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St. Benedict

  • A man carrying turnips, allegedly good for treating dry intestines, bad eyesight, and a great support for coitus (fol. 21v). The Liechtenstein Tacuinum Sanitatis, Padua, c. 1450.
    Medieval Gardens
    LuAnn Johnson
    In AD 830, St. Benedict said that gardening was appropriate manual labor for monks and that all monasteries should have a psychic garden, kitchen garden, cellar garden, an orchard, and a private garden for monks of high office.
  • Penstemon.
    Tough Native Plants
    LuAnn Johnson
    Native perennials are an essential part of our ecosystem and support wildlife. Some are more likely to thrive in our region than others.
  • Detail of an illumination from the 13th c. manuscript "Canon medicinae of Avicenna." Avicenna was a Persian physician-philosopher who wrote the Canon of Medicine in the 1000s.
    Not Just Ornaments
    LuAnn Johnson
    In ancient times, roses were not grown for ornamental reasons but for their medicinal and mystical properties.