Introduction: Outside the gates there are the suffering townspeople, waiting patiently to see Brother Paulus, Disibodenberg's Infirmiarian. As you enter the gates you cannot help but notice the tender care given to the monastery's herbal gardens. It is here he turns to the herbs and other plants he grows to add to the ingredients of the salves and potions he prescribes to all the sick people who come to him for care. He must consider the space available, the lighting needs of each plant, the size of a full grown speciman, and its water requirements.

Assignment: Plan and layout on graph paper a design of an ideal medieval cloister garden. Keep in mind what is known in the 12th century, that is, the typical ailments and treatments prescribed at that time. Be sure to incorporate: plants for paints to be used by the scribes; healing plants for the sick and infirmed; and lastly plants that would be used in preparing and seasoning the meals served to the poor and to the monastery monks and nuns.

Be sure to blog about your experience afterwards, explaining what it is you have learned and what you found surprising in your journey back into time.