's forest garden in
Shropshire, England
Ancient times Forest gardening, a forest-based food production system, is the world's oldest form of gardening. After the emergence of the first
civilizations, wealthy individuals began to create gardens for aesthetic purposes.
Ancient Egyptian tomb paintings from the
New Kingdom (around 1500 BC) provide some of the earliest physical evidence of ornamental
horticulture and landscape design; they depict
lotus ponds surrounded by symmetrical rows of
acacias and
palms. A notable example of ancient ornamental gardens was the
Hanging Gardens of Babylon—one of the
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World —while
ancient Rome had dozens of gardens. Wealthy ancient Egyptians used gardens to provide shade. Egyptians associated trees and gardens with gods, believing that their deities were pleased by gardens. Gardens in ancient Egypt were often surrounded by walls with trees planted in rows. Among the most popular species planted were
date palms, sycamores,
fig trees, nut trees, and
willows. These gardens were a sign of higher socioeconomic status. In addition, wealthy ancient Egyptians grew vineyards, as wine was a sign of the higher social classes.
Roses, poppies,
daisies and
irises could all also be found in the gardens of the Egyptians.
Assyria was renowned for its beautiful gardens. These tended to be wide and large, some of them used for hunting game, rather like a game reserve today, and others as leisure gardens.
Cypresses and palms were some of the most frequently planted types of trees. Gardens were also available in
Kush. In
Musawwarat es-Sufra, the Great Enclosure, dated to the 3rd century BC, included splendid gardens.
Ancient Roman gardens were laid out with hedges and vines and contained a wide variety of flowers—
acanthus,
cornflowers,
crocus,
cyclamen, hyacinth, iris, ivy,
lavender, lilies, myrtle, narcissus, poppy,
rosemary and violets—as well as statues and sculptures. Flower beds were popular in the courtyards of rich Romans.
The Middle Ages The
Middle Ages represent a period of decline in gardens for aesthetic purposes. After the fall of Rome, gardening was done for the purpose of growing
medicinal herbs and/or decorating church
altars. Monasteries carried on a tradition of
garden design and intense horticultural techniques during the medieval period in
Europe. 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.
Islamic gardens were built after the model of
Persian gardens, and they were usually enclosed by walls and divided into four by watercourses. Commonly, the centre of the garden would have a
reflecting pool or
pavilion. Specific to the Islamic gardens are the
mosaics and glazed tiles used to decorate the rills and
fountains that were built in these gardens. By the late 13th century, rich Europeans began to grow gardens for leisure and medicinal herbs and vegetables. During the next two centuries, Europeans started planting lawns and raising flowerbeds and trellises of roses. Fruit trees were common in these gardens, and also in some, there were turf seats. At the same time, the gardens in the
monasteries were a place to grow flowers and medicinal herbs, but they were also a space where the
monks could enjoy nature and relax. The gardens in the 16th and 17th centuries were
symmetric, proportioned and balanced with a more classical appearance. Most of these gardens were built around a central axis, and they were divided into different parts by hedges. Commonly, gardens had flowerbeds laid out in squares and separated by gravel paths. Gardens during the
Renaissance were adorned with sculptures,
topiary and fountains. In the 17th century,
knot gardens became popular along with the
hedge mazes. By this time, Europeans started planting new flowers such as
tulips, marigolds and
sunflowers.
Cottage gardens Cottage gardens, which emerged in
Elizabethan times, appear to have originated as a local source for herbs and fruits. One theory is that they arose out of the
Black Death of the 1340s, when the death of so many laborers made land available for small cottages with personal gardens. According to the late 19th-century legend of origin, These gardens were originally created by the workers who lived in the cottages of the villages to provide them with food and herbs, with flowers planted among them for decoration.
Farm workers were provided with cottages that had architectural quality set in a small garden—about —where they could grow food and keep pigs and chickens. Authentic gardens of the
yeoman cottager would have included a beehive and
livestock, and frequently a pig and sty, along with a well. The peasant cottager of medieval times was more interested in meat than flowers, with herbs grown for medicinal use rather than for their beauty. By Elizabethan times, there was more prosperity, and thus more room to grow flowers. Even the early cottage garden flowers typically had their practical use—violets were spread on the floor (for their pleasant scent and keeping out vermin);
calendulas and
primroses were both attractive and used in cooking. Others, such as
sweet William and
hollyhocks, were grown entirely for their beauty.
18th century , a
landscape garden originally laid out in the 18th century by
Capability Brown In the 18th century, gardens were laid out more naturally, without any walls. This style of smooth, undulating grass, which would run straight to the house, clumps, belts and scattering of trees and serpentine lakes formed by invisibly damming small rivers, was a new style within the
English landscape. This was a "gardenless" form of landscape gardening, which swept away almost all the remnants of previous, formally patterned styles. The
English landscape garden usually included a lake, lawns set against
groves of trees, and often contained shrubberies, grottoes, pavilions, bridges and
follies such as mock temples, Gothic ruins, bridges, and other picturesque architecture, designed to recreate an idyllic pastoral landscape. This new style emerged in England in the early 18th century, and spread across Europe, replacing the more formal, symmetrical
garden à la française of the 17th century as the principal gardening style of Europe. The English garden presented an idealized view of nature. They were often inspired by paintings of landscapes by
Claude Lorrain and
Nicolas Poussin, and some were Influenced by the classic
Chinese gardens of the East, The work of
Lancelot 'Capability' Brown was particularly influential. Also, in 1804, the Horticultural Society was formed. Gardens of the 19th century contained plants such as the monkey puzzle or
Chile pine. This is also the time when the so-called "
gardenesque" style of gardens evolved. These gardens displayed a wide variety of flowers in a rather small space.
Rock gardens increased in popularity in the 19th century. In ancient India, patterns from
sacred geometry and
mandalas were used to design gardens. Distinct mandala patterns denoted specific deities, planets, or even constellations. Such a garden was also referred to as a 'Mandala Vaatika'. The word 'Vaatika' can mean garden, plantation or parterre. ==Types==