Early Monasteries Encouraged Flowers

Early monasteries encouraged flowers.

The early monasteries of Europe like that of St. Benedict, founded in the sixth century, included walled gardens.

Benedict is recognized as the founder of Christian monasticism. Today the Benedictine order is one of the largest in the Catholic Church.

Jack Goody says in his book The Culture of Flowers, “It was mainly the monastic branch of the church that came to advance horticulture and eventually nourished their production and use.

“Monastic gardens harbored not only fruit, vegetable and shade trees, but plants later to be destined for the decoration of altars on holy days. Many of the early monastic gardens concentrated on flowers for their medicinal properties and the related culinary ones.

“That was a slow process that covered some thousand years.”

Eventually it would become second nature for churches to use flower decorations and displays with other plants like cuttings of evergreens.

The practice of decorating the altar and the sanctuary along with the outside of the church is now an accepted custom.

Now it’s that time of year when churches decorate for Christmas. 

A reader wrote to New York seed company owner James Vick (1818-1882) in 1879 and said,  “We have for years trimmed our church for Christmas, using about twelve hundred feet of Hemlock wreathing.”

During this Christmas season we think nothing of using poinsettias to brighten the church sanctuary.

The Benedictine nun St. Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) encouraged the well-being of soul, body, and mind with the flowers and herbs she grew in her monastery garden.

When you think about it, the accepted practice of cultivating flowers in the garden owes a bit of thanks to these early monasteries of Europe.  

They encouraged flower gardening at a time when many cultures shunned it.

Goody says, “Gradually, through the course of the Middle Ages, Europe experienced a revival of the garden and the garland, as well as of botany and of gardening.”

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