The mythical orchard has a celtic origin, though it was very much influenced by the Bible. It's a place where lovers can live their passion, behind the high walls that usually surround the garden. In Tristan et Iseut, the king Marc uncovers the young people's love in the orchard.

It can also refer to a jail where lovers would shut themselves and forget the world. In Erec et Enide, Erec fights against a knight who promised his friend to stay with her in a garden till someone could beat him in a dual. The victory of Erec leads to an episode called "La Joie de la Cour" = "The court's Joy," implying that love must not be exclusive and make the lovers forget their social life. Community, for the medieval man, is more important than the individual. That's why the closed garden has sometimes a link with the deceiving fairy: she bewitches a man and then keeps him forever in magical place where he can't show anymore his talents. That's the very story of Viviane and Merlin.