History Of Gardens
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The early history of gardening is largely entangled with the
history of agriculture Agriculture began independently in different parts of the globe, and included a diverse range of Taxon, taxa. At least eleven separate regions of the Old World, Old and New World were involved as independent centers of origin. The development ...
, with gardens that were mainly ornamental generally the preserve of the elite until quite recent times. Smaller gardens generally had being a
kitchen garden The traditional kitchen garden, vegetable garden, also known as a potager (from the French ) or in Scotland a kailyaird, is a space separate from the rest of the residential garden – the ornamental plants and lawn areas. It is used for grow ...
as their first priority, as is still often the case. The broad traditions that have dominated
gardening Gardening is the practice of growing and cultivating plants as part of horticulture. In gardens, ornamental plants are often grown for their flowers, foliage, or overall appearance; useful plants, such as root vegetables, leaf vegetables, fruits ...
since ancient times include those of the
Ancient Near East The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia (modern Iraq, southeast Turkey, southwest Iran and northeastern Syria), ancient Egypt, ancient Iran ( Elam, ...
, which became the
Islamic garden An Islamic garden is generally an expressive estate of land that includes themes of water and shade. Their most identifiable architectural design reflects the ''charbagh'' (or ''chahār bāgh'') quadrilateral layout with four smaller gardens di ...
, the Mediterranean, which produced the
Roman garden Roman gardens and ornamental horticulture became highly developed under Roman civilization, and thrived from 150 BC to 350 AD. The Gardens of Lucullus (''Horti Lucullani''), on the Pincian Hill in Rome, introduced the Persian gardens, Persian ga ...
, hugely influencing later European gardening, and the
Chinese garden The Chinese garden is a landscape garden style which has evolved over three thousand years. It includes both the vast gardens of the Chinese emperors and members of the imperial family, built for pleasure and to impress, and the more intimate ...
and its development in the
Japanese garden are traditional gardens whose designs are accompanied by Japanese aesthetics and philosophical ideas, avoid artificial ornamentation, and highlight the natural landscape. Plants and worn, aged materials are generally used by Japanese garden desig ...
. While the basic gardening techniques were fairly well understood by trial and error from early on, the plants available in a particular location have changed enormously, especially in recent centuries. Many new groups of plants have been introduced from other parts of the world, and the
ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...
s now used are mostly
cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, ...
s bred to improve qualities such as colour, length of flowering, size and hardiness. In Europe
garden design Garden design is the art and process of designing and creating plans for layout and planting of gardens and landscapes. Garden design may be done by the garden owner themselves, or by professionals of varying levels of experience and expertise. ...
in the Renaissance was dominated by the
Italian garden The Italian garden (or giardino all'italiana () is best known for a number of large Italian Renaissance gardens which have survived in something like their original form. In the history of gardening, during the Renaissance, Italy had the most ...
in the
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
, which developed into the
French formal garden The French formal garden, also called the (), is a style of garden based on symmetry and the principle of imposing order on nature. Its epitome is generally considered to be the Gardens of Versailles designed during the 17th century by the ...
, dominating the
Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
period; both were formal styles, attempting to impose architectural principles on the garden. In the 18th century, the
English landscape garden The English landscape garden, also called English landscape park or simply the English garden (french: Jardin à l'anglaise, it, Giardino all'inglese, german: Englischer Landschaftsgarten, pt, Jardim inglês, es, Jardín inglés), is a sty ...
developed, apparently informal and natural, but requiring very large spaces, and by the end of the century dominated all Europe in the largest new gardens. Gardening may be considered as
aesthetic Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed th ...
expressions of beauty through art and nature, a display of taste or style in civilized life, an expression of an individual's or culture's philosophy, and sometimes as a display of private
status Status (Latin plural: ''statūs''), is a state, condition, or situation, and may refer to: * Status (law) ** City status ** Legal status, in law ** Political status, in international law ** Small entity status, in patent law ** Status conference ...
or
national pride Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and sense of attachment to one's country. This attachment can be a combination of many different feelings, language relating to one's own homeland, including ethnic, cultural, political or histor ...
—in private and public landscapes.


Introduction

The enclosure of outdoor space probably began around 10,000 BC. Historians imagine the first enclosure was a type of barrier used for excluding animals and marauders, perhaps beginning in West Asia, thereafter spreading to South and East Asia, and westward into
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
, and Europe. The modern words "garden" and "yard" are descendants of the Old English
geard
, which denotes a fence or enclosure. After the emergence of the first civilizations, wealthy citizens began creating gardens for purely aesthetic purposes.
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
ian
tomb painting A tomb ( grc-gre, τύμβος ''tumbos'') is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called ''immuremen ...
s of the 16th century BC are some of the earliest physical evidence of ornamental
horticulture Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...
and landscape design depicting lotus ponds surrounded by symmetrical rows of
acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus na ...
s and palms. Another ancient tradition is of
Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
:
Darius the Great Darius I ( peo, 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 ; grc-gre, Δαρεῖος ; – 486 BCE), commonly known as Darius the Great, was a Persian ruler who served as the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 522 BCE until his d ...
was said to have had a "
paradise garden The paradise garden is a form of garden of Old Iranian origin, specifically Achaemenid which is formal, symmetrical and most often, enclosed. The most traditional form is a rectangular garden split into four quarters with a pond in the center, ...
" and the
Hanging Gardens of Babylon The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World listed by Hellenic culture. They were described as a remarkable feat of engineering with an ascending series of tiered gardens containing a wide variety of tre ...
were renowned as one of the
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, also known as the Seven Wonders of the World or simply the Seven Wonders, is a list of seven notable structures present during classical antiquity. The first known list of seven wonders dates back to the 2 ...
. Persian gardens were designed along a central
axis of symmetry Axial symmetry is symmetry around an axis; an object is axially symmetric if its appearance is unchanged if rotated around an axis.
. Persian influences extended to
Hellenistic Greece Hellenistic Greece is the historical period of the country following Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the annexation of the classical Greek Achaean League heartlands by the Roman Republic. This culminated ...
after
Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...
. C. 350 BC there were gardens at the Academy of Athens, and
Theophrastus Theophrastus (; grc-gre, Θεόφραστος ; c. 371c. 287 BC), a Greek philosopher and the successor to Aristotle in the Peripatetic school. He was a native of Eresos in Lesbos.Gavin Hardy and Laurence Totelin, ''Ancient Botany'', Routledge ...
, who wrote on
botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...
, supposedly inherited a garden from
Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...
.
Epicurus Epicurus (; grc-gre, Ἐπίκουρος ; 341–270 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher and sage who founded Epicureanism, a highly influential school of philosophy. He was born on the Greek island of Samos to Athenian parents. Influenced ...
had a garden where he walked and taught, and he bequeathed it to
Hermarchus Hermarchus or Hermarch ( el, Ἕρμαρχoς, ''Hermarkhos''; c. 325-c. 250 BC), sometimes incorrectly written Hermachus ( el, Ἕρμαχoς, Hermakhos), was an Epicurean philosopher. He was the disciple and successor of Epicurus as head of the ...
of
Mytilene Mytilene (; el, Μυτιλήνη, Mytilíni ; tr, Midilli) is the capital of the Greek island of Lesbos, and its port. It is also the capital and administrative center of the North Aegean Region, and hosts the headquarters of the University of ...
.
Alciphron Alciphron ( grc-gre, Ἀλκίφρων) was an ancient Greek sophist, and the most eminent among the Greek epistolographers. Regarding his life or the age in which he lived we possess no direct information whatsoever. Works We possess under the ...
also referenced private gardens in his writing. The most influential ancient gardens in the western world were those of
Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...
in
Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
,
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
and the horticultural tradition that
Lucullus Lucius Licinius Lucullus (; 118–57/56 BC) was a Roman general and statesman, closely connected with Lucius Cornelius Sulla. In culmination of over 20 years of almost continuous military and government service, he conquered the eastern kingdom ...
brought to
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
.
Wall painting A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spanish ...
s in
Pompeii Pompeii (, ) was an ancient city located in what is now the ''comune'' of Pompei near Naples in the Campania region of Italy. Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area (e.g. at Boscoreale, Stabiae), was buried ...
,
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
attest to later elaborate development. The wealthiest Romans built extensive villa gardens with water features, including fountains and rivulets,
topiary Topiary is the horticultural practice of training perennial plants by clipping the foliage and twigs of trees, shrubs and subshrubs to develop and maintain clearly defined shapes, whether geometric or fanciful. The term also refers to plants w ...
, roses, and shaded arcades. Archeological evidence survives at sites such as
Hadrian's Villa Hadrian's Villa ( it, Villa Adriana) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site comprising the ruins and archaeological remains of a large villa complex built c. AD 120 by Roman Emperor Hadrian at Tivoli outside Rome. The site is owned by the Republic of ...
.
Vitruvius Vitruvius (; c. 80–70 BC – after c. 15 BC) was a Roman architect and engineer during the 1st century BC, known for his multi-volume work entitled ''De architectura''. He originated the idea that all buildings should have three attribute ...
, a Roman author and engineer, wrote the oldest extant design manual in 27 BC. '' De architectura libri decem'' (''Ten Books on Architecture'') addressed design theory, landscape architecture, engineering, water supply, and public projects, such as parks and squares. Vitruvius asserted that ''firmitas'' (firmness, durability, strength), ''utilitas'' (commodity, convenience, utility) and ''venustas'' (delight, loveliness, beauty) were the primary objectives of design. Some still consider these elements essential to quality design of landscape.
Byzantium Byzantium () or Byzantion ( grc, Βυζάντιον) was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' cont ...
and
Moorish Spain Al-Andalus translit. ; an, al-Andalus; ast, al-Ándalus; eu, al-Andalus; ber, ⴰⵏⴷⴰⵍⵓⵙ, label= Berber, translit=Andalus; ca, al-Àndalus; gl, al-Andalus; oc, Al Andalús; pt, al-Ândalus; es, al-Ándalus () was the Mu ...
continued horticultural traditions after the 4th century AD and the
decline of Rome The fall of the Western Roman Empire (also called the fall of the Roman Empire or the fall of Rome) was the loss of central political control in the Western Roman Empire, a process in which the Empire failed to enforce its rule, and its vas ...
. By this time, a separate horticultural tradition formed in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, which was transmitted to
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, where it developed into aristocratic gardens featuring miniaturized and simulated natural landscapes centered on ponds, and the severe
Zen garden The or Japanese rock garden, often called a zen garden, is a distinctive style of Japanese garden. It creates a miniature stylized landscape through carefully composed arrangements of rocks, water features, moss, pruned trees and bushes, and u ...
form featured at temples. In Europe, gardening revived in
Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately ...
and the
Île-de-France , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 = +01:00 , timezone1_DST = CEST , utc_offset1_DST = +02:00 , blank_name_sec1 = Gross regional product , blank_info_sec1 = Ranked 1st , bla ...
in the 13th century. The rediscovery of descriptions of antique Roman villas and gardens led to the creation of a new form of garden, the
Italian Renaissance garden The Italian Renaissance garden was a new style of garden which emerged in the late 15th century at villas in Rome and Florence, inspired by classical ideals of order and beauty, and intended for the pleasure of the view of the garden and the landsc ...
, in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. The Spanish Crown built the first
public park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to re ...
s of this era in the 16th century, both in Europe and the Americas. The formal
garden à la française The French formal garden, also called the (), is a style of garden based on symmetry and the principle of imposing order on nature. Its epitome is generally considered to be the Gardens of Versailles designed during the 17th century by the l ...
, exemplified by the
Gardens of Versailles The Gardens of Versailles (french: Jardins du château de Versailles ) occupy part of what was once the ''Domaine royal de Versailles'', the royal demesne of the château of Versailles. Situated to the west of the palace, the gardens cover som ...
, became the dominant horticultural style in Europe until the middle of the 18th century, when the
English landscape garden The English landscape garden, also called English landscape park or simply the English garden (french: Jardin à l'anglaise, it, Giardino all'inglese, german: Englischer Landschaftsgarten, pt, Jardim inglês, es, Jardín inglés), is a sty ...
and the
French landscape garden The French landscape garden (french: jardin anglais, jardin à l'anglaise, jardin paysager, jardin pittoresque, jardin anglo-chinois) is a style of garden inspired by idealized romantic landscapes and the paintings of Hubert Robert, Claude Lorrai ...
acceded to dominance. In the 19th century, a welter of historical revivals and Romantic cottage-inspired gardening emerged. In
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, William Robinson and
Gertrude Jekyll Gertrude Jekyll ( ; 29 November 1843 – 8 December 1932) was a British horticulturist, garden designer, craftswoman, photographer, writer and artist. She created over 400 gardens in the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States, and wrote ...
were influential proponents of the wild garden and the perennial garden, respectively.
Andrew Jackson Downing Andrew Jackson Downing (October 31, 1815 – July 28, 1852) was an American landscape designer, horticulturist, and writer, a prominent advocate of the Gothic Revival in the United States, and editor of ''The Horticulturist'' magazine (1846–5 ...
and
Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the USA. Olmsted was famous for co- ...
adapted European forms for North America, especially influencing the design of
public parks A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. ...
, campuses and suburban landscapes. Olmsted's influence extended well into the 20th century. The 20th century saw the influence of modernism in the garden: from the articulate clarity of Thomas Church to the bold colors and forms of the Brazilian
Roberto Burle Marx Roberto Burle Marx (August 4, 1909 – June 4, 1994) was a Brazilian landscape architect (as well as a painter, print maker, ecologist, naturalist, artist and musician) whose designs of parks and gardens made him world-famous. He is accredite ...
.
Environmental A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...
consciousness and
sustainable design Environmentally sustainable design (also called environmentally conscious design, eco-design, etc.) is the philosophy of designing physical objects, the built environment, and services to comply with the principles of ecological sustainability ...
practices, such as
green roofs A green roof or living roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage ...
and
rainwater harvesting Rainwater harvesting (RWH) is the collection and storage of rain, rather than allowing it to run off. Rainwater is collected from a roof-like surface and redirected to a tank, cistern, deep pit (well, shaft, or borehole), aquifer, or a reservoir w ...
, are becoming widely practiced as innovations in these fields continue to develop.


The historical development of garden styles


Mesopotamian gardens

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...
, the "land between the Rivers" Tigris and Euphrates, comprises a hilly and mountainous northern area and a flat, alluvial south. Its peoples (
Sumerians Sumer () is the earliest known civilization in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. It is one of the cradles of c ...
,
Akkadians The Akkadian Empire () was the first ancient empire of Mesopotamia after the long-lived civilization of Sumer. It was centered in the city of Akkad () and its surrounding region. The empire united Akkadian and Sumerian speakers under one rul ...
,
Assyria Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , romanized: ''māt Aššur''; syc, ܐܬܘܪ, ʾāthor) was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization which existed as a city-state at times controlling regional territories in the indigenous lands of the A ...
ns, and
Babylonia Babylonia (; Akkadian: , ''māt Akkadī'') was an ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Syria). It emerged as an Amorite-ruled state c. ...
ns) were urban and literate from about 3,000 BCE. Evidence for their gardens comes from written texts, pictorial sculpture, and archaeology. In Western tradition, Mesopotamia was the location of the
Garden of Eden In Abrahamic religions, the Garden of Eden ( he, גַּן־עֵדֶן, ) or Garden of God (, and גַן־אֱלֹהִים ''gan-Elohim''), also called the Terrestrial Paradise, is the Bible, biblical paradise described in Book of Genesis, Genes ...
and the
Hanging Gardens of Babylon The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World listed by Hellenic culture. They were described as a remarkable feat of engineering with an ascending series of tiered gardens containing a wide variety of tre ...
. Temple gardens developed from the representation of a sacred grove; several distinct styles of royal garden are also known. The courtyard garden was enclosed by the walls of a palace, or on a larger scale was a cultivated place inside the city walls. At Mari on the Middle Euphrates (c. 1,800 BCE), one of the huge palace courtyards was called the Court of the Palms in contemporary written records. It is crossed by raised walkways of baked brick; the king and his entourage would dine there. At
Ugarit ) , image =Ugarit Corbel.jpg , image_size=300 , alt = , caption = Entrance to the Royal Palace of Ugarit , map_type = Near East#Syria , map_alt = , map_size = 300 , relief=yes , location = Latakia Governorate, Syria , region = F ...
(c. 1,400 BCE), there was a stone water basin, not located centrally as in later Persian gardens, for the central feature was probably a tree (date, palm, or tamarisk). The 7th century BC, Assyrian king
Assurbanipal Ashurbanipal (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , meaning " Ashur is the creator of the heir") was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 669 BCE to his death in 631. He is generally remembered as the last great king of Assyria. Inheriting the throne as ...
is shown on a sculpture feasting with his queen, reclining on a couch beneath an arbour of vines, attended by musicians. Trophies of conquest are on display, including the dismembered head of the king of Elam hanging from a fragrant pine branch. A Babylonian text from the same period is divided into sections, as if showing beds of soil with the names of
medicinal Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practic ...
, vegetable, and
herbal A herbal is a book containing the names and descriptions of plants, usually with information on their medicinal, tonic, culinary, toxic, hallucinatory, aromatic, or magical powers, and the legends associated with them.Arber, p. 14. A herbal m ...
plants written into each square, perhaps representing a ''
parterre A ''parterre'' is a part of a formal garden constructed on a level substrate, consisting of symmetrical patterns, made up by plant beds, low hedges or coloured gravels, which are separated and connected by paths. Typically it was the part of ...
'' design. On a larger scale, royal hunting parks were established to hold the exotic animals and plants which the king had acquired on his foreign campaigns. King
Tiglath-Pileser I Tiglath-Pileser I (; from the Hebraic form of akk, , Tukultī-apil-Ešarra, "my trust is in the son of Ešarra") was a king of Assyria during the Middle Assyrian period (1114–1076 BC). According to Georges Roux, Tiglath-Pileser was "one of t ...
(c. 1,000 BCE) lists horses, oxen, asses, deer of two types, gazelle and ibex, boasting "I numbered them like flocks of sheep." From around 1,000 BCE, the Assyrian kings developed a style of city garden incorporating a naturalistic layout, running water supplied from river headwaters, and exotic plants from their foreign campaigns.
Assurnasirpal II Ashur-nasir-pal II (transliteration: ''Aššur-nāṣir-apli'', meaning " Ashur is guardian of the heir") was king of Assyria from 883 to 859 BC. Ashurnasirpal II succeeded his father, Tukulti-Ninurta II, in 883 BC. During his reign he embarked ...
(883–859 BCE) lists pines of different kinds, cypresses and junipers of different kinds, almonds, dates, ebony, rosewood, olive, oak, tamarisk, walnut, terebinth and ash, fir pomegranate, pear, quince, fig and grapevines: "The canal water gushes from above into the gardens; fragrance pervades the walkways; streams of water as numerous as the stars of heaven flow in the pleasure garden.... Like a squirrel, I pick fruit in the garden of delights." The city garden reached its zenith with the palace design of
Sennacherib Sennacherib (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: or , meaning " Sîn has replaced the brothers") was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from the death of his father Sargon II in 705BC to his own death in 681BC. The second king of the Sargonid dynast ...
(704–681 BCE), whose water system stretched for 50 km into the hills, whose garden was higher and more ornate than any others, and who boasted of the complex technologies he deployed, calling his palace and garden "a wonder for all peoples". The biblical Book of Genesis mentions the Tigris and Euphrates as two of the four rivers bounding the
Garden of Eden In Abrahamic religions, the Garden of Eden ( he, גַּן־עֵדֶן, ) or Garden of God (, and גַן־אֱלֹהִים ''gan-Elohim''), also called the Terrestrial Paradise, is the Bible, biblical paradise described in Book of Genesis, Genes ...
. No specific place has been identified, although there are many theories. The
Hanging Gardens of Babylon The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World listed by Hellenic culture. They were described as a remarkable feat of engineering with an ascending series of tiered gardens containing a wide variety of tre ...
are listed by classical Greek writers as one of the
Seven Wonders of the World Various lists of the Wonders of the World have been compiled from antiquity to the present day, in order to catalogue the world's most spectacular natural features and human-built structures. The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World is the o ...
– places to see before you die. The excavated ruins of Babylon do not reveal any suitable evidence, which has led some scholars to suggest that they may have been purely legendary. Alternatively, the story may have originated from Sennacherib's garden in
Nineveh Nineveh (; akk, ; Biblical Hebrew: '; ar, نَيْنَوَىٰ '; syr, ܢܝܼܢܘܹܐ, Nīnwē) was an ancient Assyrian city of Upper Mesopotamia, located in the modern-day city of Mosul in northern Iraq. It is located on the eastern ban ...
.


Indian subcontinental gardens


Indian gardens

File:Bamboo garden (Venuvana) at Rajagriha, the visit of Bimbisara.jpg, King
Bimbisara Bimbisāra (in Buddhist tradition) or Shrenika () and Seniya () in the Jain histories (c. 558 – c. 491 BCE or during the late 5th century BCE) was a King of Magadha (V. K. Agnihotri (ed.), ''Indian History''. Allied Publishers, New Delhi 2 ...
of Magadha visits the Bamboo Garden (Venuvana) in Rajagriha; artwork from
Sanchi Sanchi is a Buddhist complex, famous for its Great Stupa, on a hilltop at Sanchi Town in Raisen District of the States and territories of India, State of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is located, about 23 kilometres from Raisen, Raisen town, dist ...
. File:Maota Lake.JPG, Moata Lake and Saffron Garden, exhibit ancient Indian garden styles. File:Srinagar - Nishat Gardens 12.jpg,
Shalimar Bagh, Srinagar Shalimar Bagh is a Mughal garden in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India, linked through a channel to the northeast of Dal Lake. It is also known as Shalimar Gardens, Farah Baksh, and Faiz Baksh. The other famous shoreline garden in the vicin ...
, depicting a water way File:Agra Fort 20180908 144024.jpg, Mughal-style courtyard garden at
Agra Fort The Agra Fort is a historical fort in the city of Agra in India also known as the Red Fort. Rebuilt by the Mughal emperor Akbar in 1565 and completed in 1573, it served as the main residence of the rulers of the Mughal Dynasty until 1638, when t ...
. File:Amber Fort P1080245 37114636191.jpg, Hindu
Rajput Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...
-style courtyard garden at
Amer Fort Amer Fort or Amber Fort is a fort located in Amer, Rajasthan, India. Amer is a town with an area of located from Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan. Amber city and Amber fort were founded by ruler Alan Singh of Chanda dynasty of Meenas. Located ...
. File:Jetavana Garden at Sravasti Bodh Gaya relief.jpg, Gardeners gardening at
Jetavana Jetavana (Jethawanaramaya or Weluwanaramaya ''buddhist literature'') was one of the most famous of the Buddhist monasteries or viharas in India (present-day Uttar Pradesh). It was the second vihara donated to Gautama Buddha after the Venuvan ...
,
Bodh Gaya Bodh Gaya is a religious site and place of pilgrimage associated with the Mahabodhi Temple Complex in Gaya district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is famous as it is the place where Gautama Buddha is said to have attained Enlightenment ( pi, ...
2nd–1st BCE
Ancient India According to consensus in modern genetics, anatomically modern humans first arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago. Quote: "Y-Chromosome and Mt-DNA data support the colonization of South Asia by m ...
n gardens are mentioned in several ancient Hindu texts including
Rigveda The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts (''śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only one Sh ...
, ''
Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...
'', and ''
Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...
''. Buddhist accounts mention bamboo grove which was gifted by King
Bimbisara Bimbisāra (in Buddhist tradition) or Shrenika () and Seniya () in the Jain histories (c. 558 – c. 491 BCE or during the late 5th century BCE) was a King of Magadha (V. K. Agnihotri (ed.), ''Indian History''. Allied Publishers, New Delhi 2 ...
to Buddha. Digha Nikaya, a Buddhist text, also mentions Buddha staying in the mango orchard of the Jivaka monastery, gifted by the physician Jivaka. Arama in Sanskrit means garden, and
sangharama Sangharama (Sanskrit: संघराम ''Saṃgharāma'') refers to a "temple" or "monastery." It is the place, including its garden or grove, where the Sangha, the Buddhist monastic community dwells. A famous sangharāma was that of Kukkutara ...
is a place where buddhist monk community lived in a garden like place. In Buddha's time, Vaishali was a prosperous and populous town full of parks and gardens and according to Lalit Vistara, it resembled a city of God. Emperor
Ashoka Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, ...
's inscriptions mention the establishment of botanical gardens for planting medicinal herbs, plants, and trees. They contained pools of water, were laid in grid patterns, and normally had
chattri ''Chhatri'' are elevated, dome-shaped pavilions used as an element in Indo-Islamic architecture and Indian architecture. Originating as a canopy above tombs, they serve as decorative elements. The earliest example of chhatri being used in the ...
pavilions with them. The
Kama Sutra The ''Kama Sutra'' (; sa, कामसूत्र, , ; ) is an ancient Indian Sanskrit text on sexuality, eroticism and emotional fulfillment in life. Attributed to Vātsyāyana, the ''Kama Sutra'' is neither exclusively nor predominantly ...
mentions details on house gardens and that a good wife should plant vegetables, bunches of sugarcane, clumps of the fig trees, mustard, parsley and fennel, various flowers like jasmine, rose and others likewise be planted and seats and arbours should be made and the middle of the garden should have a well, a tank or a pond, various other treatises also mention establishing lotus shaped baths, lakes, lotus-shaped seats, swings, roundabouts, Menageries. Chinese Buddhist pilgrim
Xuanzang Xuanzang (, ; 602–664), born Chen Hui / Chen Yi (), also known as Hiuen Tsang, was a 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making contributions to Chinese Buddhism, the travelogue of ...
mentions accounts of Nalanda where "azure pool winds around the monasteries, adorned with the full-blown cups of the blue lotus; the dazzling red flowers of the lovely kanaka hang here and there, and outside groves of
mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South a ...
trees offer the inhabitants their dense and protective shade. There are accounts of four kinds of gardens in Ancient India: ''udyan, paramadodvana, vrikshavatika, and nandanavana''. ''Vatika'' was a small garden inside homes. ''Margeshu vriksha'' was the practice of planting trees on the roadside for shade. Manasollasa, a twelfth century text giving details on
garden design Garden design is the art and process of designing and creating plans for layout and planting of gardens and landscapes. Garden design may be done by the garden owner themselves, or by professionals of varying levels of experience and expertise. ...
, asserts that it should include rocks and raised mounds of summits, manicured with plants and trees of diverse varieties, artificial ponds, and flowing brooks.Nalini Sadhale and YL Nene (2010), Bhudharakrida in Manasollasa, ''Asian Agri-History'', Vol. 14, No. 4, pages 319–335 It describes the arrangement, the soils, the seeds, the distance between types of plants and trees, the methods of preparing manure, proper fertilizing and maintaining the garden, which plants and trees are best planted first, when to plant others, watering, signs of overwatering and underwatering, weeds, means of protecting the garden, and other details. Both public parks and woodland gardens are described, with about 40 types of trees recommended for the park in the ''Vana-krida'' chapter. In
medieval India Medieval India refers to a long period of Post-classical history of the Indian subcontinent between the "ancient period" and "modern period". It is usually regarded as running approximately from the breakup of the Gupta Empire in the 6th cent ...
, courtyard gardens are also essential elements of Mughal and Rajput palaces. Indian text
Shilparatna {{Use Indian English, date=December 2019 Shilparatna is a classical text on traditional South Indian representational-performing arts. It is particularly influential in painting and theatrical performance. It was authored by Srikumara in 16th cen ...
(16th century AD) states that Pushpavatika (flower garden or public park) should be located in the northern portion of the town. According to
Kalidasa Kālidāsa (''fl.'' 4th–5th century CE) was a Classical Sanskrit author who is often considered ancient India's greatest poet and playwright. His plays and poetry are primarily based on the Vedas, the Rāmāyaṇa, the Mahābhārata and ...
, a garden was elaborately laid out with tanks, arbors of creepers, seats (Kridasaila), mock hills, swings in bowers or in open, raised seats, or vedika under large shady tree.
Arthashastra The ''Arthashastra'' ( sa, अर्थशास्त्रम्, ) is an Ancient Indian Sanskrit treatise on statecraft, political science, economic policy and military strategy. Kautilya, also identified as Vishnugupta and Chanakya, is ...
, sukraniti, and Kamandakanti mention public gardens which were situated outside the town and provided by the government where people would go and spend whole day in picnic, Panini mentions a kind of garden sport peculiar to eastern India (pracam kridayam), Salabhanjika was the activity of plucking sala flowers and spending the time in merry making. Upavan Vinoda chapter in Sharngadhara-paddhati (14th century AD) an encyclopediac work has been dedicated to
horticulture Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...
and gardening. Indian gardens were also built around large water reservoirs or water tanks, which were also built along the river.


Sri Lankan gardens

The water gardens of
Sigiriya Sigiriya or Sinhagiri (''Lion Rock'' si, සීගිරිය, ta, சிகிரியா/சிங்ககிரி, pronounced see-gi-ri-yə) is an ancient rock fortress located in the northern Matale District near the town of Dambulla ...
can be seen in the central section of the western precinct. Three principal gardens are found here. The first garden consists of a plot surrounded by water. It is connected to the main precinct using four causeways, with gateways placed at the head of each causeway. This garden is built according to an ancient garden form known as ''
char bagh Char Bagh is an area within Laghman Province, Afghanistan and is observable from the Jalalabad-Kabul Road. History According to some sources, when Alexander the Great entered the region, he built a town between Char Bagh and Mandrawar after the ...
'', and is one of the oldest surviving models of this form. The second contains two long, deep pools set on either side of the path. Two shallow, serpentine streams lead to these pools. Fountains made of circular limestone plates are placed here. Underground water conduits supply water to these fountains which are still functional, especially during the rainy season. Two large islands are located on either side of the second water garden. Summer palaces are built on the flattened surfaces of these islands. Two more islands are located farther to the north and the south. These islands are built in a manner similar to the island in the first water garden. The third garden is situated on a higher level than the other two. It contains a large, octagonal pool with a raised podium on its northeast corner. The large brick and stone wall of the citadel is on the eastern edge of this garden. The water gardens are built symmetrically on an east–west axis. They are connected with the outer moat on the west and the large artificial lake to the south of the Sigiriya rock. All the pools are also interlinked using an underground conduit network fed by the lake, and connected to the moats. A miniature water garden is located to the west of the first water garden, consisting of several small pools and watercourses. This recently discovered smaller garden appears to have been built after the Kashyapan period, possibly between the 10th and 13th centuries.


Persian gardens

All Persian gardens, from the ancient to the high classical were developed in opposition to the harsh and arid landscape of the Iranian Plateau. Unlike historical European gardens, which seemed carved or re-ordered from within their existing
landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the ...
, Persian gardens appeared as impossibilities. Their ethereal and delicate qualities emphasized their intrinsic contrast to the hostile environment. Trees and trellises largely feature as biotic shade;
pavilion In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings: * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...
s and
wall A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or, is decorative. There are many kinds of walls, including: * Walls in buildings that form a fundamental part of the supe ...
s are also structurally prominent in blocking the sun. The heat also makes water important, both in the design and maintenance of the garden.
Irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow Crop, crops, Landscape plant, landscape plants, and Lawn, lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,00 ...
may be required, and may be provided via a form of tunnel called a
qanat A qanat or kārīz is a system for transporting water from an aquifer or water well to the surface, through an underground aqueduct; the system originated approximately 3,000 BC in what is now Iran. The function is essentially the same across ...
, that transports water from a local
aquifer An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing, permeable rock, rock fractures, or unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Groundwater from aquifers can be extracted using a water well. Aquifers vary greatly in their characterist ...
. Well-like structures then connect to the qanat, enabling the drawing of water. Alternatively, an animal-driven Persian well would draw water to the surface. Such wheel systems also moved water around surface water systems, such as those in the chahar bāgh style. Trees were often planted in a ditch called a ''juy'', which prevented water evaporation and allowed the water quick access to the tree roots. The Persian style often attempts to integrate indoors with outdoors through the connection of a surrounding garden with an inner courtyard. Designers often place architectural elements such as vaulted arches between the outer and interior areas to open up the divide between them.


Egyptian gardens

Gardens were much cherished in the Egyptian times and were kept both for secular purposes and attached to temple compounds. Gardens in private homes and villas before the New Kingdom were mostly used for growing vegetables and located close to a canal or the river. However, in the New Kingdom they were often surrounded by walls and their purpose incorporated pleasure and beauty besides utility. Garden produce made out an important part of foodstuff but flowers were also cultivated for use in garlands to wear at festive occasions and for medicinal purposes. While the poor kept a patch for growing vegetables, the rich people could afford gardens lined with sheltering trees and decorative pools with fish and waterfowl. There could be wooden structures forming pergolas to support vines of grapes from which raisins and wine were produced. There could even be elaborate stone kiosks for ornamental reasons, with decorative statues. Temple gardens had plots for cultivating special vegetables, plants or herbs considered sacred to a certain deity and which were required in rituals and offerings like lettuce to
Min Min or MIN may refer to: Places * Fujian, also called Mǐn, a province of China ** Min Kingdom (909–945), a state in Fujian * Min County, a county of Dingxi, Gansu province, China * Min River (Fujian) * Min River (Sichuan) * Mineola (Am ...
. Sacred groves and ornamental trees were planted in front of or near both cult temples and mortuary temples. As temples were representations of heaven and built as the actual home of the god, gardens were laid out according to the same principle. Avenues leading up to the entrance could be lined with trees, courtyards could hold small gardens and between temple buildings gardens with trees, vineyards, flowers and ponds were maintained. The ancient Egyptian garden would have looked different from a modern garden. It would have seemed more like a collection of herbs or a patch of wild flowers, lacking the specially bred flowers of today. Flowers like the iris, chrysanthemum, lily, and delphinium (blue), were certainly known to the ancients, but were not featured much in garden scenes. Formal bosquets seem to have been composed of mandrake, poppy, cornflower, and/or lotus and papyrus. Due to the arid climate of Egypt, tending gardens meant constant attention and depended on irrigation. Skilled gardeners were employed by temples and households of the wealthy. Duties included planting, weeding, watering by means of a
shadoof A shadoof or shaduf (from the Arabic word , ''šādūf'') is an irrigation tool. It is highly efficient, and has been known since 3000 BCE. Names It is also called a lift, well pole, well sweep, or simply a sweep in the US.Knight, Edward Henry ...
, pruning of fruit trees, digging the ground, and harvesting the fruit.


Hellenistic and Roman gardens


Hellenistic gardens

It is curious that although the Egyptians and Romans both gardened with vigor, the Greeks did not own private gardens. They did put gardens around temples, and they adorned walkways and roads with statues, but the ornate and pleasure gardens that demonstrated wealth in the other communities is seemingly absent.


Roman gardens

Roman gardens were a place of peace and solitude, a refuge from urban life.
Gaius Maecenas Gaius Cilnius Maecenas ( – 8 BC) was a friend and political advisor to Octavian (who later reigned as emperor Augustus). He was also an important patron for the new generation of Augustan poets, including both Horace and Virgil. During the rei ...
, a culturally influential confidante of the emperor
Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...
, built the first private garden estate of Rome to fulfill his creative ambitions and restore his delicate health.
Seneca the Younger Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger (; 65 AD), usually known mononymously as Seneca, was a Stoic philosopher of Ancient Rome, a statesman, dramatist, and, in one work, satirist, from the post-Augustan age of Latin literature. Seneca was born in ...
characterized the gardens' immersive blend of art, nature, and water as having "diverted his worried mind with the sound of rippling waters." Ornamental horticulture became highly developed during the development of Roman civilization. The administrators of the Roman Empire (c.100 BC–500 AD) actively exchanged information on agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, hydraulics, and botany. Seeds and plants were widely shared. The Gardens of Lucullus (Horti Lucullani) on the Pincian Hill on the edge of Rome introduced the Persian garden to Europe in about 60 BC.


Chinese and Japanese gardens

Both Chinese and Japanese
garden design Garden design is the art and process of designing and creating plans for layout and planting of gardens and landscapes. Garden design may be done by the garden owner themselves, or by professionals of varying levels of experience and expertise. ...
traditionally is intended to evoke the natural landscape of mountains and rivers. However, the intended viewpoint of the gardens differs: Chinese gardens were intended to be viewed from within the garden and are intended as a setting for everyday life. Japanese gardens, with a few exceptions, were intended to be viewed from within the house, somewhat like a
diorama A diorama is a replica of a scene, typically a three-dimensional full-size or miniature model, sometimes enclosed in a glass showcase for a museum. Dioramas are often built by hobbyists as part of related hobbies such as military vehicle mode ...
. Moreover, Chinese gardens often included a water feature, while Japanese gardens, set in a wetter climate, would often get by with the suggestion of water (such as sand or pebbles raked into a wave pattern). Traditional Chinese gardens are also more likely to treat the plants in a naturalistic way, while traditional Japanese gardens might feature plants sheared into mountain or
cloud In meteorology, a cloud is an aerosol consisting of a visible mass of miniature liquid droplets, frozen crystals, or other particles suspended in the atmosphere of a planetary body or similar space. Water or various other chemicals may co ...
shapes. This contrasts with the handling of stone elements: in a Japanese garden,
stepping stones Stepping stones or stepstones are sets of stones arranged to form an improvised causeway that allows a pedestrian to cross a natural watercourse such as a river; or a water feature in a garden where water is allowed to flow between stone steps. U ...
are placed in groupings as part of the landscape, but in a Chinese garden, a particularly choice stone might even be placed on a pedestal in a prominent location so that it might be more easily appreciated.


Chinese scholar gardens

The style of Chinese garden varies among economic groups and differs by dynasties. Rocks, water, bridges, and pavilions are among the most common features of scholar gardens for the wealthy classes, while courtyards, wells, and terra cotta fish tanks are common among the general population. Other features such as moon gates and leaky windows (openwork screens that pierce surrounding walls) are seen in both groups. The development of landscape design in China was historically driven by philosophies of both
Confucianism Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...
and
Taoism Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of Philosophy, philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of China, Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmo ...
. Geometric symmetry and reinforcement of class boundaries were typical characteristics of landscape design in Asian cities, and both characteristics reflect Confucian ideals. While the British used nature outside the home to provide privacy, Chinese homes were compounds made of a number of buildings which all faced one or more courtyards or common areas. Rather than around the home, the Chinese valued natural spaces inside the compound, which is where the family socialized. Furthermore, Courtyards in the Chinese home reflected Taoist philosophies, where families would try to create abstractions of nature rather than recreations of it. For example, a Taoist garden would avoid straight lines and use stone and water instead of trees, whereas Asian cities followed Confucian, geometric designs and North American parks typically feature trees and lawns. There are two ways of looking at the signature design characteristics of the Chinese garden: first; the concept of
Yin and Yang Yin and yang ( and ) is a Chinese philosophy, Chinese philosophical concept that describes opposite but interconnected forces. In Chinese cosmology, the universe creates itself out of a primary chaos of material energy, organized into the c ...
, and second; the myths of longevity that arose during the Qin dynasty. The philosophy of Yin and Yang portrays the idea of balance and harmony. The Chinese garden expresses the relationship to nature and the idea of balance through the art of mimicking natural setting, thus the existence of mountains, rocks, water, and wind elements. Yin and Yang juxtapose complementary opposites: as hard as rock can be, the softness of water can dissolve it. Lake Tai rocks, limestone eroded by the water of Lake Tai, are the quintessential example. Water, air, and light run through the rock as it sits still on display. The leaky windows of the Chinese garden wall portray both steadiness and movement. The windows create a solid painting on walls, however, that steadiness changes once the wind blows or the eyes move. Chinese garden's structure is based upon the culture's creation myth, rooted in rocks and water. To have longevity is to live among mountains and water; it is to live with nature, to live like an immortal being (Xian). The garden evokes a healthy lifestyle that makes one immortal, free from the problems of civilization. Thus, Chinese landscape is known as Shan (mountain) and Shui (water). Symbolism is a key element of Chinese garden design. To the earthy tones of the Chinese garden, a touch of red or gold is often added to bring forth the Yin/Yang contrast. The colors red and gold also represent luck and wealth. Bats, dragons, and other mystic creatures carved on wooden doors are also commonly found in Chinese gardens; these are seen as signs of luck and protection. Circles portray togetherness, especially for family members, and are depicted in moon gates, moon bridges, and round tables placed within square backgrounds. The moon gate and other whimsical doorways also act to frame views and to force the viewer to pause for a transition into a new space. Paths in Chinese gardens are often uneven and sometimes consciously zigzag. These paths are like the passages of a human life. There is always something new or different when seen from a different angle, while the future is unknown and unpredictable.


European gardens


Gardens of Byzantium

The Byzantine empire spanned a period of more than 1000 years (330–1453 AD), and a geographic area from modern day Spain and Britain to the Middle East and northern Africa. Probably due to this temporal and geographic spread and its turbulent history, there is no single dominant garden style that can be labeled "Byzantine style". Archaeological evidence of public, imperial, and private gardens is scant at best, and researchers over the years have relied on literary sources to derive clues about the main features of Byzantine gardens. Romance novels such as ''Hysmine and Hysminias'' (12th century) included detailed descriptions of gardens and their popularity attests to the Byzantines’ enthusiasm for pleasure gardens (''locus amoenus''). More formal gardening texts, such as the ''Geoponika'' (10th century), were in fact encyclopaedias of accumulated agricultural practices (grafting, watering) and pagan lore (astrology, plant sympathy/antipathy relationships), going back to Hesiod's time. Their repeated publications and translations to other languages well into the 16th century is evidence to the value attributed to the horticultural knowledge of antiquity. These literary sources worked as handbooks, promoting the concepts of walled gardens with plants arranged by type. Such ideals found expression in the suburban parks (Philopation, Aretai (Constantinople), Aretai) and palatial gardens (Mesokepion, Mangana (Constantinople), Mangana) of Constantinople. The Byzantine garden tradition was influenced by the strong undercurrents of history that the empire itself was exposed to. The first and foremost influence was the adoption of Christianity as the empire's official religion by its founder Constantine the Great. The new religion signalled a departure from the ornamental pagan sculptures of the Greco-Roman garden style. The second influence was the increasing contact with the Islamic nations of the Middle East, especially after the 9th century. Lavish furnishings in the emperor's palace and the adoption of automata in the palatial gardens are evidence of this influence. The third factor was a fundamental shift in the design of the Byzantine cities after the 7th century when they became smaller in size and population as well as more ruralised. The class of wealthy aristocrats who could finance and maintain elaborate gardens probably shrank as well. The final factor was a shifting view toward a more "enclosed" garden space (''hortus conclusus''), a dominant trend in Europe at that time. The open views and vistas so much favored by the garden builders of the Roman villas were replaced by garden walls and scenic views painted on the inside of these walls. The concept of the heavenly paradise was an enclosed garden style that gained popularity during that time and especially after the iconoclastic period (7th century) with the emphasis it placed on divine punishment and repentance. An area of horticulture that flourished throughout the long history of Byzantium was that practiced by monasteries. Although archaeological evidence has provided limited evidence of monastic horticulture, a great deal can be learned by studying the foundation documents (τυπικόν, typikon) of numerous Christian monasteries, as well as the biographies of saints describing their gardening activities. From these sources, we learn that monasteries maintained monastic gardens outside their walls and watered them with complex irrigation systems fed by springs or rainwater. These gardens contained vineyards, broadleaf vegetables, and fruit trees for the sustenance of monks and pilgrims alike. The role of the gardener was frequently assumed by monks as an act of humility. Monastic horticultural practices established at that time are still in use in Christian monasteries throughout Greece and the Middle East.


Medieval

Monasteries carried on a tradition of garden design and intense horticultural techniques during the medieval period in Europe. Rather than any one particular horticultural technique employed, it is the variety of different purposes the monasteries had for their gardens that serves as testament to their sophistication. As for gardening practices, records are limited, and there are no extant monastic gardens that are entirely true to original form. There are, however, records and plans that indicate the types of garden a monastery might have had, such as those for St. Gall in Switzerland. Generally, monastic garden types consisted of kitchen gardens, infirmary gardens, cemetery orchards, cloister garths and vineyards. Individual monasteries might also have had a "green court", a plot of grass and trees where horses could graze, as well as a cellarer's garden or private gardens for obedientiaries, monks who held specific posts within the monastery. From a utilitarian standpoint, vegetable and herb gardens helped provide both alimentary and medicinal crops, which could be used to feed or treat the monks and, in some cases, the outside community. As detailed in the plans for St. Gall, these gardens were laid out in rectangular plots, with narrow paths between them to facilitate collection of yields. These beds were often surrounded with Wattle (construction), wattle fencing to prevent animals from entry. In the kitchen gardens, fennel, cabbage, onion, garlic, leeks, radishes, and parsnips might be grown, as well as peas, lentils, and beans, if space allowed for them. The infirmary gardens could contain ''Rosa gallica'' ("The Apothecary Rose"), savory, costmary, fenugreek, rosemary, peppermint, rue, iris, sage, bergamot, mint, lovage, fennel, and cumin, amongst other herbs. The herb and vegetable gardens served a purpose beyond that of production, and that was that their installation and maintenance allowed the monks to fulfil the manual labour component of the religious way of life prescribed by the Rule of St. Benedict. Orchards also served as sites for food production and as arenas for manual labour, and cemetery orchards, such as that detailed in the plan for St. Gall, showed yet more versatility. The cemetery orchard not only produced fruit, but manifested as a natural symbol of the garden of Paradise. This bi-fold concept of the garden as a space that met both physical and spiritual needs was carried over to the cloister Quadrangle (architecture), garth. The cloister garth, a claustrum consisting of the viridarium, a rectangular plot of grass surrounded by peristyle arcades, was barred to the laity, and served primarily as a place of retreat, a locus of the ''vita contemplativa''. The viridarium was often bisected or quartered by paths, and often featured a roofed fountain at the centre or side of the garth that served as a primary source for wash water and for irrigation, meeting yet more physical needs. Some cloister gardens contained small fish ponds as well, another source of food for the community. The arcades were used for teaching, sitting and meditating, or for exercise in inclement weather. There is much conjecture as to ways in which the garth served as a spiritual aid. Umberto Eco describes the green swath as a sort of balm on which a monk might rest weary eyes, so as to return to reading with renewed vigor. Some scholars suggest that, though sparsely planted, plant materials found in the cloister garth might have inspired various religious visions.(Hindsley 8) This tendency to imbue the garden with symbolic values was not inherent to the religious orders alone, but was a feature of medieval culture in general. The square cloister garth was meant to represent the four points of the compass, and so the universe as a whole. As Turner puts it, Walking around the cloister while meditating was a way of devoting oneself to the "path of life"; indeed, each of the monastic gardens was imbued with symbolic as well as palpable value, testifying to the ingenuity of its creators. In the later Middle Ages, texts, art, and literary works provide a picture of developments in garden design. During the late 12th to 15th centuries, European cities were walled for internal defense and to control trade. Though space within these walls was limited, surviving documents show that there were animals, fruit trees and kitchen gardens inside the city limits. Pietro Crescenzi, a Bolognese lawyer, wrote twelve volumes on the practical aspects of farming in the 13th century which offers a description of medieval gardening practices. From his text, we know that gardens were surrounded with stonewalls, thick hedging, or fencing, and incorporated trellises and arbors. They borrowed their form from the square or rectangular shape of the cloister and included square planting beds. Grass was also first noted in the medieval garden. In the ''De Vegetabilibus'' of Albertus Magnus, written around 1260, instructions are given for planting grass plots. Raised banks covered in turf called "turf seats" were constructed to provide seating in the garden. Fruit trees were prevalent and often grafted to produce new varieties of fruit. Gardens included a raised mound or mount to serve as a stage for viewing, and planting beds were customarily elevated on raised platforms. Two works from the late Middle Ages discuss plant cultivation. In the English poem "The Feate of Gardinage" by Jon Gardener and the general household advice given in ''Le Ménagier de Paris'' of 1393, a variety of herbs, flowers, fruit trees, and bushes were listed with instructions on their cultivation. The Ménagier provides advice by season on sowing, planting, and grafting. The most sophisticated gardening during the Middle Ages was done at the monasteries. Monks developed horticultural techniques and cultivated herbs, fruits, and vegetables. Using the medicinal herbs they grew, monks treated those suffering inside the monastery and in surrounding communities. During the Middle Ages, gardens were thought to unite the earthly with the divine. The enclosed garden as an allegory for paradise or a "lost Eden" was termed the ''hortus conclusus''. Freighted with religious and spiritual significance, enclosed gardens were often depicted in the visual arts, picturing the Virgin Mary, a fountain, a unicorn, and roses inside an enclosed area. Though Medieval gardens lacked many of the features of the Renaissance gardens that followed them, some of the characteristics of these gardens continue to be incorporated today.


The Renaissance

The Italian Renaissance inspired a revolution in private gardening. Renaissance private gardens were full of scenes from ancient mythology and other learned allusions. Water during this time was especially symbolic: it was associated with fertility and the abundance of nature. The first public parks, public gardens were built by the Spanish Crown in the 16th century, in Europe and the Americas.


French Baroque

The Garden à la française, or Baroque French gardens, was in the tradition of André Le Nôtre. The French Classical garden style, or
garden à la française The French formal garden, also called the (), is a style of garden based on symmetry and the principle of imposing order on nature. Its epitome is generally considered to be the Gardens of Versailles designed during the 17th century by the l ...
, climaxed during the reign of Louis XIV of France (1638–1715) and his head gardener of
Gardens of Versailles The Gardens of Versailles (french: Jardins du château de Versailles ) occupy part of what was once the ''Domaine royal de Versailles'', the royal demesne of the château of Versailles. Situated to the west of the palace, the gardens cover som ...
, André Le Nôtre (1613–1700). The inspiration for these gardens initially came from the
Italian Renaissance garden The Italian Renaissance garden was a new style of garden which emerged in the late 15th century at villas in Rome and Florence, inspired by classical ideals of order and beauty, and intended for the pleasure of the view of the garden and the landsc ...
of the 14th and 15th centuries and ideas of French philosopher René Descartes (1576–1650). At this time the French opened the garden up to enormous proportions compared to their Italian predecessor. Their gardens epitomize monarch and 'man' dominating and manipulating nature to show his authority, wealth, and power. Renée Descartes, the founder of analytical geometry, believed that the natural world was objectively measurable and that space is infinitely divisible. His belief that "all movement is a straight line therefore space is a universal grid of mathematical coordinates and everything can be located on its infinitely extendable planes" gave us Cartesian mathematics. Through the classical French gardens this coordinate system and philosophy is now given a physical and visual representation. This French formal and axial garden style placed the house centrally on an enormous and mainly flat property of land. A large central axis that gets narrower further from the main house, forces the viewer's perspective to the horizon line, making the property look even larger. The viewer is to see the property as a cohesive whole but at the same time is unable to see all the components of the garden. One is to be led through a logical progression or story and be surprised by elements that aren't visible until approached. There is an allegorical story referring to the owner through statues and water features which have mythological references. There are small, almost imperceptible grade changes that help conceal the gardens surprises as well as elongate the gardens views. These grand gardens have organized spaces meant to be elaborate stages for entertaining the court and guests with plays, concerts and fireworks displays. The following list of garden features were used: *allée *axis of symmetry *bosquet *Broderie (garden feature), broderie *canal *cul de sac *fountains *gloriette *grottos with rocaille *jeux d'eau *orangerie *
parterre A ''parterre'' is a part of a formal garden constructed on a level substrate, consisting of symmetrical patterns, made up by plant beds, low hedges or coloured gravels, which are separated and connected by paths. Typically it was the part of ...
*patte d'oie *sylvan theater *tapis vert *
topiary Topiary is the horticultural practice of training perennial plants by clipping the foliage and twigs of trees, shrubs and subshrubs to develop and maintain clearly defined shapes, whether geometric or fanciful. The term also refers to plants w ...


Mediterranean gardens

Due to being an early hub for Western society and being used for centuries, Mediterranean soil was fragile, and one could think of the region's landscape culture to be a conflict between fruitfulness and frugality. The area consisted largely of small-scale agricultural plots. Later, following World War II, Mediterranean immigrants brought this agricultural style to Canada, where fruit trees and vegetables in the backyard became common.


Anglo-Dutch gardens

*Anglo-Dutch formal gardens


Picturesque and English Landscape gardens

Forested areas played a number of roles for the British in the Middle Ages, and one of those roles was to produce game for the gentry. Lords of valuable land were expected to provide a bounty of animals for hunting during royal visits. Despite being in natural locations, forested manor homes could symbolize status, wealth and power if they appeared to have all amenities. After the Industrial Revolution, Britain's forest industry shrank until it no longer existed. In response, the Garden City Movement brought urban planning into industrialized areas in the early 20th century to offset negative industrial effects such as pollution. There were several traditions that influenced English gardening in the 18th century, the first of which was to plant woods around homes. By the mid-17th century, coppice planting became consistent and was considered visually and aesthetically pleasing. Whereas forested areas were more useful for hunting purposes in Britain during the Middle Ages, 18th century patterns demonstrate a further deviation in gardening approach from practicality toward design meant to please the senses. Likewise, English pleasure grounds were influenced by Medieval groves, some of which were still in existence in 18th century Britain. This influence manifested in the form of shrubbery, sometimes organized in mazes or maze-like formations. And though also ancient, Shredding (tree-pruning technique), shredding became a common characteristic of these early gardens, as the method enabled light to enter the understory. Shredding was used to make garden grove (nature), groves, which ideally included an orchard with fruit trees, fragrant herbs and flowers, and moss-covered pathways. While the earliest account of a botanical garden was in Pisa in 1543, the first discovered English botanical garden was in Oxford in 1621. Near London, the gardens at Kew was established in 1759.August, dowager princess of Wales
worked with well-known botanists of the time, Lord Bute and Stephen Hales, to greatly expand the garden with exotic plants. By 1769, Kew Gardens contained over 3,400 variations of plants. The picturesque garden style emerged in England in the 18th century, one of the growing currents of the larger Romantic movement. Garden designers like William Kent and Capability Brown emulated the allegorical landscape paintings of European artists, especially Claude Lorraine, Poussin and Salvator Rosa. The manicured hills, lakes and trees dotted with allegorical temples were sculpted into the land. By the 1790s there was a reaction against these stereotypical compositions; a number of thinkers began to promote the idea of picturesque gardens. The leader of the movement was landscape theorist William Gilpin (clergyman), William Gilpin, an accomplished artist known for his realistic depictions of Nature. He preferred the natural landscape over the manicured and urged designers to respond to the topography of a given site. He also noted that while classical beauty was associated with the smooth and neat, picturesque beauty had a wilder, untamed quality. The picturesque style also incorporated architectural follies—castles, Gothic ruins, rustic cottages—built to add interest and depth to the landscape Controversy between the picturesque school and proponents of the more manicured garden raged well into the 19th century. Landscape designer Humphry Repton supported Gilpin's ideas, particularly that of the garden harmonizing with surrounding landforms. He was attacked in the press by two rival theorists, Richard Payne Knight and Uvedale Price. Repton countered by highlighting the differences between painting and landscape gardening, William Shenstone has been credited with coining the term ‘landscape gardening’. Unlike a painting, the viewer moves through a garden, constantly shifting viewpoints. The
French landscape garden The French landscape garden (french: jardin anglais, jardin à l'anglaise, jardin paysager, jardin pittoresque, jardin anglo-chinois) is a style of garden inspired by idealized romantic landscapes and the paintings of Hubert Robert, Claude Lorrai ...
, also called the ''jardin anglais'' or ''jardin pittoresque'', was influenced by contemporary English gardens. Rococo features like Turkish tents and Chinese bridges are prevalent in French gardens in the 18th century. The French Picturesque garden style falls into two categories: those that were staged, almost like theatrical scenery, usually rustic and exotic, called ''jardin anglo-chinois'', and those filled with pastoral romance and bucolic sentiment, influenced by Jean-Jacques Rousseau. The former style is represented by the Désert de Retz and Parc Monceau, the latter by the Moulin Jolie. The rusticity found in French picturesque gardens is also derived from admiration of Dutch 17th-century landscape painting and works of the French 18th-century artists Claude-Henri Watelet, François Boucher and Hubert Robert. English garden is the common term in the English-speaking world for interpretations, derivations, and revivals in the style of the original Landscape Garden examples.


Gardenesque gardens

The gardenesque style of English garden design evolved during the 1820s from Humphry Repton's Picturesque or "Mixed" style, largely through the efforts of J. C. Loudon, who invented the term. In a gardenesque plan, all trees, shrubs, and other plants are positioned and managed in such a way that the character of each plant can be displayed to its full potential. With the spread of botany as a suitable subject of study for the enlightened, the gardenesque tended to emphasize botanical curiosities and a collector's approach. New plant material that would have seemed bizarre and alien in earlier gardening found settings: pampas grass from Argentina and monkey-puzzle trees from Chile, for example. Winding paths linked scattered plantings. The gardenesque approach involved the creation of small-scale landscapes, dotted with features and vignettes, to promote beauty of detail, variety and mystery, sometimes to the detriment of coherence. Artificial mounds helped to stage groupings of shrubs, and island beds became prominent features.


Wild gardens and herbaceous borders

The books of William Robinson describing his own "wild" gardening at Gravetye Manor in Sussex, and the sentimental picture of a rosy, idealized "cottage garden" of the kind pictured by Kate Greenaway, which had scarcely existed historically, both influenced the development of the mixed herbaceous borders that were advocated by
Gertrude Jekyll Gertrude Jekyll ( ; 29 November 1843 – 8 December 1932) was a British horticulturist, garden designer, craftswoman, photographer, writer and artist. She created over 400 gardens in the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States, and wrote ...
at Munstead Wood in Surrey from the 1890s. Her plantings, which mixed shrubs with perennial and annual plants and bulbs in deep beds within more formal structures of terraces and stairs designed by Edwin Lutyens, set the model for high-style, high-maintenance gardening until the Second World War. Vita Sackville-West's garden at Sissinghurst Castle Garden, Sissinghurst Castle, Kent is the most famous and influential garden of this last blossoming of romantic style, publicized by the gardener's own gardening column in ''The Observer''. The trend continued in the gardening of Margery Fish at East Lambrook Manor. In the last quarter of the 20th century, less structured wildlife gardening emphasized the ecology, ecological framework of similar gardens using native plants. A leading proponent in the United States was the landscape architect Jens Jensen (landscape architect), Jens Jensen. He designed city and regional parks, and private estate (land), estates, with a honed aesthetic of art and nature.


Mesoamerican gardens

In the Western Hemisphere, various Mesoamerican cultures, such as the Maya civilization, Maya, Mixtec civilization, Mixtecs, and Nahua people, Nahua peoples (including the Aztec Empire) had both practical and aesthetic gardening traditions. The Maya made extensive usage of forest gardens for food and medicinal plant production, including with their Maya city, cities. The Aztec elite built elaborate pleasure gardens in the Valley of Mexico consisting of various types of plants as well as water features such as aqueduct-fed fountains. Aztec and Maya gardens had a strong focus on fertility, due to their primarily agricultural nature. The Aztecs also had a strong love of flowers, placing great religious, metaphorical, and philosophical significance on them.


Contemporary gardens

*Romantic cottage garden, English cottage garden revival *Modernist gardens *Conservation (ethic), Naturalistic Wildlife garden, habitat gardens In the 20th century, modern design for gardens became important as architects began to design buildings and residences with an eye toward innovation and streamlining the formal Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts and derivative early revival styles, removing unnecessary references and embellishment. Garden design, inspired by modern architecture, naturally followed in the same philosophy of "form following function", thus concerning the many philosophies of plant maturity. In post-war United States people's residences and domestic lives became more outdoor oriented, especially in the western states as promoted by Sunset (magazine), ''Sunset'', with the backyard often becoming an outdoor room. Frank Lloyd Wright demonstrated his interpretation for the modern garden by designing homes in complete harmony with natural surroundings. Taliesin (studio), Taliesin and Fallingwater are both examples of careful placement of architecture in nature so the relationship between the residence and surroundings become seamless. His son, Lloyd Wright, trained in architecture and landscape architecture in the Olmsted Brothers office, with his father and with architect Irving Gill. He practiced an innovative organic integration of structure and landscape in his works. Subsequently, Garrett Eckbo, James C. Rose, James Rose, and Dan Kiley – known as the "bad boys of Harvard" – met while studying traditional landscape architecture became notable pioneers in the design of modern gardens. As Harvard embraced Modern architecture, modern design in their school of architecture, these designers wanted to interpret and incorporate those new ideas in landscape design. They became interested in developing functional space for outdoor living with designs echoing natural surroundings. Modern gardens feature a fresh mix of curved and architectonic designs and many include abstract art in geometrics and sculpture. Spaces are defined with the thoughtful placement of trees and plantings. Thomas Church work in California was influential through his books and other publications. In Sonoma County, California his 1948 Donnell garden's swimming pool, kidney-shaped with an abstract sculpture within it, became an icon of modern outdoor living. In Mexico Luis Barragán explored a synthesis of International style (architecture), International style modernism with native Mexican tradition in private estates and residential development projects such as Jardines del Pedregal and the San Cristobal 'Los Clubes' Estates in Mexico City. In civic design the Torres de Satélite are urban sculptures of substantial dimensions in Naucalpan, Naucalpan, Mexico. His house, studio, and gardens, built in 1948 in Mexico City, was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004.
Roberto Burle Marx Roberto Burle Marx (August 4, 1909 – June 4, 1994) was a Brazilian landscape architect (as well as a painter, print maker, ecologist, naturalist, artist and musician) whose designs of parks and gardens made him world-famous. He is accredite ...
is accredited with having introduced modernist landscape architecture to Brazil. He was known as a modern nature artist and a public urban space designer. He was landscape architect (as well as a botanist, Painting, painter, print maker, ecologist, naturalist, artist, and musician) who designed of parks and gardens in Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and in the United States in Florida. He worked with the architects Lúcio Costa and Oscar Niemeyer on the landscape design for some of the prominent modernist government buildings in Brazil's capitol Brasília.


Historic gardeners

The following names, roughly in historical order, made contributions that affected the history of gardens, whether as botanist explorers, designers, garden-makers, or writers. Further information on them will be found under their individual entries. *
Theophrastus Theophrastus (; grc-gre, Θεόφραστος ; c. 371c. 287 BC), a Greek philosopher and the successor to Aristotle in the Peripatetic school. He was a native of Eresos in Lesbos.Gavin Hardy and Laurence Totelin, ''Ancient Botany'', Routledge ...
*
Lucullus Lucius Licinius Lucullus (; 118–57/56 BC) was a Roman general and statesman, closely connected with Lucius Cornelius Sulla. In culmination of over 20 years of almost continuous military and government service, he conquered the eastern kingdom ...
*Tiberius *Pliny the Elder *Pliny the Younger *Pacello da Mercogliano *John Tradescant the elder and John Tradescant the younger, his son of the same name *Carolus Clusius *André le Nôtre *Thomas Hill (author), Thomas Hill *John Evelyn *George London (landscape architect), George London *Henry Wise (gardener), Henry Wise *William Kent *Capability Brown, Lancelot "Capability" Brown *Humphry Repton *
Andrew Jackson Downing Andrew Jackson Downing (October 31, 1815 – July 28, 1852) was an American landscape designer, horticulturist, and writer, a prominent advocate of the Gothic Revival in the United States, and editor of ''The Horticulturist'' magazine (1846–5 ...
*
Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the USA. Olmsted was famous for co- ...
*Loddiges, George Loddiges *Giovanni Baptista Ferrari *John Claudius Loudon, John Loudon *Friedrich Ludwig von Sckell *Peter Joseph Lenné *Joseph Paxton *Thomas Jefferson *William Robinson (gardener) *
Gertrude Jekyll Gertrude Jekyll ( ; 29 November 1843 – 8 December 1932) was a British horticulturist, garden designer, craftswoman, photographer, writer and artist. She created over 400 gardens in the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States, and wrote ...
*Constance Villiers-Stuart *Lawrence Waterbury Johnston, Lawrence Johnston *Edwin Lutyens *Vita Sackville-West *Claude Monet *Jens Jensen (landscape architect), Jens Jensen *Theodore Payne *Beatrix Farrand *Florence Yoch + Louise Council *Ganna Walska *Lockwood DeForest *A.E. Hanson *Russell Page *Luis Barragán *Gustav Ammann *Lawrence Halprin *
Roberto Burle Marx Roberto Burle Marx (August 4, 1909 – June 4, 1994) was a Brazilian landscape architect (as well as a painter, print maker, ecologist, naturalist, artist and musician) whose designs of parks and gardens made him world-famous. He is accredite ...
*Xavier de Winthuysen *Nicolau María Rubió i Tudurí *Sylvia Crowe *Pietro Porcinai *Gerard Antoni Ciołek, Gerard Ciołek *Gilles Clément


Notable historic gardens


Brazil

*Brasília- selected locations; (
Roberto Burle Marx Roberto Burle Marx (August 4, 1909 – June 4, 1994) was a Brazilian landscape architect (as well as a painter, print maker, ecologist, naturalist, artist and musician) whose designs of parks and gardens made him world-famous. He is accredite ...
) *Ibirapuera Park, São Paulo, Brazil, São Paulo


Canada

*Butchart Gardens, The Butchart Gardens (British Columbia) (1909) *Halifax Public Gardens, Halifax Public Gardens (Nova Scotia) (1867) *Royal Botanical Gardens (Ontario) (1932) *Montreal Botanical Garden, Montreal Botanical Garden (Quebec) (1931)


China

*Gardens of Suzhou *Summer Palace *Beihai Park *Yuyuan Garden *Prince Gong Mansion


England


Public gardens

*Meadow of Moorfields, London (1605) (destroyed) *Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park, London (1728) *Peel Park, Salford, Peel Park, Salford (1846) *Kew Gardens, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond (1771)


Private gardens

*Blenheim Palace *Chatsworth House#Chatsworth's garden, Chatsworth *Fountains Abbey *Hidcote Manor Garden *Lost Gardens of Heligan *Rousham House *Sissinghurst Castle *Stourhead *Stowe Gardens


France


Public gardens

*Champs-Élysées, Paris (1640) *Jardin des Tuileries, Paris (1664) *Bois de Boulogne, Paris (1852) *Place des Vosges, Paris (1682)


Private gardens

*Chateau Fontainebleau *Château de Marly *Château de Villandry *Parc Jean-Jacques Rousseau *Fondation Monet in Giverny *
Gardens of Versailles The Gardens of Versailles (french: Jardins du château de Versailles ) occupy part of what was once the ''Domaine royal de Versailles'', the royal demesne of the château of Versailles. Situated to the west of the palace, the gardens cover som ...
*Potager du roi, Versailles (King's Kitchen Garden) *Vaux-le-Vicomte


Germany

*Muskau Park *Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Realm *Herrenhausen Gardens


Hungary

*City Park (Budapest) (1810)


India

*Shalimar Bagh (Srinagar), Shalimar Gardens (Jammu and Kashmir (state), Jammu and Kashmir) *Brindavan Gardens (Mysore) *Mughal Garden (Rashtrapati Bhavan, Delhi)


Iraq

*
Hanging Gardens of Babylon The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World listed by Hellenic culture. They were described as a remarkable feat of engineering with an ascending series of tiered gardens containing a wide variety of tre ...


Ireland

*Historic Cork Gardens *Powerscourt Gardens *Mount Usher Gardens


Israel

*Terraces (Bahá'í), Bahá'í Hanging Gardens of Haifa


Italy


Public gardens

*Poplars mall in Campo Vaccino in the area of the ancient Roman Forum, Rome (1656) (destroyed)


Private gardens

*Bomarzo *
Hadrian's Villa Hadrian's Villa ( it, Villa Adriana) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site comprising the ruins and archaeological remains of a large villa complex built c. AD 120 by Roman Emperor Hadrian at Tivoli outside Rome. The site is owned by the Republic of ...
*Villa d'Este *Palazzo Giusti, Giardino Giusti *Reggia di Caserta *Boboli Gardens *Villa Gamberaia *Villa Lante *Villa Massei


Japan

*Daisen-in *Ryōan-ji *Katsura Imperial Villa *Shugakuin Imperial Villa


Malaysia

*KLCC Park, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur


Mexico

*Mexico City Alameda Central, Alameda Central, Mexico City (1592) *Jardin Borda, Jardín Borda, Cuernavaca (1783)


Netherlands

*Elswout near Haarlem *Het Loo * The gardens of Twickel Castle, Weldam Castle and Warmelo Castle in Hof van Twente * The Gardens of Mien Ruys in Dedemsvaart * The Garden of Piet Oudolf in Hummelo


Norway

*Frogner Park *Palace Park *Nygårdsparken


Pakistan

*Shalimar Gardens (Lahore)


Peru

*Alameda de los Descalzos, Lima (1611)


Poland

*Arkadia, Łowicz County, Arkadia *Baranów Sandomierski *Krasiczyn *Łazienki Park, Warsaw *Muskauer Park *Nieborów *Saxon Garden, Warsaw *Wilanow Palace, Wilanów


Russia

*Kuskovo *Arkhangelskoye Estate *Tsaritsyno Park, Tsaritsyno *Oranienbaum, Russia, Oranienbaum *Ostafyevo *Vlakhernskoye-Kuzminki *Pavlovsk Garden, Pavlovsk *Peterhof Palace *Summer Garden *Monrepo *Lyublino District, Lyublino


Scotland


Public gardens

*Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Edinburgh (1670)


Spain


Public gardens

*La Alameda, Seville, La Alameda de Hércules, Seville (1574)Albardonedo Freire, Antonio (2002), El Urbanismo de Sevilla durante el reinado de Felipe II. Sevilla, Guadalquivir Ediciones, , pp. 191-208. *Paseo de San Pablo de Écija (Sevilla) (1578) (destroyed) *Real Jardín Botánico de Madrid (1781)


Private gardens

*Alhambra. A Royal park that was closed to the public. *Alcázar of Seville, Real Alcázar de Sevilla. A Royal park that was closed to the public. *Monforte *Laberinto de Horta *El Capricho de la Alameda de Osuna *La Concepción *El Retiro. A Royal park that was closed to the public. *Fábrica de Paños de Brihuega *Pazo de Oca


Sweden


Public gardens

*Bergianska trädgården *Botaniska trädgården (Lund) *Botaniska trädgården (Uppsala) *Drottningholm Palace *Gothenburg Botanical Garden *Hagaparken *Linnaean Garden *Linnaeus Hammarby *Norrviken Gardens *Sofiero Castle


Ukraine

*A.V. Fomin Botanical Garden *Kremenets Botanical Garden *Sofiyivsky Park *M.M. Gryshko National Botanical Garden


United States


Public gardens

*Central Park, New York City *Boston Common, Boston, (1830) *Golden Gate Park, San Francisco (1860)


Private gardens

*Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C. *The Huntington Library, Huntington Gardens, San Marino, California, San Marino *Lotusland, Montecito, California, Montecito *Casa del Herrero, Montecito, California, Montecito *Filoli, Woodside, California, Woodside *Ruth Bancroft Garden, Walnut Creek, California, Walnut Creek *Allerton Garden, Kauai, Hawaii *Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania *Nemours Mansion and Gardens, Wilmington, Delaware *Winterthur Museum and Country Estate, Winterthur, Delaware *Fair Lane, Dearborn, Michigan *Edsel and Eleanor Ford House, Gaukler Point, Grosse Pointe, Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan *Meadowburn Farm (Helena Rutherfurd Ely), Vernon Township, New Jersey.


Venezuela

*Parque del Este, Caracas


See also

*Index of gardening articles (primary resource) *:Landscape design history, Landscape design history *:Gardens by country, Gardens by country *List of garden types *Landscape Institute *Museum of Garden History *Australian Garden History Society *The Garden Conservancy *Garden tourism *Historic garden conservation


References


Citations


Sources

*Albardonedo Freire, Antonio, El Urbanismo de Sevilla durante el reinado de Felipe II. Sevilla, Guadalquivir Ediciones, 2002, , pp. 191–208. *Amirsadeghi, Hossein, editor. ''The Arts of Persia''. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989. *Brooke, Christopher Nugent Lawrence.'' The Age of the Cloister: The Story of Monastic Life in the Middle Ages''. New Jersey: Hidden Spring, 2003. *Gerard Ciolek. ''Ogrody polskie (Gardens of Poland).'' Revised edition of the 1954 publication under the same title, updated and expanded by Janusz Bogdanowski. Warszawa: Arkady *Carroll, Maureen. ''Earthly Paradises: Ancient Gardens in History and Archaeology.'' London: British Museum Press, 1986. * *Hindsley, Leonard Patrick. ''The Mystics of Engelthal: Writings from a Medieval Monastery''. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998. *Khansari, Mehdi et al. ''The Persian Garden, Echoes of Paradise.'' Washington, D.C.: Mage Publishing, 1998. * Lauterbach, Iris
The European Landscape Garden, ca. 1710–1800EGO - European History Online
Mainz
Institute of European History
retrieved: March 25, 2021
pdf
, 2017. *Lawrence, C.H. ''Medieval Monasticism : Forms of Religious Life in Western Europe in the Middle Ages''. New York: Longman, 2001. *Littlewood, Anthony, Henry Maguire, and Joachim Wolschke-Bulmahn. ''Byzantine Garden Culture''. Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks, 2002. *Francesco Pona, Pona, Franceso, Sileno overo Delle Bellezze del Luogo dell'Ill.mo Sig. Co. Gio. Giacomo Giusti, 1620 Angelo Tamo, Verona *Francesco Pona, Pona, Franceso, Il Paradiso de' Fiori overo Lo archetipo de' Giardini, 1622 Angelo Tamo, Verona *Rogers, Elizabeth Barlow, ''Landscape Design: A Cultural and Architectural History''. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. 2001. *Stockstad, Marilyn and Jerry Stannard. ''Gardens of the Middle Ages''. Kansas: University of Kansas, 1983. *Taylor, Patrick'', The Oxford Companion to the Garden''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. *Thacker, Christopher, ''The History of Gardens''. California, University of California Press, 1979. *Threlfall-Homes, Miranda. ''Monks and Markets: Durham Cathedral Priory 1460–1520'', Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005. *Turner, Tom. ''Garden History, Philosophy and Design, 2000 BC–2000 AD.'' New York: Spon Press, 2005. *commons:File:Accademia di Belle Arti Bologna, GIARDINO GIUSTI (Verona Storia dell'Arte giardino all'italiana), Tesi di Diploma di Paolo Villa, A.A. 1993-94, relatori Eleonora Frattarolo e Fabia Farneti ed 2013 con immagini.pdf, Villa, Paolo, Giardino Giusti 1993-94 pdf, with maps and 200 photos. *Marek Żukow-Karczewski, Żukow-Karczewski, Marek. ''Ogrody i sady w dawnej Polsce'' (Gardens and orchards in the old Poland), "AURA" (A Monthly for the Protection and Shaping of Human Environment), 11, 1987.


External links


Gardening History TimelineLeicestershire & Rutland Gardens TrustThe Garden History SocietyThe American Garden Museum
{{Horticulture and gardening Garden design history