HISTORY OF LANDSCAPE DESIGN Monday, Aug 22nd, 2011 Landscape design history greatly influenced today's design process

and design solutions. Illustrated History of Landscape Design provides an overview of landscape design, including the iconic spaces throughout the centuries, starting from landscapes in prehistory to current trends in landscape design. Featuring hundreds of masterful, hand-drawn images, this highly visual guide illustrates how the landscape has been shaped over time in relation to human need. In a concise manner, this information helps people gain a critical perspective on how to apply historical context to contemporary design challenges. The Ancient world, the Middle East and South Asia, feudalism in the countries of Asia, Europe in the middle ages, European countries from V c. - to the beginning of the VIII c. regular style, the middle of the VIII c. - to I c. irregular style, Russia from the time preceding Peter the Great to the middle of the I c., the second - half of the I c. - beginning of the c. have played significant roles in adding to the quality of life for people, stood the test of time and left their mark on the pages of landscape design history.

The Ancient World Monday, Aug 22nd, 2011 Gardens and parks from the ancient world were the traditional form of the organization of the surrounding space with the aid of the green planting. The history of the gardens and parks creation, and as a whole the development of landscape design spans millennia. We find descriptions of gardens and parks in the treatises of ancient historians, philosophers, and also in the works of poets and writers. Archaeologists reveal interesting information about garden decoration of the ancient world. Even the small pieces of historical information about the gardens of antiquity testify to the high level of the development of garden decoration in those times. They obtained special popularity with the courts of rulers and the grandee of the countries of Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia (Assyrian - Babylonian Period), Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome

In the history of ancient Rome three epochs are separated. The epoch of kings (VIII -VI c. B.C.) is characterized by the forming of the slaveholding system. The epoch of republic (VI- I c. B.C.) - Rome is separated as a city-state. Its territorial achievements were completed by the accumulation of enormous riches,

which made it possible to widely develop houses. The epoch of empire (I- V c. A.D.) - Rome is established as the state center. Town construction increases rapidly: the construction of ensembles, public forums, stadiums, theatres, emperor palaces and villas increases. The composition of the architectural ensembles is improved. By the end of III c. A.D. the decline of the slaveholding system caused a crisis in the empire. In 410. A.D. the Roman empire fell under the attacks of the Visigoths. The greatest bloom of landscaping in ancient Rome occurred from I c. B.C. to I c. A.D. The climate of the Apennine peninsula was Mediterranean, but softer and less arid than in Greece. The abundance of water in the form of rivers and channels was characteristic, as well as mountainous relief, presence of valuable construction materials (marble and limestone) and a broad spectrum of trees, shrubs and flowering plants. Different forms of pine trees, oaks, cypress, sycamores, strawberry trees, poplars, chestnut edibles, pomegranates, olives and other fruits grew here. There were also types of trees which are well suited for trimming such as boxwood, laurel, myrtle. Flowers such as lily, gillyflower, irises, tulips, narcissuses, violet, carnation and other were popular. The landscaping of ancient Rome was developed on the basis of the traditions of Ancient Greece. Using the achievements of Egyptian and Greek culture, Romans created their park culture, which, until now is considered one of the richest in the ancient worlds history. Ancient Roman landscaping is different from Ancient Greek. The new element of landscaping - peristyle - in which the courtyards of ancient Roman houses were decorated with ponds and columns. These are a further improvement of the methods of Ancient Greece. Special features such as use of sculptures in the decoration of gardens, neatly trimmed and shaped shrubs and trees - topiary, alleys, arbors are created. By I c. A.D. new types of gardens such as sacred groves, gardens in villas, public gardens, peristyle gardens and hippodrome gardens appeared. Sacred groves - are connected with religion. As in Greece their territory was occupied with small temples, water sources, chapels and altars; Urban public gardens - the emperor built these gardens around public buildings like theatres and therms because he cared about his citizens. They were arranged over the areas and they were different sizes. They were similar to contemporary recreational parks in some ways, since they had alleys, groups of trees, covered galleries with niches for relaxations. Ponds and ponds, which were decorated with sculptures, were always present. Urban private gardens - were insignificant and were added after the planning of the house. The atrium-peristyle type house was formed in ancient Rome, in volume of which were found courtyards which were surrounded by colonnades, decorated by sculptures, shrubs and flowers, and decorated with pools and ponds. The sizes of such courtyard were different: 9x20m (in the House of Vette) , 28x22m (in the House of Faun). The walls of the galleries, which surrounded courtyard, were decorated with paintings of plants. Such courtyards were called peristyle.

 Gardens in villas and palaces - had different purposes - from the purely economic to entertainment. These gardens were arranged on the stepped terraces were decorated with flowers, fountains, sculptures and other architectural structures. The terraces were connected together by stairs, however, as in Greece, stairs did not have composition value yet. Hippodrome gardens - The Romans borrowed this idea from the Greeks. In Rome it lost its purpose as a place for sport competitions, but nevertheless they preserved the shape of a rectangle with rounded edges. Hippodrome gardens had a lawn with flowers, framed by alleys and trimmed shrubs. Shrub and tree compositions, flower gardens, fountains and gazebos were also placed on the edges. The empty space in the center gave an opportunity for observation. Xyst gardens - flat garden, took the form of a parterre and it was connected with the portico of the house. Examples of such gardens are given in the descriptions of the villas of Pliny the Younger. An interesting example is the Tiburtine Villa of emperor Hadrian (117138 A.D.), located near Rome and occupied extensive territory. The garden was arranged on the stepped terraces with a height difference of 40m and was a unique museum of different devices and structures. Ponds with the grottos, ponds, hippodrome gardens, garden groves, the Garden of Pericles and Canopy Orchard were located here. Near the hippodrome on the island, surrounded by channel, was an aviary. The emperor's palace was located here as well as numerous other structures (libraries, theatres, colonnades, porticos) that were built with the typical Roman style. The composition connection between these structures is not seen. Out of the Ancient Roman parks Emperor Nero's park is notable. It was created on the spot of a fire and arose in Rome in the I c. A.D. The park was successfully combined with the rural area.

In ancient Rome they proclaimed the idea of the contrast of the geometric and rectilinear forms of the artificial landscape of free shape of the surrounding nature. Roman tradition preferred the regular planning not only of streets and areas, but also out-of-town villas, surrounded by extensive gardens. Villas, as a rule, were built in the mountainous country; therefore they had the stepped composition solution. Romans used monumental and immense structures for landscape design in the compositions, i.e., they seemingly tried "to subordinate nature". Specifically, the ideas of the architects of ancient Rome serve as the basis of contemporary gardens in the regular style and are the basis of the creation of artificial medium. Rome memorized with the luxury of its urban palaces, villas, gardens and parks. Internal courtyards, which were surrounded on all sides with colonnades, were located in the volume of practically each villa and palace in ancient Rome. Each colonnade always had water features and was frequently decorated with flowers, sculptures, different shrubs. Almost in each urban patio it was possible to find a fountain with shrubs and flowers next to it. The excavations of Pompeii make it possible to imagine what the green internal patios called viridarii were

like. They were surrounded by columns and decorated with a fountain or small pond and flower beds. So that it would not be felt that the space of the garden from all sides is small, patio walls were covered with frescoes, which depict the different perspectives of fantastic gardens. In most of ancient Rome the gardens were treasured and were located both in the city center and in the outskirts. The ponds with fountains and parterres which were bisected by alleys were the key elements of these gardens. Marble statues were located between the trees, and green shrubs were frequently trimmed in the most unique ways. They most likely trimmed verdure so that its lines would be coordinated with the lines of the houses and adjacent colonnades and porticos. Gardens were decorated with an abundance of rare flowers, brought from distant countries like India. The great migration of peoples destroyed these gardens as well as many other structures of ancient Rome. Aqueducts were destroyed and the fountains ran out of water. As a whole the landscape design of ancient Rome the following features are characteristic: the improvement of the methods of ancient Greece and the creation of their own. Specifically, in the landscape design of Ancient Rome appeared arbors, alleys, topiaries - neatly figured trimmed. the creation of new types of gardens (public gardens, peristyle gardens, gardens in the villas, hippodrome gardens); the absence of composition unity in the gardens.

Evidence of the development of landscape design is the fact that at the beginning of our era a relative of Emperor August - Agrippa built large therms (bath complexes) with gardens, he built about 700 ponds, 500 fountains and many aqueducts in Rome. Many methods of the creation of regular gardens, works with the soil and plants, parks and aqueduct construction rise from the antiquity and they serve as the basis of the creation of modern landscaping artificial medium. Many methods of the creation of regular gardens and parks are encountered for the first time in the history of landscape design of Ancient Rome. For example, the skill of paving garden paths, which is one of the basic elements of landscape design. Even by this time people attempted to change nature and to give splendour and refinement to their gardens.

After the fall of the Roman Empire the construction of new villas began, but they no longer transferred that grandeur, for which the Roman villas were famous. New gardens partially resembled the Roman type of before the empire epoch and at the same time they slightly resembled the gardens of the Ancient East. The traditions of Roman landscape design found their further development in the Italian gardens of the epoch of revival, and then in the regular parks of Europe.

The surviving sources about the gardens and parks of Ancient Egypt relates to 2780-2550 B.C. and 2160-1788 B.C. A key feature of the gardens was the architecture, which was characterized by its grandeur. Ancient Egypt is considered one of the first countries where the skill of the creation of gardens and parks arose. Because of the floods in the Nile Valley it was only possible to grow agricultural plants. The first artificial terraced gardens in Ancient Egypt appeared at the elevated locations that the water of the Nile could not reach during floods and in the places with a deficiency in moisture and vegetation. Because of this the need for the irrigation of those areas arose and it was solved by the creation of channels. Alleys with shady trees and bushes were stretched along the channels, this helped to decrease the evaporation of water, provided shade and freshness. The vineyards were located next to the gardens. Silkworm trees were planted along such channels, sycamore, date palm, tamarisk, walnut, poplar, fig tree, almonds and resinous wood grew there in small groves. The regular, rectangular network of channels dictated the creation of the rectangular, symmetrically located gardens. All elements of the gardens - ponds, alleys, vineyards, flower beds, open pavilions - were arranged with precise rhythm and they were stylistically interconnected, which makes it reasonable to assume that the gardens were created according to previously developed plans, where the rhythm is used exclusively as composition a method.

The best years of landscape design were reached in the period of the bloom of the ancient capital of Egypt - Luxor(Thebes). The gardens were created in the palaces, the temples and the houses of well-off owners. They composed the green decoration of the city. Gardens, as a rule, had rectangular form, a regular, symmetrical plan and the closed composition, it had alleys and a series of plants located in front of the palace. High trees were placed on the peripheries and low plants in the middle of the garden. Space between the trees was occupied by vegetables and flowers. The composition center of ensemble was always the palace, located on the central axis of composition. Frequently it led to arbours covered with grape vines. The main part of the garden was taken up by a large amount of ponds with fish, often very large in size (60x120m). Gardens had exotic trees, birds and animals. Egyptian gardens were the gardens of plains, in which because of the natural climatic conditions the main part of the gardens was occupied by large ponds, pools and channels. The magnificent Egyptian Gardens of Queen Cleopatra were famous around the world. Date palms, fig tree, garnet, acacia and fruit trees were planted here. Gardens surrounded by the massive amounts of wood plants.

Lily of the valleys, gillyflowers, roses, mignonettes, poppies, bluebottles, chamomiles, lilies, chrysanthemums, narcissuses and other flowers grew in the Egyptian gardens. They obtained fragrant oil from the lilies. The lily flower was also the symbol of hope and shortness of life. Flowers were widely used for the holiday's artistic decorations like wreaths and garlands which were braided with them. Some of the more common plants in Egyptian gardens included irises, chrysanthemums, daisies, poppies, cornflowers, mandrakes, roses, myrtle, jasmine, mignonettes, convolvulus, celosia, narcissus, ivy, lichens, sweet marjoram, henna and bay laurel. In their gardens they cultivated beautiful flowers with strong aromas. The Egyptian people generally valued the aroma of the flowers above their beauty. Common garden shrubs and trees included papyrus, lotus, grapes, olive, acacia, willow, tamarisk, palm, sycamore, avocado, Christ's thorn, carob tree and myrtle. Numerous plants were specifically brought from other countries. Palaces and gardens were built over several centuries.

In ancient Egypt the gardens were designed using the following principles: The use of symmetry is one of the main elements of the regular plan The closed compositions The center of ensemble is always the main house, situated among the large number of the ponds Rhythm as the composition method Alleys and series of plants

Ancient Egyptian gardens were characterized by the organic confluence of religious, utilitarian and aesthetical functions. Landscape designs in ancient Egypt were associated with large gardens and formal landscaping. Among the oldest are the gardens at the temples Mentuhotep (2156-2005 B.C.) and the park of Queen Hatshepsut (1504 - 1482 B.C.).

More is known about the gardens of ancient Egypt than any others civilization of the ancient world for the following reasons:

Some Egyptian gardens, made in the desert on the edge of the Nile Valley, have survived Egyptian tomb paintings in the Valley of the Kings provide amazing details of Ancient Egypt's gardens Records of gardens were made because of the belief that a pharaoh's life did not end with his death

Egypt's climate was, and is, astonishingly well-suited to making gardens

Mesopotamia (Assyrian - Babylonian Period) Wednesday, Jan 11th, 2012 This period in the history of humanity bears the name Assyrian and Babylonian culture, begins its rise in the VIII c. B.C. and concludes in the VII c. B.C. During this period Babylon reached the apex of its bloom. Famous Tower of Babel was built with a height of 91 meters. It was a six floor multicoloured structure and contained the Gold Temple of the God Marduk at the apex. The city was guarded by two defensive walls with a width of 6-7 meters. The main gates of city, dedicated to the goddess Ishtar, were a miracle of architecture. The walls of Babylon and its tower are famous, but the Hanging Gardens of Babylon occupied their place as one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world, it had gardens on its terraces, grown with the application of a unique technical-engineering water supply system. Cities with the regular arrangement of streets and a system of channels appeared, curvy by-streets were replaced by straight and wide streets. The beautiful, well maintained gardens appeared at the same time as the cities. They belonged to the aristocrats and priests. The elements of landscape design and construction were already being adopted at this time. The special feature of this period is the active construction of houses and stepped towers - ziggurats - on the terraces, which at that moment were the special artificially filled platforms, slightly elevated above the surface of the streets (for protection from the floods). This principle of construction was used with the creation of the temple - pyramidal towers, which took the form of stepped towers. Such temples consisted of a series of smoothly diminishing square or rectangular platforms. As a rule the upper platform usually housed a temple. On the protruding parts of the lower platforms the plants were planted on the perimeter into specially designated pits which were filled with special soil. The densely packed houses, enclosed by several fortress walls, did not include plants. An exception was the sacred gardens built on the ritual terraces of the stepped towers. Secular gardens on the hills which surrounded the cities differed in terms of the rich composition of the plants, exported from other countries, by regular plan, by gazebos and by pavilions. Being based on a regular plan, caused by irrigating systems, the gardens of Mesopotamia were already not divided into the symmetrical squares, as they were in Egypt - plants were located more freely, were small in size and were arranged between the habitable houses. Gardens were guarded by high unapproachable walls and were decorated with ponds, sculptures, gazebos, arbours. In the gardens the flowers were planted and beautiful birds lived here.

Specifically, here in Assyria and Babylon the Hanging Gardens appeared for the first time, marvellous in their beauty according to the eyewitnesses. They were built in the ancient city-state of Babylon, near present-day Iraq in between the Tigris and the Euphrates in the naked sandy plains 90 kilometres from modern Baghdad of around 600 B.C. when Babylon reached its bloom and it became the center of ancient eastern culture. They are sometimes called the Hanging Gardens of Semiramis. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon are the most famous ensemble and considered to be one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World - they were built by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II to please his homesick wife Amitis, who longed for the trees and fragrant plants of her homeland Persia, the king Nebuchadnezzar ordered the construction of unimaginably beautiful gardens. Nebuchadnezzar assembled the best builders and architects and ordered them to build them for his wife without worrying about money. Such beautiful gardens had not been seen before by the ancient world. He ordered his subjects to bring back the strange and distant plants that they may find on their travels, their military marches and trips. The gardens at Nineveh with their rich assortment of trees and bushes can be considered the prototypes of contemporary botanical gardens. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon got special attention. The Hanging Gardens had a pyramidal shape, which was arranged into four stepped terraces, which became narrower each level and were located on the green stepped terraces in the court of southern palace (605-562 B.C.) of Nebuchadnezzar II. A garden was arranged on each terrace on which they grew flowers that had never been seen in Babylon before and trees in which the birds that had been brought from overseas sat and sang while swans swam on the surface of the ponds the stretched between the gardens. The main garden was arranged on the upper terrace. Terraces were connected by spiral staircases. Gardens was located on the northeastern side of the city walls. Its southern part extended to the palace. The exteriors of the terraces served as galleries and the interiors as grottos for relaxation in the hot hours, decorated with colour glazed tile and frescoes. Servants and musicians also hid here during the hot hours. The terraces were small in size, the roof of the lower terrace was almost level with the walls of city and had a height of 8 m and an area of 45x40m. The second platform with the height of 13m it had an area of 40x30m. The overall height of the gardens above the level of walls was 22m. On the lower terraces they planted trees, and bushes and flowers on the higher ones. Gardens on the terraces were grown with the use of a unique technicalengineering water supply system. Through an opening in one of the columns the water of the Euphrates rose by pumps to the upper level of the pyramid, where a pond was located. The water then flowed via small waterfalls downward onto the ledges, watering the plants growing on it. Many slaves watered the garden at all times with the aid of the water-lifting wheels, scooping up water from the Euphrates and from the deep wells (dug out under the first floor of gardens) with leather buckets. The base of each floor was made of flat stone plates, they were covered with the layer of reeds, flooded with asphalt and covered with sheets of lead which had to withstand the pressure of the soil (on which they planted gardens

with big trees) and keep the water from filtering into the lower floor. The bushes, flowers and vines grew and covered the terraces. The royal gardens in plains of Babylon seemed miraculous, they provided shade, freshness and the aroma of the strange rare plants, which were brought into Babylon in carts pulled by oxen from around the world. Unusual trees and beautiful flowers bloomed in the gardens. From the side this pyramid was similar to a green, blooming mountain and did not seem like a man made garden, but a mirage in the hot desert. On the terraces the trees and bushes seemingly climbed at the sky, possibly because of this they named them "the Hanging Gardens". The Hanging Gardens did not exist very long in their splendour. Even with the heirs of Nebuchadnezzar II Babylon took over and ransacked the Persians headed by Cyrus the Great. In two hundred years the city again underwent seizure and plunder - this time by the Greeks headed by Alexander of Macedon. Aggressors destroyed specialists, who supported in action the unique system of irrigation of the gardens. They did not have means and desire to contain the mass of slaves for the manual irrigation, removal and planting of new plants. Flowers and grasses withered, large trees dried up and stood with naked branches on their high platforms. Time destroyed the terraced supports of platforms. One hundred years ago with the excavations of the ancient city archaeologists found deep wells and remainders of powerful terraced structures, this confirmed the existence of suspended gardens - a wonder of the ancient world, which did not survive the wars, invasions and negligence. Evergreen gardens with rare trees, the smelling sweet flowers and freshness in the dusty and hot Babylon are the truly unsurpassed masterpiece of landscape design. Unfortunately, there are no remains of this magnificent structure, nevertheless, the idea of the creation of the stepped gardens, or the Hanging Gardens, has proved to be sufficiently fruitful. Later it found its development in the gardens of Persia, Italy, Russia (The Upper Gardens of the Moscow Kremlin at the end of the 17th c.) and in somewhat changed forms reached the present in the form of roof gardens. The Hanging Gardens of Semiramis - Amitis was the name of the wife of the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar, for whom the gardens were created, were the prototype of the irregular landscape design style. Also in the Assyrian and Babylonian culture there was a skill of surrounding their home with excellent parks as, for example, the expansive park, created by Assyrian king Sargon II in the 8th century B.C. in the new city of DurSharrukin (now Khorsabad). In it many trees brought from other countries were planted: cypresses, cedars, sycamore, willow, poplar, box-tree and some fruit trees. There were very large parks, intended for hunting and horseback riding. These parks are the predecessors the large parks we have today that can contain entire forests and more. Ancient Greece Wednesday, Jan 11th, 2012

Landscape design of ancient Greece (VI B.C. - IV A.D.) was in essence garden design. The presence of a good combination of utilitarian, religious and aesthetical features was typical to the gardens of that time. The aggressive conquests of Alexander of Macedon played a basic role in the forming of the landscape design of this state and a substantial part of it underwent strong Asian influence - culture and the traditions of Egypt, India and Persia. But since the Greeks originally had characteristic tendency towards harmony with nature, use of a relief as by topographical component and the landscaping design of ancient Greece was characterized by considerably freer planning and structure of composition. Already in VI B.C. Greeks learned to harmoniously combine the construction of cities with the natural landscape, mutually supplementing each other. Gardens and parks became similar to living organisms, which have a close connection with the natural environment and man. Acropolises, theatres, forums, squares, seemingly grow from nature, harmonizing and merging with the surrounding landscape. The most extensive characteristic exclusively for ancient Greek forms of re-planting ,such as Herron, are more commonly known as sacred groves, private and philosophical gardens: Herron - the memorial garden - grove, planted on the spot of the burial of a hero. Gardens had a racetrack, a hippodrome, an area for gymnastic games and competition in the memory of heroes. With time Herrons began to be decorated with statues and colonnades which became the accents of parks. In the majority of cases Herrons had a memorial nature, they were made with the process of the creation of different architectural structures and forests. Over time these sacred groves ceased to bear a memorial nature and became sports parks. Philosophical gardens were created specially so that philosophical conversations could be conducted in them. On the terraces were created straight, wide alleys with space for sports, statues, vases and fountains. In such gardens school and gymnasium lessons were conducted by the famous philosophers Plato, Aristotle, etc. Academy Garden on the Ilisos river in the outskirts of Athens (460 B.C.). Philosophical gardens were isolated from the public parks. The largest squares of all of the cities belonging to the state were surrounded with plants which were also placed along the roads. The public garden appeared in the V B.C. and was located in the main area of the city near temples and fountains. The private gardens of prosperous owners most frequently bore an exceptionally utilitarian nature. Nymph - sacred oak, cedar or olive grove located in center of an artistic water source or grotto with a regular planning style. Over time new decorations such as columns and sculptures appeared and enriched the nymphs. These places were thought to be inhabited by gods, nymphs and muses, because of this people brought sacrifices here. The flow of water, which fell into the pond, was the prototype of the water features in the parks of Western Europe.

 The pleasure gardens like those of the Persian's - appeared after Alexander of Macedon victoriously marched into Persia (336-323 B.C.). Such gardens were created for the aristocracy - "nobles". In Alexandria, for example, they occupied of the city. In the landscaping construction of ancient Greece a strict symmetry predominated. Alleys and parks were decorated with fountains, columns, vases, sculptures. The public park has its origins here. In the gardens the Greeks widely used cypresses, fir trees, oaks, sycamores, palms, olive trees and other tree species, decorating temples and its dwellings with them. Here stepped gardens were also built, on which fountains were arranged and flowers and trees were planted. The Hellenic garden had many components: massive amounts of plants, spiral staircases and many decorations. In this context it should also be noted that the basic principles of city construction of Aristotle (IV B.C.), who considered that the design of populated areas and parks must be examined not only as a complex technical question, but also from an artistic point of view and that a city must be built so as to ensure the peoples safety and to make them happy at the same time. Acropolises and theatres of the Hellenistic cities of the Peloponnese and Asia Minor (Athenian acropolis, the amphitheatres of Ephesus, Priene, etc.), made up the centers of urban composition, frequently look like the sculptural completion of those cliffs on which they are located. For example, relief was used especially expressively in the special features of Priene, where the slope of mountain naturally forms a terrace for the areas and the public places. The Athenian acropolis looks like the sculptural completion of the cliff, on which it is located. The geometric shapes of decorative gardening of the ancient world into the epoch of its bloom made a valuable contribution to the treasure-house of world culture and had a big impact on the development of landscape design in Europe.

The Middle East and South Asia Monday, Aug 22nd, 2011 Traditionally, the Middle Eastern and South Asian gardens became the reflection of the perception of peace through religion and philosophy. In this region gardens were symbols of paradise. For example the charbagh, or paradise garden was intended for rest, reflection and contemplation. For this reason, these gardens usually included places for sitting, unlike European gardens, which were often designed for walking. They were created for leisure at the royal residences and they required high financial expenditures.

Persia - Persian garden design influenced the creation of the gardens of the entire Ancient East. Landscape design arose in many other gardens of the world under the influence of the Ancient Persians - in Turkey, the Moorish gardens in Spain and the gardens in the Crimea Tatar Khans. Muslim science and medicine formed the powerful system of medicine and gardens with medicinal plants have been maintained since olden times in the regions of India, Iran and Tibet. India - Indian civilization gave birth to Buddhism, with which began the creation of monastery gardens. Worshiping trees were an ancient custom of the Hindus. In the sacred Hindu books the Lumbinetsky garden is mentioned, which was the property of the Hindu kings. In the first period of the spread of Buddhism in India the construction of gardens and parks, intended for contemplative leisure, began. In the parks there were ponds of amazing beauty that had open gazebos which were easy on the eyes and flower gardens that were organized using the principles of Zen. This was the complete failure of the utilitarian purpose of the garden. This park embodied the idea of the unity of man and nature. The traditional Middle Eastern and South Asian gardens included certain shared design elements. The most common were enclosing walls, water features, trees and flowers, and extensive use of the arabesque, a Islamic geometric decoration.

The first design element was shade. One of the central features is to create shade to keep cool, as a way to cope with hot climate. The second design element was walls for shape, temperature regulation and insulation. The garden's provided protection from the harsh desert environment and from the dust and pollution of the adjacent streets, to emphasize the privacy of the family and of its female members in particular, and to display a modest and humble exterior to the outside world. The third design element was water or reflection ponds. Water played many roles within the garden design, emphasizing architectural elements, masking outdoor noise, producing pleasing sounds, irrigating plants, moisturizing and cooling the hot dry microclimate, soothing the dusty wind, and to embrace a high regard for water as the indispensable support of life. Their application of water as a design element often produced clean alignments and crisp colours. The fourth design element was plants. Fruit trees, in general, had a very high priority in the overall design scheme. They provided not only food and daytime color but also a canopy over the courtyard at night. This canopy restricted losses of cold air from below effectively trapping cool air. Traditional designers circulated this cool air from the garden through the house, thereby creating a natural cooling system. Poplars and cypresses gave climatological protection. Elms, willows, and oaks gave shade in summer and let the sun shine through in winter. In order to alleviate the problems of turbulence caused by walls, tall narrow-leafed cypresses were added to filter the dust and to reduce windspeed within the garden. These were planted across the entire east and west sides and thus cast shadows across the whole garden throughout the day. Pines were used as a largescale contrast. Citrus trees were treasured for their fruit and perfumed flowers. Animals, introduced to give life to the garden, included swans, pheasants, pigeons, ducks and singing birds.

Mosaics were another important design element. This was an interesting combination of a pebble intricate mosaic tiles with the parterre design. International garden designers in search of inspiration and useful ideas are exploring the old Middle Eastern and South Asian gardens, but many emphasize fanciful geometric patterns, elaborate water features, and colorful planting schemes at the expense of the historical, philosophical, metaphysical, and poetic dimensions of these "earthly paradises."

Persia was characterized by the high level of developments of landscape design. An example of this garden was built in IV c. B.C. The Garden of the King Cyrus I in the capital of Lydia was created with the thinnest trees and the most splendid flowers, picturesquely located on the flower beds. The basis of their strictly geometric (regular) planning was - charbagh - the form of the garden, which attempts to imitate paradise from which four sacred rivers escape and divide it into four squares - the parts, which represent peace. The alleys, which were lined with plates, bisected each other and the space between them was filled with thick wooden vegetation or was occupied by ponds and luxurious flower gardens. The formed large square was divided into four smaller squares and so on. This separation of space was accomplished not only by paths, but also with the aid of the plants and a large number of small channels filled with water, which pass through each of these four gardens in order to be connected at the central pond. Trees and flowers of rare forms occupied the main and best part of the garden, the sycamore enjoyed special popularity, under which gazebos were arranged. In it cypresses, sycamores, poplars, plum trees, peach trees, apricot trees, almond trees and silkworm trees grew. The garden was surrounded by walls and decorated with beautiful pavilions with the refined finish and revetment of gold and blue tiles at the entrance. The gardens contained deer, partridges and other animals. Basic special features of the charbagh garden included the retaining wall, the use of terraces, rectangular ponds, the internal network of channels, garden pavilions and the broad spectrum of magnificent vegetation. Persian gardens frequently attempted to unite the indoor and outdoor spaces and to make a combination aesthetical and functional features. All these gardens are completely isolated from the external world and they were surrounded by elegant houses, galleries, colonnades, arcades, artistic rock lattices located between the external and internal parts. It is traditional that such gardens were closed. The purpose of these gardens was to provide a place for relaxation through spiritual methods and a place for leisure time to be spent (meeting with friends, for example) and to essentially create

paradise on the earth. Because of their luxury and perfection these small gardens were called paradise gardens. The skill of creating parks was conceived in Ancient Persia. These were the larger parks-zoos on the artificially watered soil and were utilized as a place for royal hunts. The Ancient Persians were one of the first civilizations to create such parks. These parks were mainly populated for the hunting of animals such as lions, panthers, boars and they occupied enormous areas. Ancient Persians loved to hunt with comfort; therefore in the parks were picturesquely scattered the richly decorated pavilions, around which flower gardens and fountains were arranged . Watch towers were placed along the roads. Sycamores were planted on both sides of the roads which were paved with wide plates. Ponds were made and flower gardens were arranged along the roads. Sometimes wild parks and fruit gardens were united into a unified whole. Specifically, the Persians began to practice planting and neatly trimming of the hedges - hedges. These hedges helped to divide the park into several zones, where they attempted to recreate different unique landscapes. Persian garden design influenced the creation of the gardens of the entire Ancient East. Under the influence of the Ancient Persian landscape design arose many other gardens of the world - in Turkey, the Moorish gardens in Spain and the gardens in the Crimea Tatar Khans. The eastern gardens became the reflection of the perception of peace through religion and philosophy, here gardens were symbols of paradise. They were created for leisure with the royal residences and they required high financial expenditures.

India Sunday, Jan 15th, 2012 The bloom of landscape design in India falls on the period between II and IV c. A.D. Precisely at this time decorative and medicinal plants become the object of study, treatises are devoted to them, they become an irreplaceable attribute of female accessories, the best state minds are occupied with their growing. Gardens with medicinal plants have been maintained since olden times in the mountain regions of India, Iran and Tibet. Medicinal plants were grown by monks - the same monks that formed the powerful system of Tibetan medicine. From 1526-1858 the bloom of horticulture is observed in the territory of India, where the empire of Great Mughals was located. Symbolic value was given to trees and to landscaping ensembles with the generously decorated ponds (which contained blue tiles) were created at mausoleums. The life of Indian aristocrats was mainly spent in the garden, instead of the house; therefore the requirements for garden structures and accessories increased. Specifically at this time the gardens began to be presented aesthetical requirements, which were not only utilitarian. Gardens designed for the royalty, the priests and the

courtiers not only had to be equipped with all of the necessary features for recreation - such as pools, swings and benches - but also had to delight the eye with whimsical combinations of different vegetation. The cells with the birds were hung up on the branches of trees, in the ponds the swans swam, and proud peacocks walked about along the paths. The inhabitants of Kashmir were especially famous for their excellent skill in the construction of gardens. Each luxurious palace was surrounded by an ingenious system of terraces and pools made from coloured marble, and the complex geometry of numerous paths and alleys still strikes the imagination. Descriptions of gardens on the terraces - which resemble the famous Gardens of Semiramis can be found, this indicates that the Kashmir gardeners widely used container floriculture and achieved huge success with them. Furthermore, Kashmir was famous for floating gardens. They were created by cutting off the base of the grass growing on the bottom of a lake and connecting it into the thick mats which then were fastened to thin posts driven into the bottom of a lake. Mats were covered with a layer of soil with a thickness of more than half a meter. On such floating garden beds cucumbers and melons were grown as well as flowers. In the same style is built the Shalimar Garden in Lahore (40 acres(16.2 ha)) in 1642, modern day Pakistan by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan; Pinjor Garden or Yadavindra Garden in North India is built by Patiala Dynasty Rulers; Nishat Garden of Kashmir, India (44acres (17.8 ha)) was built in 1633 and offers a splendid view of the Dal Lake as well as the snow capped Pir Panjal mountain range. The garden has terraces with a beautiful water channel flowing right in the middle of the garden, blooming flowerbeds, trees and fountains. Very often a luxurious house after death of owner became his mausoleum. The most known palace converted into the mausoleum is Taj Mahal (1630-1652) located in Agra and recognized the jewel of Muslim art in India. The tomb is set on a great white platform with the size of 42 acres (17 ha) and completes the vast, symmetrical ground plan. It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal. The long narrow canal in marble, lined by pencil-thin cypresses on either side and terraces decorated by numerous remarkably beautiful flower gardens is located in the front of the white Marble mausoleum. When the fountains play the building appears to shimmer in their droplets, the mausoleum inspires awe. The Taj garden is enclosed to east and west by massive battlemented walls with ornamental arches and crenellations inlaid with marble. Within is a classical chahar bagh, divided into quarters by broad, shallow channels with a red sandstone pavilion at the end of both cross axes, and a raised marble tank at the center. The tomb's floral designs in marble and inlays of semiprecious stones are well known. Taj Mahal is one of the greatest Indian gardens of the peace. Interesting to note that it two years after the completion of the Taj Mahal house and big reflection pond, in 1654, famous Andr Le Ntre for the first time used

in the center of his parks the reservoir, designed so as to reflect entire facade of castle. Indian civilization gave birth to Buddhism, with which began the creation of monastery gardens. Worshiping trees was an ancient custom of the Hindus.In the sacred Hindu books the Lumbinetsky garden is mentioned, which was the property of the Hindu kings. In the first period of the spread of Buddhism in India the construction of gardens and parks, intended for contemplative leisure, began. In the parks there were ponds of amazing beauty that had open gazebos which were light on the eyes and flower gardens that were organized using the principles of Zen. This was complete failure of the utilitarian purpose of a garden. This park embodied the idea of the unity of man and nature.

Feudalism in the countries of Asia Thursday, Aug 25th, 2011 Landscaping developed independently in the Far East. Its principles most appeared in China and Japan. They were assertion of the importance of the beauty of nature and the absolutism of its aesthetical qualities, and subordination of all that is created by man to this beauty. This style was called irregular style. In the Ryoanji gardens of the Daiju-in temple in Kyoto in 1499, for example, the image of life is personified in the combination of sand and stone. Kateura park was created in the outskirts of Kyoto in 1602 with a nature-like composition, in which various features such as small islands, artificial hills and vegetation are a common characteristic.

China Monday, Feb 13th, 2012 The earliest information about the gardens of this country, which we know from the written sources, drawing and other sources, which date back to XII c. B.C. One of the first parks of ancient China was created by the Chinese ruler Zhou. My Wang, who came to power immediately after, created luxurious gardens with different structures. Emperor Jing Chi-Hoang, in the time of his dominion, created immense parks with an area of more than 1000 ha. Unfortunately, the there is not much known information about the planning of the ancient Chinese parks. The development of gardens in China had two main styles. One of them was characterized by the presence of miniature gardens in small sections of land. Suzhou and Shanghai contained many of these gardens. In these gardens the trees are given dwarfish forms. A characteristic property of the second style was that gardens and parks were located on expansive pieces of land which

contained ponds and were united into a single, united composition. One of the best examples of parks of this style, which was preserved up to this day, is the park of Tuisiyuan. This summer palace park of the emperor was located in the picturesque area to the West of the capital of Peking. The park has area of 330 ha (about 290 acres) and fourth fifths of its territory were covered with water. Water was a an essential element of Chinese gardens. In the park of important courtiers water covered large areas. These were usually ponds, little rivers and waterfalls. Frequently artificial islands and peninsulas, which had beautiful gazebos arranged on them, were located inside these water features. The park of Tuisiyuan is considered as the meeting place of miniature copies of the most beautiful areas of China. The special features of the landscape design of these two styles consist of the following: the natural views of the country serve as the basis of the creation of gardens and parks; ideas taken from paintings are used for the design of park views; relief is created with such carefulness that it seems as though it was created by nature; water is the most important element of a garden; gardens are filled with all possible structures such as urns, lamps and sculptural images of birds and animals made of china and bronze; the assortment of trees in the gardens is very diverse. The landscape design of China in XVII-XVIII c. was developed especially rapidly. The gardens of China were both monumental and miniature. In the parks many different structures: pavilions, gazebos, galleries, walls, fences, bridges the rest park alleys took shape by the large number of decorative elements. For paving lime stones, marble plates and mosaics were used, they also decorated the path with figures of birds and animals. In the parks artificial relief was frequently created. Trees and bushes transplanted in groups and even in entire groves, of which most popular is the bamboo, the plum and the pine tree. Considerable attention was paid to the flower decoration. Ponds and cliffs were widely used. The parks of Tuisiyuan (330 ha), Beihai park (104 ha) in Peking and Liu Yuan in Suzhou are the most widely known parks.

Japan Monday, Feb 13th, 2012

The earliest information about the parks of Japan, which we know from different information sources from of our era. Parks in Japan were intended for solitude, meditation and the quiet contemplation of the beauty of nature, these elements were embodied in the garden composition. The basic elements of composition included relief which was not only natural but frequently artificial , water devices like ponds, creeks, waterfalls, cliffs of many varied forms and sizes, the most diverse assortment of species of trees and shrubs (deciduous, coniferous and evergreen and flowering). Before the spread and the wide acceptance of Buddhism the gardens of the ancient rulers were not intended for the concentrated observation, but they were often used for courtier ceremonies. Therefore they were designed without special features like wide alleys where the grandee could pass easily with their escorts, bright flower gardens which were arranged so that the blooming of some plants would be replaced by the blooming of others, and the large richly decorated pavilions for relaxation. But the influence of Buddhism, especially the study of Zen, leads to the fact that the high ranks of state begin to carry out many hours of meditation, trying to understand the essence of things. Therefore monks became the first landscape designers. They not only developed the ideological principles of the creation of compositions but also wrote many books which are practical guidelines on the landscape design. As early as XII c. treatises about landscape design appeared in Japan; in them the basic theoretical conditions and principles of landscaping are presented, the rules of the use of territory and its articulation are indicated. These are the recommendations for the balance of the territory of a palace - park ensemble: 40% structures, 30% the free spaces of the garden or park and 30% green plants. At the initial stage of development, in the period from VI c. until VIII c. landscape design in the Country of the Rising Sun bore on themselves the explicit imprint of Chinese culture. By the overall structure these gardens consisted of two basic elements: "mountains" and "water". A different symbolism was widely used for each element of a garden, all plants contained a certain meaning, and they were important for the general purpose of the garden. The appearance of Japanese gardens relates to the time of the administration of Emperor Cheu (592-628 A.D.), that arrived into Japan from India through Korea and China. With the creation of gardens the Japanese recreated the subjects of the pictures, made with Indian ink on silk and the rice paper. The main subjects were mountains, hills, stones and water. Sometimes in the gardens there is no concrete image of hills, springs or rivers, and there is only a hint to their form symbol. Then the so-called "dry scenery" appears, which attempts to transmit the beauty of valleys and gorges, mountain rivers without the application of water. In such gardens the stone plays a basic but fundamental role. In Japan there are gardens, which consist of only stones and sand. The gardens were executed according to the laws of painting and their miniaturization, which gives the sensation of three-dimensional depth, serves primarily as a place of admiration and contemplation.

The most known example of the rock garden is the beautiful Reandzi monastery, created at the end of XV c.- beginning of XVI c., in the ancient Japanese capital of Kyoto. The garden is a rectangular area of 23x9 m, located in front of the house with a veranda. The veranda is a place for its contemplation, since in the background the low wall located, after which a groups of trees are located in the form of a background. On the area covered with white sand, the stones are located in groups of 15. They are located, so that the structure of the stone and the nuances of colour are visible under different angles, furthermore, the stones cast shadows and because of the game of light and shadow the composition appears dynamic. White sand is combed by bamboo rakes in such a way that the grooves move in parallel with the long side of garden and form concentric circles around each group of 2-3 or 5 stones. Most important is the fact that you were located on whatever point of veranda, of 15 stones it is possible to simultaneously observe only 14. As a whole garden create for creating the illusion of sea waves, which washes the group of islands, it is or vice versa seemed that you are located highly above the earth and you observe on top the shroud of the clouds, through which come out high summits. Here there is no vegetation, but because of the proportions and the ingenious arrangement of stones this garden is the remarkable example of the garden design of Japan. As a rule, the rock garden was arranged on a green lawn or a flower bed made from sand or gravel and was covered with complex patterns. For getting around these gardens paths were used which were made from flat tiles and their size was calculated to be the length of a step. Besides the gardens with groups of fifteen stones the garden of groups of nine stones was also traditional. From any point only eight stones were visible with this design. For contrast the rock garden was located near the plentiful verdure of the evergreen bushes and thickets of maple, which become ardent-red in the autumn. After that the garden was divided by a water obstacle such as a stream or a pond with a small fountain. This could also be "dry" river with a bright red decorative bridge. After it a peach garden or a Japanese cherry blossom was located, which were widely used because the Japanese liked plants that bloomed in the Spring. Shortly after, as in the rest of the world, temple and courtier gardens appeared in Japan. But in 1473 the first tea house was built and at the peak of its popularity special gardens for tea drinking were created, in which the tea ceremonies could be conducted. These tea ceremonies quickly became a daily tradition of all Japanese people instead of being solely conducted in monasteries. The tea ceremony was a unique form of meditation, which consisted of the precise completion of all specified actions. As a rule, it occurred in the special tea pavilion with convenient low furniture. The tea pavilion was illuminated with traditional lamps and often decorated with special compositions of irises called tokonoma - or ikebana if it is located in a special niche. The pavilion was located in a secluded corner of garden, preferably not far from the pond, and had a narrow looping trail which led to it. This was done so that the person, contemplating the beauties of garden, could compose themselves for the ceremony. At the beginning the XX century the national gardens of Japan began to undergo the significant influence from the Western civilizations. But even with these

conditions, they continue to preserve their bright individuality and philosophy. The worship of nature allowed the Japanese to approach the questions of the forming of the landscape with great care, making it possible to reveal the authentic beauty of plants, stones, water sources and ponds. The apparent simplicity of Japanese gardens is in reality always filled with a delicate and sensual meaning, which fills seemingly ordinary objects with a feeling of beauty. The Japanese style garden is becoming increasingly popular today. The gardens have small area, but each element of the garden, even a small bridge or hardly noticeable lantern contains complex internal meaning. This landscape is organized according to the principle of the maximum sensation of calmness, possibility to rest and controlling nature. Japanese gardens are frequently compared with theatrical productions, since it has little in common with real nature. The development of miniature gardens in a small space helped develop the art of dwarfish trees like the bonsai. Dwarfish trees grow slowly, but the Japanese also do not like hurry. For the recreation of temple gardens on a plate they use dwarfish trees and miniature models of temples and waterfalls