Early Southern and Northern European Garden Design Traditions

The Islamic Garden

The English word garden is jardin in Spanish and French, and Garten in German. The words share a linguistic origin. The meaning of the word can be traced to Hebrew origins, a contraction of gan or gar meaning to protect or defend (to fence or enclose) and eden meaning pleasure. The two words joined together came to mean pleasure garden, as an enclosed space not meant for agriculture production. A garden is symbolic in the form of a cared-for cultivated place for enjoyment. Garden also came to be associated with the biblical Garden of Eden or Paradise. The gar half of the word suggests to guard and this could be applied to mean the enclosing of Eden as a walled or private garden. Symbolically the Garden of Eden of Mesopotamia is a concept shared in the Judeo-Christian-Islam biblical traditions. In the biblical context, the Garden of Eden contains four rivers consisting of water, milk, wine, and honey: all symbols of sustenance. The Garden of Eden translates in the deserts of the Middle East and North Africa as an oasis where travelers would come to rest and be revived with shade, water, and nourishment; see Figure 4.3. The four rivers

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Figure 4.3 A: A desert oasis in North Africa; B: The summer palace and estate of the Emirate of Granada adjoining the Alhambra Court of la Acequia (water channel court or water garden), an example of a medieval Persian garden constructed during 1302 to 1309; C: Public space in Madrid, Spain.

Figure 4.4 Tivoli Gardens, Italy, are located in the hillside town of Lazio outside of Rome.

Figure 4.5 A: Parc de Sceaux by André Le Nôtre, Paris; B: Luxembourg Gardens, Paris, France.

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or paths became the spatial organizing structure of Southern European, Mediterranean, and North African gardens and public parks and spaces

The biblical Garden of Eden and the desert oasis served as a paradigm for garden design in Mediterranean countries, particularly in Southern Europe during the period under Islamic influence (see Figure 4.3B). The arrangement of an Islamic garden as depicted in Figure 4.3C is organized spatially using bilateral symmetry. The four rivers of Eden divide gardens and later public parks into four or multiples of four spaces traversed by garden paths. The spaces in between the paths are typically planted with a dense pattern of trees to provide shade, in the same way that an oasis in the desert would provide. Typically a fountain or water feature would be placed in the center of the garden at the point where the four or eight paths would meet. Later during the Renaissance period, first in Italy and later in France, the bilateral symmetry and geometrical arrangements of the Islamic-influenced gardens were adapted in highly ornate and stylized patterns such as Tivoli gardens in Italy (see Figure 4.4), Parc de Sceaux (1662–1665) and Luxembourg Gardens in Paris, France (Figure 4.5), and even in Blenheim Palace estate (1705–1722) in England (Figure 4.6). The garden designers of Italy in the Renaissance departed with imaginative effect from the earlier Islamic gardens in response to the hilly and undulating Italian topography.

Figure 4.6 Blenheim Palace Estate, Oxfordshire, England.

Northern Europe

A comparable paradigm for the oasis as a place of refuge in Northern Europe was the opening in the forest. Openings in the forest translate in the garden as an asymmetrical pattern of interconnected open areas framed by trees and plants. The estates, public gardens, and parks in England, Germany, and other countries in the colder climates of Northern Europe were arranged similarly as a series of swaths of lawn framed by mixed tree species woodlots with understory plantings. One came into the open lawn areas for warmth or active pursuits. Access to the sun was desired, given the cooler temperatures, as opposed to the desire for shade in warm Mediterranean outdoor spaces. The basic structure of the garden estates of eighteenth-century England reflects the Northern European concept of sacred or pleasurable place of refuge. Beginning with William Kent in his design of Stourhead (1744) (Figure 4.7), in England, followed by Lancelot “Capability” Brown at Blenheim (1758), and Humphry Repton at Blaise Castle, the pastoral landscapes in rural England were created. The designers of these estates were proponents of the picturesque and pastoral garden or country landscape.

The estate and garden designs of eighteenth-century England traveled well to America. The public parks and country estates that Frederick Law Olmsted visited in England proved a significant influence on his work in America. New York’s Central Park was an early Olmsted project in which he, in partnership with Calvert Vaux, translated the opening in the forest and picturesque English gardens into a series of outdoor rooms meandering through heavily planted forests as shown in Figure 4.8. The lush forest-like plantings bordered the openings of lawn areas and water features that weaved through the park. The openings in the forest became the activity areas such as sports fields, picnic areas, and gathering or event spaces.

Figure 4.7 Stourhead by William Kent. Figure 4.8 New York’s Central Park by Olmsted and Vaux.

Olmsted adapted English landscape design principles with the aim of attaining full use of the endemic features of a specific site. His designs are noted for subordinating individual details to the greater design concept so that the design does not call attention to itself. While he paid great attention to details and materials, they were orchestrated to produce an overall and particular effect: experience. In the case of Central Park, Olmsted and his partner Vaux created a refuge for residents to find relief and relaxation from the dense, noisy bustle of the city. Later, the ambition of his other public projects was to attend to other ills of rapidly growing and industrial cities. The system of parks that make up Boston’s Emerald Necklace stylistically evoked the pastoral theme of New York’s Central Park but with an added layer: The creation of the Emerald Necklace was, in fact, an integral component of the new storm-water management infrastructure. The underlying purpose was to manage storm water and its attendant flooding problems within the designed context of a generous park system. The pastoral style of the design included vast expanses of green with varying size lakes and groves of trees with a built-in pedestrian trail network. The built project produced a soothing, restorative effect for visitors and the surrounding residences and commercial districts. An added and now much understood benefit of constructing expansive parklands adjacent to residential and commercial land uses is that it generally increases property values and thus the tax base of a community. There is economic as well as social value when implementing parks and landscape beautification for adjacent neighborhoods and the larger community. Cities known for supporting a robust park and public beautification system enjoy a competitive advantage in attracting economic development. The perceived value of having a healthy park system is compounded with the support of other public infrastructure initiatives, including good schools, public transportation, and active art and cultural venues.