focal points for the eye.

The Gothic Style set down at the end of the 15th century but experienced revival in the 18th and 19th century.