Garden: as old as civilization

from Anglo-Saxon language

(Grydon, “to enclose”)

Paradise: Persian word for garden

THE GARDEN OF EDEN
 The first known garden
 A terrestrial paradise which contained all that
was needed or desired
 There are hypotheses that locate Eden at the
headwaters of the Tigris and Euphrates
(northern Mesopotamia), in Iraq (Mesopotamia),
Africa, and the Persian Gulf.
food shelter, privacy, protection from the
environment
 Landscape Traces from
Ancient Egypt (3000 BC )
➢The earliest evidence for ornamental
gardens is seen in Egyptian tomb
paintings of the 1500 BC; they depict
lotus ponds surrounded by rows of
acacias and palms.

➢Royalty, most likely that found in

Egypt, was probably also very
instrumental in the development of the
gardens.
Egyptian gardens: Salient Features
 Represent human domination over plants
coz at edge of desert where natural vegetation
sparse
 Formalism originated in Egyptian gardens
 No natural landscape to copy except natural
oasis
 Pools to supply “oasis feeling”
 Plantings ordered in straight lines for
irrigation
Egyptian gardens: Salient Features

▪ Irrigation canals common feature

▪ Gardens enclosed on flat land

▪ Fences and walls to protect plants

▪ Bower and Pergola were introduced

▪ lattice work covered with vines for shade

▪ Fruits, Vineyards, Vegetables

 Irrigating and harvest in Egyptian
vegetable garden

Four workers transporting

trees
Harvesting pomegranates interspersed with columns next to T-shaped pool

Garden planted with fig, olive trees and flowering plants containing a pavilion with steps .
Randomly-placed trees within a square
enclosure surrounding square pool

Palace of a Governor of Ancient Egypt.

Trees and bushes from
the tomb of Sennedjem
at Deir el-Medina
The other ancient gardening tradition is of
Persia

Darius the Great was said to have had a

"paradise garden"
 Hanging Gardens of Babylon
•Hanging gardens of Babylon: one of the ancient
wonders.

•Designed and built for royalty .

•Walled gardens predominate

•Irrigation from canals and wells

•Flowers were also introduced

•Gardens become synonymous with relaxation and

pleasure.
 Terraces
 Outdoor living spaces
 Lush terraced gardens in arid desert climate
Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Main feature in city planning used in Greek
town design was called the “agora”
The agora was used as:

 A central meeting and market place.

 The “Town Square” where community events
and activities took place.
 Manipulated landscape to their desires

 Master builders who used natural site for

planning building their architecture

 Government buildings were located in high,

elevated places

 Amphitheatres were built into existing

sloped topography
 Roman Gardens
1st Centuary
Great advances in gardens
Combination of order with great wealth
Quincunx formation (persists in cemeteries)
X X
X
X X
Villa Rustica: country estates
Villa Urbana: urban estates
Academies: grassy enclosures
Garden Elements in Roman Gardens
Porticos: colonnaded or covered ambulatory walks

Groves of trees (plane & cypress predominate)

Grottos (artificial caves)

Water and water work, fountain

Terraces

Topiary: heavy pruned shrubs

Thick outer walls. Indoors to Outdoors

Atrium ( Interior Garden)

Peristyle (Entry Garden)

Larger Courtyard

Sculpture (many painted)

colonnades (architectural and plants)

Villa of the Papyri. Large peristyle garden
Peristyle garden, House of the Little Fountain
Peristyle garden, House of Venus Marina
Vine-covered Triclinium
 The garden room in the Roman villa
Garden scene of which this is a part ran around all four walls
(Late 1st century BC)
Garden painting, House of Venus Marina
 MAIN FEATURES OF PERSIAN GARDENS

 Central fountain traveling in four directions

 Formal layout
 Climate control
 Use of water in central fountain
 Symmetry of layout
Medieval Gardens (500 AD. - 1500 AD.)

▪ Monastery
▪ Ornamental and kitchen gardens
▪ Cloisters
A covered walk with an open colonnade on one side
▪ Castle gardens and the nobility
▪ Luxury and opulence
▪ Functional
▪ Fortified/ fortressed
▪ Symmetrical formal layout
 PLEASURE GARDEN

 Space for leisure, courting; romance

 Not intended for survival; food production
 Place for music, art, poetry, literature
14th century, Earliest use of wattle fence
15th century miniature Marbled pillared pergola
with raised beds 1499
18th century tools 1787
 MAJOR FEATURES

 Water-central fountain
 Formal layout; symmetrical design
 Climate control
 Patio-outdoor courtyard space
 Central fountain
 Use of natural materials
 Climate control
 EXAMPLES

 Seville- “The Alcazar”

 Granada- “The Alhambra”
 Fountain at
Alhamra Court
Alhambra Court
With patio and
central pond
 ITALY (1400 AD. -1600 AD.)

Characteristics

▪ Formal layout

▪ Manipulated land forms

▪ Steep sloped topography

 Parterres
 An ornamental flower garden having the beds and paths arranged to
form a pattern
 Terraces
 A raised bank of earth having vertical or sloping sides and a flat top:
turning a hillside into a series of ascending terraces for farming
 Water features
 Opulence
 wealth
 Topiary
 Maze
 An intricate, usually confusing network of interconnecting pathways,
as in a garden; a labyrinth. A physical situation in which it is easy to
get lost
 SIGNIFICANT EVENTS OCCURING IN
ITALY DURING GARDEN DEVELOPMENT

 The Renaissance (A cultural revival)

 Formal Town Planning
Maze
Boboli Gardens, Florence
Boboli Gardens, Florence
Boboli Gardens, Florence
Villa de este, Italy
 THE GARDENS OF THE RENAISSANCE
VILLA LA GAMBERAIA

Beyond the geometric pools, flanked with regimented bushes of

box and yew, clipped arcades in a cypress hedge allow a view
into the valley. Paths and plants in ornamental pots divide the
stone-edged water sections and centre on a glittering fountain
Waist-high trim box hedging, making a pattern of enclosed beds. The
avenue of cypresses is the main directional axis of the garden; the tall
spires link the area below the cliff face with the heights above
Pope’s Residence, Vatican City
 Origins of Gardens and
Urban Planning

Turin before fire of 1659 Turin rebuilt

 CHARACTERISTICS

 Dramatic and grandiose scale

 Level topography
 Elaborate beds and planters
 Formal garden style
 Referred to as the grand style
 FEATURES
 Parterre
 Alley
 A path between flower beds or trees in a garden or park

 Topiary
 Pollarding
 A tree whose top branches have been cut back to the trunk so
that it may produce a dense growth of new shoots.
 Pleaching
 To plait or interlace (branches or vines, for example),
especially in making a hedge or an arbor
French Gardens: Versailles The South Parterre
Originally designed by Le Notre in the 17th century, the gardens at
Courances were restored by Achille Duchene in the 1930s
Early English garden style: FORMAL

Influenced by:
 France

 Italy

 Spain
 16 - 17th Century - Formal Style

 18th century - Informal “Naturalistic”

 19th - 20th century- Japanese influence

 Naturalistic •Rolling Hills

 Spacious lawn •Spacious Areas

 Large Bodies of Water

 Asymmetrical
 FUNCTIONALITY
 PRACTICALITY
 ENVIRONMENTAL AND CLIENT NEEDS
 DESIGN CONCEPTS
 PEDESTRIAN MALLS
 ROOF GARDENS
 CLUSTER HOUSING
 INTERIORSCAPING
 ENVIRONMENTALLY CONCIOUS LANDSCAPES
Claude Monet Garden Quotes:
“I am following Nature without being
able to grasp her...
I perhaps owe having become a
painter to flowers.”
“Everything I have earned has gone
into these gardens”.
“My garden is my most beautiful
masterpiece”.