Over the years, a series of tiered gardens grew up inside the curtain walls of the castle. Today they seem very formal, but JS imagines Helaine’s father making an exuberant garden there for his bride Genevre. The beds are spilling over with herbs and vegetables; seating is made by packing soil into berms and growing grass over them. Different plantings are separated by hedges or by wattled fences, often overgrown with flowers, making a series of secret gardens. It smells delicious, and is buzzing with the hum of summer bees. And bee hives mean honey, and sweetness…
The hortus conclusus, or enclosed garden, carried high symbolism in religious doctrine and mysticism of the time. Its depiction in Christian art from the Middle Ages onwards often suggests purity. It is shown walled, implying impenetrability. Even the beauty of the garden emphasizes the trap of expectation in which Helaine is bound. Not so sweet.
And the unicorn also. He finally takes his rest in the last tapestry, smiling and chained to the tree of immortality.