The Cistercians, following in the footsteps of the Benedictines, did much to further the progress of horticulture and decorative gardens on the continent and in England. Their monasteries, lush with flowing water from large fountains and dramatic statuary, stood in contrast to those gardens as conspicuously bare of decoration as those of the Benedictines. These gardens were built in the hollows of valleys, where culture could fertilize the soil, and where there was an abundance of water to fill the fountains and irrigate the land.
St. Bernard founded the most famous of all Cistercian garden communities in the wild and gloomy valley of Clairvaux, beside a clear stream that provided plentiful water for the surrounding garden fountains. An ardent lover of nature, he wrote, “You will find more in woods than in books, trees and stones will teach you what you can never learn from school teachers.” One of the most sacred spots in the monastery, now sadly deprived of all its ancient glory, was a little plot of ground whose cultivation was his special care. Centered around several beautiful garden statues, large gardens belonging to the community lay within the...
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