The Mechelen Enclosed Gardens are extraordinary early-16th-century religious ensembles made from numerous materials and techniques, including silk flowers, polychrome statuettes, metal pilgrim badges, wax medallions, relics and objects crafted from alabaster, parchment, paper and pipe clay. Finishing decorative touches include spangles, pearls and beads made of glass, bone, coral and amber. Painted panels form shutters that reveal or conceal the treasures within. This paper describes a study of the Mechelen ‘Paradise Gardens’ and a project (2014–19) aimed at their conservation, with a focus on the content of the oak wooden cases and the unique silk artificial flowers.