Finding Paradise : The courtyard garden

Don’t you just love a courtyard garden? To open a door and find yourself in a quiet secret garden, with clouds of rambling rose spilling over the walls, the sound of water trickling in a fountain and the scent of jasmine that surrounds you... A place to escape the sun and the hustle and bustle of the city. Many people associate an enclosed garden with paradise, a small part of heaven. In Medieval times, enclosed gardens where indeed meant to be an image of Paradise and at every cloister a hortus conclusus was found. Long before the Middle Ages the enclosed garden was an important feature in China and the Arabic world. The word ‘paradise’ itself comes from the old Persian words pairidaeza and pardes, meaning ‘fence’ and ‘enclosure’. The words ‘jardin’ and ‘garden’ and ‘yard’ stem from the Indo European words gher (garden) and ghort which also means fence. A piece of land, fenced off to strangers where the owner could feel safe: Paradise! At the COUVALOUP store we are very happy with our own little corner of paradise, we have planted it with many Mediterranean plants, including olive and fig trees. In spring 2023 the garden will re-open for coffee and tea.