Gardens have always been intrinsic to European culture for numerous reasons including, but not limited to, the beauty, utility, and a display of wealth and power.
Utility and Beauty
The term garden is incredibly broad and generic for it could include anything from a small herb garden belonging to a peasant in the medieval times to the formal French style gardens of Versailles. However, despite the varied products that are kept under the same umbrella, the gardens always serve one of two, and often both purposes: beauty and utility. From the utility aspect the vegetation in the garden can often be used as food: herbs, fruit trees, vegetables etc (Fig. 2). Gardens often involve water features ranging from streams to large fountains. These can serve as sources of water (necessary for life) as well as ways to cool the air around the garden (which can be especially useful in the city in a hot day). Therefore it necessary to have gardens to survive due to their provision of food and water.
An ambiguous term is that is usually used to describe gardens is beautiful (Fig. 1). Beauty is mostly subjective, however, there is something about nature that speaks to us a humans. Gardens represent life: be it the "rebirth" of the perennial plants, the constant life of the ever greens or the flowing water from the fountains, rivers, or stream. Therefore, if someone where looking for an escape from their arduous work, or the confines of their dark, damp castle a garden is the perfect place. The beauty of a garden, from vegetable to palace garden, is something that extends past the boundaries of social class and can be enjoyed by all.
Fig. 1: Botanical Garden in Copenhagen, Dk. This photo was taken in
the winter when the stream was not running and the leaves were not on the
trees, and yet there is something quite beautiful about it.Fig 2: Painting of a medieval herb garden
Display of wealth
Throughout history, and still today, society has deemed wealth highly valuable and the key to success and power. Therefore, a large ornate garden is designed and implemented as a display of this wealth and power as much, if not more than it is for the beauty of nature. It takes a great deal of time to constantly tend to any garden, be it formal or informal. The more formal the garden the more time and care it requires. Every garden needs to be weeded and the plants watered however, when there are topiaries (bushes or hedges that are trimmed into formal shapes; Fig. 3) and large ornate fountains (Fig. 4) constant care is required. There must be people who are designated to maintaining the garden (i.e., tending to the plants and their environment) as well at people designated to maintaining the irrigation systems and hydroplasie. Only the wealthy would have been able to afford the man power required to keep these formal gardens in prime condition, thus asserting their dominance and power.
Fig. 3: Topiaries
The link bellow to a general brief history of gardens throughout time. It provides an outline of the important dates in gardening from ancient time to the 20th century. There is general broad-stroke information about the ancient gardens (due to the limited information as well as limited gardens) and starting in the 1600's begins to give a more detailed history of famous gardens, garden designers, garden record keeping. The information is not limited to Europe, however seeing as European gardens were influenced by cultures from around the world I would consider this link very informative.
http://www.gardendigest.com/timegl.htm
Sources:
Fig 1: Picture taken by Catherine Gilbert on 1/24/14
Fig 2: http://www.herbgardendesigns.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Themes-for-Herb-Garden-Design-Medieval.jpg
Fig 3: http://www.earthflora.com/EvergreenBonsai/pg_103_topiaries.jpg
Fig 4: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Fontaine_de_Latone-1678.jpg
.
No comments:
Post a Comment