physic garden

In medieval Ireland, abbeys invariably had their own gardens - orchards, kitchen gardens and, sometimes, a physick garden. The new Physick garden at the twelfth century Cistercian monastery of Grey Abbey is a national reconstruction based on much general research on gardens of its period. Small beds, enabling the precious medicinal plants to be cultivated and cropped from all sides, are assembled into a simple but elegant design. An instructive Department of the Environment leaflet helps the visitor identify each plant and describes its medicinal use.