The year was 1637 and in February of that year an auction was held in Holland. 99 lots of tulip bulbs were bid on, and wait for it, they sold for a staggering 90,000 Guilders!
A monastery can be a single building or, indeed, a collection of buildings that have living quarters and also places to work, for monks or nuns and usually a place for prayer – possibly a chapel or church, for example.
Whenever I have been asked where my interest in gardens came from, I recall a holiday from my childhood. Whilst many gardeners I have met can trace their careers back to their father or mother being keen gardeners I cannot.