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Filed under Gardens, Holidays, Winchester 2016

Queen Eleanor’s Garden

Queen Eleanor's Garden

Queen Eleanor's Garde

Queen Eleanor's Garde

Queen Eleanor's Garde

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11 Comments CherryPie on Nov 3rd 2016

11 Responses to “Queen Eleanor’s Garden”

  1. lisl says:
    November 4, 2016 at 6:26 am

    This is all new to me, although I did visit the Great Hall years ago. Time for another visit!

    • CherryPie says:
      November 5, 2016 at 12:02 am

      The background information may interest you :-)

      http://www3.hants.gov.uk/greathall/queen-eleanors-garden.htm

      Queen Eleanor’s Garden is a re-creation, by Dr Sylvia Landsberg, of an enclosed medieval garden and is named after Queen Eleanor of Provence and her daughter-in-law Queen Eleanor of Castile, who would have walked there and used it as their private retreat.

      In medieval times gardens offered pleasure, repose and refreshment to the senses as well as food and medicine. Queen Eleanor’s Garden is an accurate example of such a garden and features turf seats, bay hedges, a fountain, tunnel arbour and many beautiful herbs and flowers of the time.

      Many of the plants used in medieval gardens had symbolic meanings, representing personal or religious virtues, including holly, ivy and bay, which represented the ideal of faithfulness, and roses, columbine, and strawberry plants which represented aspects of Christian spiritual philosophy.

      Today’s small peaceful garden oasis was opened by the Queen Mother as part of the Domesday 900 celebrations.

  2. Amfortas says:
    November 4, 2016 at 10:03 am

    I do like an old garden, especially one with such an air of history and mystery about it.

  3. Caroline Irwin says:
    November 4, 2016 at 11:24 am

    What a delightful garden – lovely photos and I love the tunnel in the last picture :) Have a wonderful weekend.

  4. James Higham says:
    November 4, 2016 at 8:30 pm

    Love that tunnel, pergola thingy.

  5. London Caller says:
    November 8, 2016 at 10:13 pm

    I actually quite like that little garden gate.
    Rather Norman!