From the way we gain sustenance from farms and orchards, to the way we adopt an eco-friendly attitude to the lands we live in, our ever-growing relationship with the natural world can be seen across the globe. The garden, however, is a lasting symbol of our continuing appreciation living and growing things.
From botanical gardens developed for scientific studies, to outlandish regal displays for artistic appreciation, the gardens throughout our world are wondrous and varied. Join us here as we pursue the oldest gardens in existence in the following passages.
Classical Gardens of Suzhou, China
Founded in the 6th Century, these ancient gardens can be found in Suzhou within the Jiangsu Province of China, which at that time was Wu Kingdom’s capital city.
While dozens of gardens were built at Suzhou, only 50 of them still survive today. Nine of these are considered the true embodiment of the acclaimed “Mountain and Water” gardens of China. Examples of this ancient art form present include the Lingering Garden, Net Master’s Garden, Humble Administrator’s Garden, The Lion Grove Garden and the Couple’s Garden retreat.
The oldest surviving garden at this historic site was created in the 11th Century. Known as the Canglang Pavillion, it was constructed where a previously destroyed garden had once stood. This makes it perhaps the oldest garden still surviving today in the world.
Garden of Versailles, France
Over 40 years’ worth of work went into the unique designs and development of these magnificent gardens in Versailles. The grand project encompassing 800 hectares was headed by French landscape architect André Le Nôtre, who under instruction from his king, Louis XIV began work on the gardens in 1661.
Following the King’s death in 1715, both the court and new king of France abandoned Versailles, but the spectacular gardens were saved when the French government intervened. Towards the end of the 18th Century, they were officially opened to member of the public. Today the Garden of Versailles, designed in a classic French style is attended each year by over six million visitors from all over the world, and included as a site of World Heritage by UNESCO.
Missouri Botanical Garden, USA
The oldest of the botanical gardens in the United States still in continuous operation, the Missouri Botanical Garden was founded in the year 1859. It is the home to one of the largest collections of endangered and rare orchid on the planet, and features nearly 80 acres of impressive horticultural displays.
Originally funded and commissioned by St. Louis entrepreneur Henry Shaw, the gardens were designed by George I. Barnett who created schematics for a number of constructions, including a herbarium that today holds 6.6 million species of plant. On the grounds of this amazing garden over 4,800 trees stand, some of which date back to the 19th Century.
Botanischer Garten Jena, Germany
Another Botanical garden of renowned, The Botanischer Garten Jena was founded by the University of Jena Medical Faculty back in 1586. Originally, the garden was operated as a place for the educational institution to study the medicinal properties of plants.
Today, the massive botanical garden in Germany is readily open to the public and has expanded to cover an area of 4.5 hectares. It houses around 12,000 different plant specimens in its collective outdoor areas and greenhouses.
Sigiriya Gardens, Sri Lanka
A shining example of early urban planning techniques by ancient civilisations, the Sigiriya Gardens are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Perhaps the most visited of all historic sites in Sri Lanka’s cultural triangle, the exceptional gardens are divided into a trio of distinctive areas – the terraced gardens, the boulder gardens and the water gardens.
An ancient palace located on a high rocky outcrop, Sigiriya became the capital for King Kasyapa around the year 477, making its surrounding gardens among the oldest examples of landscaped gardens in our world. Rediscovered during the 1980s, these intriguing ancient gardens still have ongoing excavations by archaeologists taking place to this day.
Ryōan-ji, Japan
With Zen Buddhist temples dating from the 11th Century, this serene site in Kyoto, Japan hosts a garden believed to have been built between the years 1450 and 1473. Comprising a rectangle of 2,670 square feet, it’s not only World Heritage site, but a surviving example an ancient art form called “Kare-sansui”. Meaning “dry landscape”, Kare-sansui was a type of garden design used in Japanese Zen temples.
Placed within the white gravel garden are 15 stones of varying sizes composed carefully into groups. The first is a group of five stones, the second two contains three and then two smaller groups with two stones each. The only growing vegetation within the garden is a kind of moss that surrounds the stones. The gravel must be raked evenly each day by temple monks.
Botanical Garden of the University of Valencia, Spain
The University of Valencia first began growing plants for medicinal reason formally in the 16th Century when Doctor of Medicine, Joan Joan Plaça was awarded a small garden in which to grow plants for teaching.
In 1802, the present botanical garden was officially established when Valencia granted land to the University in order to create a new garden. Over the following centuries, the garden was decimated multiple times due to both war and flood. During the 1960s, the garden received extensive reconstruction work and a new research building was raised in 2000. Today the University Gardens are part of the largest network of plant conservation in the world, The Botanical Gardens Conservation international.
From the unique rock and gravel gardens of Japan, to the perfectly manicured displays at Versailles, there are a multitude of different styles to be experienced around the world. Whether offering a tranquil place to find peace or a way to showcase the rare and bountiful plants that grace our earth, every garden is a celebration of living things. One thing is certain, however – the perfect garden has been a pursuit of ours since ancient times and there is no doubt it will always be so.
