The History Of Garden Design

The History Of Garden Design

The history of garden design starts from the basic use of agriculture then. This primarily means that gardens were not used for aesthetic purposes then but for practical reasons. As such, Bristol garden design or to garden design Bristol homes were non-existent. What existed was planting herbs and vegetables for food.

Although many believe Egyptian tomb painting were the first evidence of ornamental gardening, most of the credit in the origin of garden design goes to Persia or Iran as we now know it. In ancient times, medieval European gardens were a combination of planting herbs for medicinal purposes, planting vegetables for food and planting flowers for decorative purposes. Garden design in a purely aesthetic manner started with the renaissance gardens, most notably the Italian renaissance gardens and gardens of the French renaissance, evident in popularity in paintings of that era.

Italian renaissance gardens started from the late fifteenth century and were most known for much of the art of its era, a rediscovery of earlier roman descriptions of what a garden should be.

There were however, early renaissance gardens, with the first ever being the Villa Medici in Fiesole in Florence. This was in the 14th century and owned by the Medici dynasty. In this period, many followed the philosophy that a garden should overlook what it could such as the city, a valley or the sea. Italian renaissance gardens were popular for symmetry, the use of fountains, installation of pathways and ramps for tiered gardens and the installation of patios or labyrinths. Gardens of the French renaissance in the meanwhile were largely influenced by the Italian renaissance gardens and mirrored the usual rules of proportion and harmony while being grander in scale. They were a way to symbolize power and wealth. The garden à la française or the French formal garden was also largely influenced by the Italian renaissance gardens following the rules of proportion while garden designers, during this time, started considering the garden designing as a branch of architecture.

By the mid-eighteenth century, the French formal garden experienced a decline with the increasing popularity of the English garden. The English garden is largely influenced by choosing nature over architecture. Symmetry was brought to an end. Instead, gardens were inspired by landscape paintings that included a lake, spanning lawns, clumps of trees and building of beautiful architecture such as bridges and temples. In a sense, it aims to be more romantic by being the subject of paintings, art and poems. The French landscape garden, again, is similarly influenced by the English garden.

The last genre to gardening is the contemporary garden, the garden that we know today. A contemporary garden can be a revival of past garden styles, a present garden style and a modern garden style. The cottage garden is also an informal garden that encourages the growth of wild or natural grown plants in backyards. Though this was already existent even before garden styles were even known, it is currently being revived. Currently, private or residential gardens are not limited to certain genres but largely follow the interior design and architecture of homes such as Zen style gardens have become popular at the advent of Japanese platform beds and other furniture. Trends in garden design are first dependent on individual style while many try to harmonize the style house and the garden as naturally as possible.

Trends in interior design and architecture today promote eco-friendliness and environmental awareness. So expect garden design trends to follow suit. People who garden will focus more on the cause of saving the world rather than simply aesthetics while having a sustainable irrigation system to water plants from within the garden. In the same manner choosing a low maintenance Bristol garden design that need very minimal tending to will also become widespread this year compared to high maintenance gardens while choosing eco-friendly plants that do not need chemicals to keep them alive. The best garden design bristol homes could possibly have this year is a perfect blend of aesthetics, functionality and its contribution in helping save the environment. Basically, that is what a contemporary garden is a practical approach and adherence to the form follows function principle. Create it for what it is intended for.

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