[Herbalist] Re: Tussie-Mussies- Poesys, etc.

[Una 'nyen Dougal]

I
>  > would venture to guess that European gardens
> developed as a result of
>  > contact with the Middle East (amazing what
> civilizing influences were
>  > brought back from a war against 'filthy
> infidels'!)
>  > Christianna

While you are correct in your observation that the
"paradise gardens' of the middle east did have an
influence, a HUGE influence onthe European middle ages
was still to be found in Roman tradition - after all
the biggest influence through out the region was the
Roman/Christian a.k.a. Catholic Church; to say nothing
of the fact that almost all of sub-scandanavian europe
had once been part of the Roman empire (which "fell"
at the beginning of 'our' period...)

Here's a great source book I learned about at a class
taught by the Eastern Herbalists Guild at Pennsic XXX:

Ancient Roman Gardens (ISBN:0750924608)by Linda Farrar

I had to special order it as it is published in the
UK, but it was worth the wait & the twenty-five bucks
- very scholarly yet readable; and although it is
really pre-period, it gives a huge insight into where
the gardening traditions even we modern folk still
follow came from.

Speaking of 'where did all this come from; did you
know that apples originated in Kazakhstan?!? Check out
:

Apples (ISBN:0865475377) by Frank Browning

I first heard about this onthe public radio program
'the Splendid Table' and it took a whle to hunt
down... then this terrific book of food/gardening
history showed up in B&N's bargain section for five
bucks! It is another great text that follows the
history of a famous herb/food from prehistory, through
the middle ages and into the modern era.

Slainte'
Lady Una

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