Tuesday Time Table - Decorative Plants for the Roman Garden

A number of plants were used for decorative purposes although many were also used to freshen the air inside houses. Ivy, myrtle, box, bay and rosemary as evergreens were particularly favoured as decorative plants as they required little water.



Citron


• Acanthus was used as a ground-covering plant on banks and borders
• Bay-Laurel
• Box was used extensively around the garden as boundaries and was often shaped in formal gardens
• Citron was grown for decoration rather than being eaten. It was also used for medical purposes
• Cucumber
• Cypress
• Holly
• Ivy
• Jupiter’s Beard
• Madonna Lily
• Maidenhair covers the ground very well
• Mint
• Moss
• Oleander
• Myrtle - beautiful scent, flowers as well as useful berries
• Periwinkle, another excellent ground-coverer
• Pine
• Plane trees provided shade and were used in groves and shaded walks such as at the Academy in Athens
• Rose
• Smilax
• Southernwood was praised for its golden flowers which are heavily scented and its grey-green foliage
• Strawberry tree (not strawberry bushes) was reminiscent of Lychees. The fruit could be eaten but not very easily
• Vine
• Violet