I recently read a story reflecting on the life of Hildegard of Bingen, a 12th Century German Benedictine Abbess whose academic work in music, art, healing, mysticism and medical writing still resonates today. She is also known as Saint Hildegard and the Sybil of the Rhine. She left behind a vast collection of writings, recording her visionary life and her life as a medical practitioner.
In her Causae et Curae Hildegard writes of the greening of the body, or viriditas. She saw the direct connection between the garden of the Abbey and the garden of the human body. Neither would flourish without the essential work of a good gardener.
I have set out my healing bed next to a window that opens directly onto the garden. When I return from my surgery I will be able to watch as spring returns leaf buds to the trees and early bulbs push up through the lawn. There is a lot to look forward to. By May there should be lillies in the pond and I shall be out there counting the blooms.
14thcenturypoet 