See a Roman Garden

Posted by Rebecca Ford Apr 25, 2007

If you want to see what a Roman garden might have looked like, go to this year’s Chelsea Flower Show. Leeds City Council’s garden for the 2007 Chelsea Flower Show has been inspired by Roman ruins in Yorkshire.

Contrary to popular opinion not all Roman gardens were formal and ornamental. In fact early examples were functional spaces designed for growing food, as well as for entertainment and quiet reflection. The Leeds City Council garden includes plant species introduced to the UK by the Romans for their scent, as well as their culinary and medicinal uses. Other native Yorkshire species will be mixed with the Roman plants.

The Romans were responsible for introducing the culinary herbs sage and thyme to Britain, as well as cabbages, garlic and olives. So these will have a prominent place in the Chelsea Flower Show garden. Wild garlic will be displayed at different stages of growth to create different effects. The Romans used herbs not just to flavour their food, but also to make medicine.

The overall feel of the garden will be very natural and informal, almost like a cottage garden, with plenty of texture, flowers and foliage. Traditional English garden plants such as foxgloves will feature, and there will be a woodland area and a grotto. In damp shady areas there will be hostas and ferns. Symmetry was an important part of the Roman garden, and crisp lines will be enhanced by use of stone pillars and tall Italian Cyprus trees.

The garden, entitled Scent of a Roman, will be re-created in the city of Leeds after the show. It is sponsored by Thorpe Park Developments Ltd. The Chelsea Flower Show takes place from 22-26 May 2007. For information: click here

Read about A Taste of Ancient Rome