Roman gardens

Roman gardens and ornamental

Roman gardening was influenced by Egyptian and Persian gardening techniques, through acquaintance with Greek gardening. The gardens of Ancient Persia were organized around rills, known from Pasargadae and other sites. Although archaeological evidence of rills have yet to be found in classical Greek gardens, scholars believe that the Romans learned this technique from the Greeks.^[3]

Persian gardens developed in response to the arid climate. Gardens were enclosed to gather winter warmth, protect them from drying winds, and differentiate them from the barren and glaring Persian terrain. The soil was cultivated to became rich and fertile. When Alexander the Great conquered parts of Western Asia, he brought back with him new varieties of fruits and plants that prompted a renewed interest in horticulture.^[4] Formal gardens had existed in Egypt as early as 2800 BC. At the time of the 18th dynasty of Egypt, gardening techniques, used to beautify the homes of the wealthy, were fully developed. Porticos (porches) served to connect the home with the outdoors, creating outdoor living spaces. Even before Alexander, Cimon of Athens is said to have torn down the walls of his garden to transform it into a public space.^[5]

Roman pleasure gardens were adapted from the Grecian model, where such a garden also served the purpose of growing fruit, but while Greeks had "sacred grove" style gardens, they did not have much in the way of domestic gardens to influence the peristyle gardens of Roman homes. Open peristyle courts were designed to connect homes to the outdoors. Athens did not adopt the Roman style that was used to beautify temple groves and create recreational spaces in the less traditional Grecian cities of Sparta, Corinth and Patras, which adopted the Western peristyle domestic gardens.^[6]

Uses

Roman gardens were built to suit a range of activities. Initially, lower class Romans used

Later, the different influences of Egyptian, Persian, and Greek gardens became a part of Roman horticulture, producing villa and palatial pleasure gardens,^[8] along with public parks and gardens meant for enjoyment or to exercise in. No type of garden was specifically reserved for wealthy Romans; all a civilian needed was to have their own land or home. Excavations in Pompeii show that gardens attached to residences were scaled down to meet the space constraints of the home of the average Roman.

Horace wrote that during his time, flower gardens became a national indulgence.^[9] Augustus constructed the Porticus Liviae, a public garden on the Oppian Hill in Rome. Outside Rome, gardens tended to proliferate at centers of wealth. Modified versions of Roman garden designs were adopted in Roman settlements in Africa, Gaul and Britannia.

Places for a garden

Gardens were usually built in one of six structures:

Domus (townhouse)

This free-standing structure was usually one story, containing multiple rooms for everyday activities and an atrium toward the front of the house to collect rainwater and illuminate the area surrounding it.^{[citation needed]} Toward the back of the house was often a hortus (garden) or peristylium (an open courtyard). These gardens are common in urban dwellings, such as those within the walls of Pompeii.^[10]

Roman villa

The Roman villa was typically a country house for wealthy people, that was accessible from the city, and served as a retreat from urban living. Villas and their gardens are categorized by location: maritime, suburban, and country villas being the most common kinds.^[11] A notable example is the maritime villa at Laurentum, which Pliny the Younger describes at length in his letters.^[12] Villa gardens were lavishly decorated, and could include private spaces for exercise, known as gymnasiums, and larger open areas for hunting game.^[13]

Villa rustica

A villa rustica was a villa set in the countryside, often the hub of a large agricultural estate. Gardens at these sites were planted at a large scale, and often are found with processing equipment, suggesting that the Villas were producing goods for profit. These gardens could be technologically complex, incorporating irrigation, grafts, and cross pollination.^[13] Notable examples include Villa Boscoreale in Herculaneum, where extensive pollen analysis has been conducted to identify the flora cultivated.^[14]

Imperial gardens

Reserved for imperial families alone, very large and extravagant. Imperial gardens could be constructed in various places.^[15] Palace gardens, in cities were transformed as power shifted from one ruling family to another, while imperial villa gardens were largely the same as a typical country villa, though more elaborate.^[16]

Non-residential gardens

A non-residential garden refers to a garden either planted and maintained for public use, or one dedicated to the people after the death of the owner. These consisted of temple gardens, sacred groves–collections of trees established in honor of a specific deity, parks, etc.^[17] Non-residential gardens were constructed and dedicated to the people by the elite, and attached to other buildings or monuments constructed for public use, such as theaters or baths, in a practice commonly referred to as euergetism.^[18] Additionally, commercial gardens, that typically specialized in growing produce or flowers, also fall into this category.^[19]

Design

Roman gardens are typically divided into two categories: the enclosed garden and the open garden.^[13] However, all Roman gardens were generally made up of the same basic elements. Depending on the formality, function, or type of garden, elements may be added or embellished more, or may be omitted altogether.

Pleasure gardens would incorporate different designs according to the taste of their builders. All gardens of this type have the same basic parts to them: a

Peristyle – from a Greek word, where "peri" means "around" and "style" means "column" – denotes a type of open courtyard, which is surrounded by walls of columns supporting a portico (porch).

Terrace gardens were constructed when a hilly landscape made it difficult to enjoy a typical garden layout. These gardens consisted of stepped levels, often designed to contrast the other levels.^[21]

The xystus (garden walk or terrace) was a core element of Roman gardens. The xystus often overlooked a lower garden, or ambulation. The ambulation bordered a variety of flowers, trees, and other foliage, and it served as an ideal place for a leisurely stroll after a meal, conversation, or other recreational activities.

The gestation was a shaded avenue where the master of the house could ride horseback or be carried by his slaves. It generally encircled the ambulation or was constructed as a separate oval-shaped space. Paths or walkways were often constructed through the garden. These were made with loose stone, gravel, sand, or packed earth. Gardens featured many ornamental objects, from sculpture to frescoes to sundials. These depicted nature scenes or were put in place as a shrine (aedicula) to the gods or otherworldly creatures.^[22]

Even though an atrium is found inside the house, it is considered part of the garden because it has an opening that would allow Romans to collect rain water, known as an impluvium.^[23]

The garden walls had both aesthetic and practical value. Walls were decorated with statues, paintings, and design elements to enhance the theming of the garden.^[24] More practical gardens, such as the shop garden at Pompeii excavated by Wilhelmina Jashemski, contained fragments of pottery embedded into the perimeter walls, to prevent vandalism and theft.^[22]

Plants

Overview

The plants that were grown ranged from

A variety of flowers would have been found in a Roman garden. Rose, violet, geranium, and buttercup pollen samples have been uncovered at garden sites, and lilies, irises, daisies, and other common flowers feature prominently in garden frescoes.[27]^[28] Large scale, commercial flower gardens have also been excavated, such as the Garden of Hercules at Pompeii.^[19] Flowers and other plants such as parsley were cultivated for aesthetic purposes, as well as to be used in perfume or ceremonial garlands.^[19][29]

Trees

Trees were used to provide shade, structural support for vining plants,^[22] as well as harvested for fruit. More elaborate gardens could also include more formally planned orchards, while more simple gardens would intersperse trees amongst the other plants^{[citation needed]}. Common tree varieties in Roman gardens included olive, chestnut, cypress, pine, almond, and mulberry trees, as well as imported citrus trees.^[30][29][31] Pliny the Elder writes, in the Natural History, that certain trees were planted in honor of various gods.^[32]

Herbs and spices

Herbs were a common feature of a Roman kitchen garden, cultivated for culinary and medicinal purposes. Species such as garlic, basil, coriander, dill, parsley, rosemary, onion, and mustard were grown across the Empire, as far as Britain.^[33]

Vining plants

Vining plants were often planted in terracotta pots and trained to grow up garden structures for decoration and shade.^[28] Grapes were frequently interspersed throughout the garden. A villa rustica, for example, might additionally contain equipment for processing grapes into wine. Additional vining plants found in gardens include bean varieties, as well as vining flowers.^[22] Additionally, ivy, native to the area, has been found in gardens.^[25]

Legacy

The common practices and elements of Roman gardens spread alongside the Roman Empire itself, simultaneously influencing and being influenced by the conquered territories. The garden design was typically altered to match the climate of its new setting.

• Gardens of ancient Egypt
• Giardino all'italiana
• Agriculture in ancient Rome

References