A Walk through the Renaissance

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Mar 2022 07:00:00 +0000

A Walk through the Renaissance Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 03/11/2022 - 00:00

Plants were important to Shakespeare. From love potions in A Midsummer Night’s Dream to Ophelia’s symbolic bouquet of rosemary, pansies, fennel, rue and daisies in Hamlet, plants appear in the storylines of many of the Bard’s greatest works.

At ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder, the ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Shakespeare Gardens serve as a tranquil, historic lesson on plants prevalent in Shakespeare’s time. Founded by Marlene Cowdery in 1991 and now a donation-based program within the ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Shakespeare Festival, the gardens are maintained by nearly 20 members — including master gardeners, teachers and ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ alumni. On Saturdays from spring to fall, members can be seen gardening in the courtyard between the Hellems Arts and Sciences Building and the Lucile Berkeley Buchanan Building.

Approximate number of plant species in the gardens

Types of trees in the gardens

Members of the gardens, with 5-6 regular maintenance volunteers

$2,000

Annual cost to maintain the gardens

450 hours

Volunteered approximately each year to maintain the gardens

Unusual plants

Samphire (King Lear) and pomegranate (All’s Well That Ends Well, Romeo and Juliet and Henry IV, Part 1)

June and September

Best months to visit the gardens

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Shakespeare play that mentions the most plants and flowers

The Plant-Lore & Garden-Craft of Shakespeare (1884)

Primary source of information for gardeners about featured plants

New members and volunteers are welcome. Anyone interested can email carolmellinger@gmail.com.

Take a virtual tour of the gardens.

Submit feedback to the editor

Photos courtesy ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Shakespeare Gardens

The ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Shakespeare Gardens located at ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder contain plants prevalent in Shakespeare’s time.

Traditional

Spring 2022

White

Garden

A Walk through the Renaissance

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