For planting a plain-text to be encrypted by an adversary,
see Gardening (cryptanalysis). For persons who garden,
see Gardener.
A gardener maintaining topiary in Tulcán, Ecuador
Gardening is the practice of growing and cultivating plants as part
of horticulture. In gardens, ornamental plants are often grown for
their flowers, foliage, or overall appearance; useful plants, such
as root vegetables, leaf vegetables, fruits, and herbs, are grown for
consumption, for use as dyes, or for medicinal or cosmetic use.
Gardening is considered by many people to be a relaxing activity.
Gardening ranges in scale from fruit orchards, to long boulevard
plantings with one or more different types of shrubs, trees,
and herbaceous plants, to residential back gardens including lawns
and foundation plantings, and to container gardens grown inside or
outside. Gardening may be very specialized, with only one type of
plant grown, or involve a variety of plants in mixed plantings. It
involves an active participation in the growing of plants, and tends to
be labor-intensive, which differentiates it from farming or forestry.
Contents
1History of gardening
History of gardening[edit]
Main article: History of gardening
Robert Hart's forest garden in Shropshire, England
Ancient times[edit]
Forest gardening, a forest-based food production system, is the
world's oldest form of gardening.[1] Forest gardens originated
in prehistoric times along jungle-clad river banks and in the wet
foothills of monsoon regions. In the gradual process of families
improving their immediate environment, useful tree and vine species
were identified, protected and improved while undesirable species
were eliminated. Eventually foreign species were also selected and
incorporated into the gardens.[2]
After the emergence of the first civilizations, wealthy individuals began
to create gardens for aesthetic purposes. Ancient Egyptian tomb
paintings from the New Kingdom (around 1500 BC) provide some of
the earliest physical evidence of ornamental horticulture and
landscape design; they depict lotus ponds surrounded by symmetrical
rows of acacias and palms. A notable example of ancient ornamental
gardens were the Hanging Gardens of Babylon—one of the Seven
Wonders of the Ancient World —while ancient Rome had dozens of
gardens.
Wealthy ancient Egyptians used gardens for providing shade.
Egyptians associated trees and gardens with gods, believing that their
deities were pleased by gardens. Gardens in ancient Egypt were often
surrounded by walls with trees planted in rows. Among the most
popular species planted were date palms, sycamores, fir trees, nut
trees, and willows. These gardens were a sign of higher
socioeconomic status. In addition, wealthy ancient Egyptians grew
vineyards, as wine was a sign of the higher social classes. Roses,
poppies, daisies and irises could all also be found in the gardens of
the Egyptians.
Assyria was also renowned for its beautiful gardens. These tended to
be wide and large, some of them used for hunting game—rather like a
game reserve today—and others as leisure gardens. Cypresses and
palms were some of the most frequently planted types of trees.
Ancient Roman gardens were laid out with hedges and vines and
contained a wide variety of flowers—
acanthus, cornflowers, crocus, cyclamen, hyacinth, iris, ivy, lavender,
lilies, myrtle, narcissus, poppy, rosemary and violets[3]—as well as
statues and sculptures. Flower beds were popular in the courtyards of
rich Romans.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gardening
