Medieval Gardens charts the evolution of England's earliest gardens, from the rows of culinary and medicinal herbs tended by monks, to the earliest secular pleasure gardens, enclosed within castle walls. These were spaces for private conversations and outdoor games, often with raised beds and turf seats and perhaps a mound for surveying the countryside beyond. Still enclosed within wall were the 'pleasure parks' that covered many acres of land.

Contents:
page 1 INTRODUCTION
3 THE EVOLUTION OF MEDIEVAL GARDENS
7 MONASTIC GARDENS
12 HOW TO make a tussie mussie or nosegay
13 EARLY RECORDS
22 HOW TO build woven hurdle enclosures
25 GARDEN CRAFT
29 FEATURES OF THE MEDIEVAL GARDEN
37 HOW TO create a flowery mead and bejewelled lawn
46 HOW TO build a raised turf seat and flower bed
49 SYMBOLISM
53 PLANTS
61 PLANT LISTS
77 FURTHER READING
78 USEFUL ORGANISATIONS
79 PLACES TO VISIT
80 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND PICTURE CREDITS