British Gardens During The Roman Years

To get a good picture of the Romano-British gardens of antiquity, we must consider their designs in Italy. In primitive Italy, as in other countries, gardening was initially only for practical purposes. Gradually the Latin word Hortus, applied to the vegetable field in the days of Republican Simplicity, was expanded to refer to the most magnificent pleasure gardens of the time of the famous emperors. In later times, every new form of Roman art, including garden architecture, originated in Greece, which was inspired by Egypt, Persia and Assyria.

The Egyptian Gardens are the oldest, and accurate records still exist. The paintings and inscriptions, dating back to centuries BC, were built around a series of courtyards where most Egyptian dwellings contained useful and ornamental trees. In fact, a row of trees along the inner wall of the building gave it and the enclosed quadrangle shade. Later, tree trunks made room for concrete pillars, and hanging branches provided space for rafts to project, resulting in the general influence of Greek peristals (pillar porches or colonnades) and monastic cloisters.

Religious significance was added to almost every feature of the pre-Christian gardens and the worship of trees was practiced in all ancient countries. Favorites are pine, cybel, Jupiter's oak, Apollo's laurel, Venus's myrtle, Hercules' poplar and Minerva's olive. Cyprus has also grown in many places. Yu, though common, is not greatly respected; Instead, juniper and rosemary are often used for topiary work. The box is also often pruned, and then, now, considered the best shrub for the edge.

Roses, lilies and violets are among the most famous flowers of antiquity, but narcissus, anemones, gladiolus, iris, poppies, amaranth, amaranth, verbena, periwinkle and crocus are also cultivated and worshiped. Many flowerless plants such as basil, sweet marjoram and oregano are grown for their fragrance, while acanthus is welcomed for its beautiful leaves. Ivy covered walls or was trained to make wreaths between trees and poles.