Gardens as an intrinsic part of European culture

It is true that people use gardens for many different reasons, and as a result many different types and styles of gardens have arisen throughout time. "Different people want different things from gardening, and different cultures and climates make people see things differently" (pg 5 compendium). This comment made my Penelope Hobhouse in her novella The Story of Gardening  I think holds very true to the art of gardening, and reflects why there have been so many different types of gardens and gardening styles. In European culture, this thought is exemplified through the magnitude in which gardens were used and the different styles that we developed. From the earliest of times, gardens have become a very intrinsic part of the culture throughout Europe. 

(Egyptian garden plan)

For many different purposes gardens were created. Famously, gardens have been a place to retire to and relax. Noteworthy European writers and philosophers, such as Voltaire and Rousseau, have supported this idea of gardens as a place of retirement, while also having gardens themselves. 

(Voltaire's garden: Les Delices)

Besides a place to to relax and return to nature, gardening has also been used by the poor and the imprisoned, becoming to them a symbol of hope and freedom. Throughout Europe between the 1600s and 1800s there have been many accounts of  prisoners maintaining gardens, making them a priority and a important part of their lives. On top of this, gardens have further been an important part of Europe's culture as being used as a medium for teaching morality and responsibility and a symbolism and comparison to politics and religion.

The evolution of gardens and gardening has been quite impressive. During the Roman Empire, life quickly became more advanced and civilized, and the Roman Peristyle Gardens became a popular development. This garden was a formal type of enclosed space attached to the house. It incorporated architecture with a main axis of horticulture, occasionally incorporating the use of extensive painted murals to further define the feeling of nature and privacy. 

(House of the Vettii, Pompeii, peristyle garden)

The idea of a villa soon became equally as popular, as a practical place for the production of crops and as a place to retreat to, as opposed to a space focused more on aesthetics. Here, Romans centered their time around the word otium, an idea of withdrawing from daily activities to engage in relaxation and enlightening activities. 

(Villa Rustica)

During the Medieval Age, gardens soon became one of the core areas of the home, as moral beauty became idolized in medieval society. Several different ideas of a garden became prominent during this time: the Herber, a small herbaceous and colorful enclosed garden; orchards with lines of fruitful trees and grassy walkways; enclosed pleasure parks for recreation; and vineyards to yield wine.

(Medieval Herber Garden)

All in all, gardens in European society were seen as a way to fulfill a variety of different aspects of life, and were perceived in many ways: as an expression of self, an escape, a place to practice spirituality, a therapy, a story, a place to relax, or a place to show off wealth. With the ability to be either ornamental or productive, gardens gave people a degree of control that was both therapeutic and useful. As a result of the former, gardens quickly became and still remain to be an intrinsic part of European culture.