Origins of Garden Design
Discover the origins of garden design with GardenDesignerSolved.com. Have ornamental gardens existed for centuries or are they a new invention? Learn about garden design history and theory, and see how successive periods have influenced modern garden designs and planting styles.
The beginning of ornamental garden design
Some facts
It is a commonly held belief that the 16th Century marks a
turning
point in garden history; a shift from plants beng considered as food
and medicine, to be considered for purely ornamental purposes.
There is evidence of ornamental gardens as far back as the
Egyptians...
Read
more »
Sumerian Hunting Parks 4000BC
The original plant collectors?
The Sumerians created fertile land through the use of irrigation and canals. They later began to design opulent hunting parks, often thought to be the first expression of a landscape designed for pleasure. Although these hunting parks did provide food for the Sumerians, they weren also one of the first incarnations of the sport of hunting, in a man made environment, as a leisure pursuit. Read more »
Evidence of Egyptian Garden Design
Learning from tomb paintings 2000BC
Tomb paintings depicting trees, flowers and ornamental pools, suggest the idea of an ornamental garden was adopted by the Eygptians too Read more »
Persian Garden Design & The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
The garden as paradise 1000BC
The concept of an ornamental garden is thought to have spread to Persia as a result of both conquest and trade. No plans or archelogical evidence has been found but there are a great deal of written descriptions available, including vivid tales of ziggurats and the fabled Hanging Gardens of Babylon Read more »
Greek interest in the herbal properties of plants
The beginning of Botany
The Greeks were not keen ornamental gardeners, but they did show a keen interest in the herbal properties of plants. Herbals such as 'Naturalis Historia' by Pliny the Elder and the 'Enquiry into Plants' by Theoprastus showed the Greeks to be keen botanists if not keen garden designers Read more »
Chinese Pleasure Parks
Plants for your garden
Extravagant pleasure parks were created at the Emperors whim
in
China from about 500BC. These landscapes were designed to
tempt
the Immortals, who it was thought would bestow eternal life upon the
Emperors. Read
more
»
Roman gardens designed for pleasure
The outdoor room
Whilst many garden designers think of the 'outdoor room' as a recent invention in garden design history, credit should perhaps be given to the Romans, who included a central 'Peristyle' or garden courtyard in private houses from as early as the 3rd Century BC Read more »
