Cloister garden (garth)

The word cloister means closed and was originally used for the part of a monastery which was closed to public access. When its main feature became a grass square surrounded by an arcade, people began to use 'cloister' to refer to the enclosing element: the arcade.

Cloisters are the most significant legacy of the ancient world's peristyle gardens. They can be wonderful spaces:

• beautiful
• calm
• perfectly proportioned
• sheltered
• able to provide sitting places which are warm in winter and cool in summer

It cannot be beyond the wit of the modern world to find a new use for such a brilliant garden type.

Islamic courtyards, as found in mosques and madrassahs, are related to cloister gardens. And they demonstrate how the building type is just as well suited to a hot southern climate as a cold northern climate.

• over 1 year ago angela quinn said

  This is a fantastic resource, I'm a student of horticulture and this is a life-saver for adding life to class notes on the history of garden design.
  
  Thank You!