Bees & beehives from medieval Illuminated Manuscripts

The Luttrell Psalter

Bees

Many colonial & early American gardens depended on beehives.  At a time when many believed that bees were small birds, Pliny the Elder [1st century CE] (Natural History, Book 11, 4-23) wrote of bees:  They belong to neither the wild or domesticated class of animals. Of all insects, bees alone were created for the sake of man. They collect honey, make wax, build structures, work hard, and have a government and leaders. They retire for the winter, since they cannot endure cold. They build their hives of many materials gathered from various plants. They gather honey from flowers close to the hive, and send out scouts to farther pastures when the nearby flowers are exhausted; if the scouts cannot return before nightfall, they make camp and lie on their backs to protect their wings from dew. They post a guard at the gates of the hive, and after sleeping until dawn they are woken by one of their number and all fly out together, if the weather is fine. They can forecast wind and rain so they know when not to go out. The young bees go out to collect materials while the old work indoors. Honey comes out of the air; in falling from a great height it accumulates dirt and is stained with the vapor of the earth; it becomes purified after the bees collect it and allow it to ferment in the hive. Smoke is used to drive away the bees so their honey can be collected, though too much smoke kills them. Out of several possible candidates, bees select the best to be king, and kill the others to avoid division; the king is twice as large as other bees, is brilliantly colored, and has a white spot on his brow. The common bees obey and protect the king, as they are unable to be without him. Bees like the sound of clanging bronze, which summons them together. Dead bees can be revived if they are covered with mud and the body of an ox or bull.

 Aberdeen bestiary

 Anonymous (15th century)-'honey'-miniature Paris-BNF (Tacuinum sanitatis nal 1673)

 Barthélémy L'Anglais, op.cit, 1445-1450, Artificiosae Apes, France, Le Mans XVe s. BNF, FR 136, fol. 16

 Beekeeping print tacuinum sanitatis (14th century)

 Bees and Beehives, from The Hours of Catherine of Cleves,  c.1440.

 British Library, Harley 3448 f. 10v Bear and a beehive.

 Consulter Element Num

 Consulter Element Numa

 Detail of a miniature of beehives with bees. Italy, N. (Lombardy) from British Library

 Detail of Exultet roll Barberini latinus Montecassino - 592 Bib Apostolica Vaticana - ca 1075-1087
 Fearless bee-keeper and his hives. Lyon BM MS 27

 Georgics (KB 76 E 21 II, fol. 42v), c. 1450-1475

 Hives from French Illuminated Manuscript  t

 Illuminated Manuscript

 Illuminated Manuscript

 Illuminated Manuscript BNF

 Illuminated Manuscript BNF

 Illuminated Manuscript

 King's 24   f. 47v   Beekeeping

 Manuscrit enluminé par le Maître des Vitae Imperatorum (actif 1430 – 1450), miniatures qui illustrent le manuscrit du même nom de Suétone (Paris, B. N., ms. it. 131), 1431. Bee keeping

 Medieval Illuminated Manuscript

 Theological miscellany, including the Summa de vitiis, Peraldus, f. 58, England after 1236, 13th century]

Virgil observing bees. Œuvres avec les commentaires de Servius, Paris, 15C

 Bibliothèque Municipale de Reims, ms. 993, Folio 151v

 Morgan Library, MS M.81, Folio 58r

 Kongelige Bibliotek, Gl. kgl. S. 1633 4º, Folio 47r

  Museum Meermanno, MMW, 10 B 25, Folio 37r

 British Library, Royal MS 12 C. xix, Folio 45r

 Bodleian Library, MS. Ashmole 1511, Folio 75v

  Bodleian Library, MS. Douce 151, Folio 69v

 Bodleian Library, MS. Bodley 764, Folio 89

 Bibliothèque Nationale de France, lat. 6838B, Folio 29v

  Koninklijke Bibliotheek, KB, 76 E 4, Folio 86v

Koninklijke Bibliotheek, KB, KA 16, Folio 128v

Douce 88 fol-111v B
Medieval Bee Hives Hortus Noster

Plants in Early American Gardens - Green Lavender Cotton

Green Lavender Cotton (Santolina rosmarinifolia)

Green Lavender Cotton, also known as Holy Flax, is native to the western and central Mediterranean regions and has been cultivated in gardens since the late 17th century. It is well-suited as a ground-cover and for edging perennial beds and intricate, geometric knot gardens. Its yellow flowers can be cut during or after they bloom to encourage fresh growth of the aromatic, deep green foliage, which is not attractive to deer.

For more information & the possible availability
Contact The Tho Jefferson Center for Historic Plants or The Shop at Monticello 

1764 Dr John Hope's Proposal to get seeds from America to the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh

John Kay.  Dr. John Hope, Professor of Botany in the University of Edinburgh Kay's Originals, Vol 2, page 412. John Hope (1725-1786) was a Scottish physician & botanist. He is best known as an early supporter of Carl Linnaeus's system of classification. He served as president of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, 1784-6.  Hope was the son of surgeon Robert Hope & Marion Glas.  He studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh. He took leave to study botany under Bernard de Jussieu at the University of Paris, but returned to his studies in Scotland, graduating MD from the University of Glasgow in 1750.

Monday, September 3, 1764  New-York Gazette (New York, NY)

Proposal for an annual importation of AMERICAN SEEDS into Scotland.

A Taste for the propagation of American plants, particularly trees, has of late diffused itself very much in this country. And such a taste, doubtless, deserves to be encouraged: for theoretical speculation gives us reason to hope, and time and experience will probably Convince us, that these plants may prove the means of making considerable improvements in this kingdom.

But this taste labours under great discouragements at present. In the first place, the skill and fidelity of the savers and collectors of these seeds in America are uncertain. In the next place, the integrity of the seedsmen in Britain is not always to be trusted; who, from the expense they are at in procuring these seeds, are often tempted, if any others remain on hand over year, to dispose of them as fresh seeds. And though nothing were to be feared in either of these respects ; yet, after all, there is commonly little choice in the assortments sent over at random, and a man curiosity is often disappointed in his inquiries after the seeds he wants.

To remedy these inconveniencies deserves the attention of all who wish well to planting, gardening, or agriculture. And as our new acquisitions in America promise us a large accession of plants to our former collections, and of plants too to which the climate of Britain will be peculiarly suited, the following proposals are humbly submitted to the consideration of all who will) well to their country.

I. That a subscription shall be set on foot for an importation of American seeds into Scotland, the subscription-lnm being two guineas each person.

II. That the scheme shall be put into execution this year 1764.

III. That a botanical catalogue, with the provincial names, shall be made up, with the greatest care, of American, and particularly Canadian, plants and trees, which can be supposed to thrive in the open air in Britain.

IV. That a correspondence shall be settled with some persons of integrity, and skill in botany, residing in one or other of the colonies of New-England, New-York, Pennsylvania.

V. That the catalogue of plants shall be transmitted to them, that they may send over a quantity of the seeds of the plant: in proportion to the sums subscribed.

VI. That they shall also be directed to inquire after, and transmit, a particular information concerning the circumstances attending the growth of the several plants, so far as they can, viz. the soil and latitude where they grow naturally ; what region of the air they inhabit; whether they are found near the coast, or in the inland parts; if growing on hills, or in their neighbourhood ; what aspect they delight in, dye.

VIl. That this commision shall be given early in the season, so that the seeds may be properly saved, and imported in due time.

VIII. That when the seeds come home, they shall be divided into small lots, of, the value of ten shillings or under, each lot comprehending a quantity of each kind of seeds.

IX. That as the quantity of tree and shrub seeds is proposed to be greater than that of the seeds of herbaceous plants, there shall be lots of tree and shrub seeds put up by themselves.

X. That the subscribers shall be furnished with what lots of these seeds they want, at prime cost, as value for part of their subscriptions.

Xl. That the remaining lots, sealed up, and marked with the year and price, shall be put into the hands of seedsmen, to be sold out to all who call for them, not more than one lot to one person, in order to indemnify the subscribers; and that if any os the lots of seeds shall remain unsold after one year, the same shall be returned to the society.

XII. That the subscription shall continue during pleasure.

By these means there would be a regular and annual importation of seeds, so that if through the accidents of seasons the feeds of one year should misgive, the planter would be sure of a supply the next year; and the person employed in America would find it worth while to be at pains in collecting these seeds, and transmitting them safe, and in a vegetating state, to Britain.

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
For the next decade he practiced medicine, indulging in botany in his spare time. In 1760, he was appointed as King's Botanist & as Professor of Botany & Materia Medica at the University of Edinburgh.  Hope succeeding in combining the gardens & collections at Trinity Hospital & Holyrood to a new, combined site on the road to Leith. He also succeeded in obtaining a permanent endowment for the garden, thus establishing arguably the first ever "Royal Botanic Garden."

When Hope became the 6th Regius Keeper of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh in 1761, he made a momentous decision early on in his tenure: close down the existing small physic gardens at Holyrood to create a new, much larger garden on a 5 acre site on Leith Walk.

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

At its entrance, Hope decided to build a little house which could serve as a gateway to the garden, a home for his head gardener, & a classroom in which he could teach medical students about botany – it would come to be known as the Botanic Cottage.

The Botanic Cottage at the entrance to the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

Designed by noted architects John Adam & James Craig – the latter responsible for designing the layout of Edinburgh’s New Town just a few years later in 1767 – the Botanic Cottage was completed in 1765.  Hundreds of students learned about botany in its large upstairs room overlooking the garden, hearing directly from Professor Hope about his experiments & studies, & referring to his detailed diagrams & illustrations.

Plants in Early American Gardens - Smooth or Common Ironweed

Smooth or Common Ironweed (Vernonia fasciculata)

Also known as Prairie Ironweed, this robust species in the aster family is native to moist prairies and marshes in midwestern North America from Manitoba south to Texas. The genus name honors 17th century English botanist and plant collector William Vernon. André Michaux first recorded Vernonia fasciculata in his flora of North America (Flora Boreali-Americana, 1803). The flowers are attractive to butterflies and other pollinators. Deer-resistant.

For more information & the possible availability
Contact The Tho Jefferson Center for Historic Plants or The Shop at Monticello 

Visions of old Garden Tools...

Royal Horticultural Society Harlow Carr Botanical Gardens Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
Lost Gardens of Heligan, South West, Cornwall, England

The Tool Gate at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens, Georgia



Royal Horticultural Society Harlow Carr Botanical Gardens Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
Brighton Flea Market, Brighton, England
Calke Abbey, Ticknall, Derby, Derbyshire, England

The Tool Shed in the Melon Yard at the Lost Gardens of Heligan, South West, Cornwall, England
Royal Horticultural Society Harlow Carr Botanical Gardens Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, England


Yorkshire National Forest, England