Creation of a new public garden is underway at Treborth Botanic Garden, Wales. The Welsh Herbal Garden will celebrate the fascinating heritage and folklore surrounding medicinal plants used in Wales through the ages.
Taking inspiration from the Welsh landscape and using local materials, the design centres around two circular seating spaces connected by gently curving pathways. Raised drystone planters provide seating and the opportunity to get up close with the planting. The rich and vibrant planting will tell the story of how people in Wales, including 12th century Physicians of Myddfai, used plants to treat all manner of ailments. Visitors will be able to discover the history of plants, including drinking a distilled water of red roses for toothache, bruised saffron as a sobering tonic and using apples to remove warts.
The Welsh Herbal Garden will form a central part of the 44-acre Botanic Garden, which is owned by Bangor University, and is one of only seven accredited Botanic Gardens in the country. It is set to be completed in Spring 2024.
From Nicola…
“It has been a fantastic opportunity to work with Treborth Botanic Garden to design the Welsh Herbal Garden. While some of the remedies from the 12th century sound unpleasant. For example, drinking a concoction of goat’s whey and elderflower for nine weeks to treat a fever. The amount of knowledge and understanding of plants that people had is fascinating. Many of the prescriptions the Physicians used can be traced back to the 10th century, but they were the first people in Wales to collect this information and put it in writing.”