Paradise Gardens

Top 2. Oct 6, 1999 10:32 PM

» Kirk_Johnson - Two Main Traditions

There are two main traditions in garden design. Meso America may have had traditions of garden design, but they didn't become a main tradition.

If I had said that there were only two traditions of garden design, I would be in trouble, but gardens which are being designed all over the world tend to be dominated by the two main traditions. I expect that a case could be made for Central and South American gardens being influenced by pre-Columbian traditions.

Many Renaissance gardens proudly displayed exotic plants from the New World. This did affect the design of Renaissance gardens because each new rarity would be displayed in its own planting bed, so gardens composed out of a lot of little beds were fashionable.

-- posted by Kirk_Johnson

Top 3. Oct 8, 1999 8:18 AM

» bindweed - Native Peopl'es Contributions

I was responding to a typical European bias towards who influenced our gardens. Western, beginning in Persia and Chinese.
I found it totally in line with our continued overlooking of Native People's contributions.
Kirk,

Just don't forget Aztec contributions as well. Might not be a word, but Mesoamerican gardens might well be a third center had not western barbarians destroyed everything.
As botanists, hybridizers, processors of foodstuffs, and as plant lovers I would definitely put the Aztec's and Toltec's up there with everyone else. Vanilla, Cacao -- 'chocolatl', and they were people who hybridized flowers for beauty, Dahlia, Fuchsia and never forget their hydroponic floating gardens -- records that sadly all disappeared when the Christian conquerors decided to save them.
Need I even mention the rockworks that these American civilizations created? Mayan, Incan ... to the Anastazi of North America. Also mysteriously disappeared!

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Kirk answered me on the 'garden design' issue. He is correct.

I simply wanted to make a case that the America's had some great, great gardeners in the truest sense of the word. Contributions of her peoples seem to be overlooked (in most cases destroyed) and I just want to give credit where it is due. Yes, the Spanish did indeed bring back many exotics from the new world and therefore Kirk's European Renaissance Gardens were influenced.

That is an understatement at best. This European finger pinching (beginning with the vanilla orchid) created the first Orchid craze -- influencing the building of greenhouses to house these American tropicals. Thankfully those so quickly conquered, managed to addict and conquer equally as well the Europeans. 'Tobaco' was brought to Spain to adorn its gardens as well as for the supposed herbal virtues.

My comment was to give credit to these people as hybridizers, herbalists and as botanists. The processing of the Vanilla bean alone is a marvel of Aztec/Mayan ingenuity. So were their floating gardens and other horticultural investments. Even the so-called 'savages' of the Amazon were the masters of the plant. The processing of curare was one such example.
A vine called the Wourali is the main source of this ingredient. To this is added another root, and two other kinds of plants. These are all combined by thin shavings and put into a colander made of leaves. Through this 'melita' filter water is poured so it runs into an earthen pot.

To this is added a few different but specific species of ants, the fangs of a snake and capsicum (pepper). This recipe was then slowly boiled, further reduced and then used.

How in the world did this process ever get discovered, it certainly gives great question to the superiority of the 'enlightened' Western man. To this day modern botanists are still trying to learn the mysteries of these jungle botanists.

I would add that when the Spainards arrived in Mexico, the architecture, gardens, zoo's, and truely unique designs of the Mexican Cities were razed, and Replaced by sadly inferior European models.

Herb

Another comment added:

Also don't forget their wonderful irrigation systems. Most sites focus on pyramids and temples, but occasionally somebody wonders how they supported such large populations and takes a look at their agriculture...amazing. By the way how did they fit those great big stones together so well ???

DIESEL

-- posted by bindweed

Top 4. Nov 17, 1999 7:40 AM

» max_read - Western & Eastern Gardening traditions

I am living in Tucumcari, NM, an area once juniper and pinon pine forests that supported a great civilization BEFORE the cowboys of western literature came and literally BULL-dozed our trees into grassland and desert. In a future column I write about feng shui, the eastern garden tradition, as the opposite of Xeric Landscaping design. I think of eastern gardening traditions as having a place in my western climate, or as I say in one of my columns: Feng shui is the essence of eastern gardening traditions in an area of western energies. I suppose the gardening techniques of the Americas are more similar to those that grew out of the traditions of the Middle East, because they are based on scarcity of water. Feng shui developed along a river, and I don't believe it stressed or stresses irrigation canals. Although I haven't read anything specifically related to it, it would seem more of an eastern tradition to plant your garden near the water, not move the water to it. A very interesting discussion. Thanks!

-- posted by max_read

Top 5. Nov 17, 1999 11:19 PM

» Kirk_Johnson - Feng Shui

I touch on the subject of Feng Shui in my article entitled The Roots of Japanese Gardens

-- posted by Kirk_Johnson

Top 6. Nov 27, 1999 2:30 PM

» bindweed - I look forward to reading both of your articles on Feng Shui

Hi xeric_max

I do indeed look forward to your article on Feng Shui, please post a note to me when you do!

I had wanted to make a comment on "paridaeza," and then saw that Kirk had covered it. "The Assyrians had ruled parts of Persia and the Persian monarchs continued their tradition of creating hunting parks, which they called “pairidaeza”. The Greeks called the Persian hunting parks and gardens “paradeisos” and the word has entered the English language as “paradise”."

I wonder about the Sheng fui of Thermopylae's wall. I would venture to guess that Leonidas's placement was a good one, moreover the defense of Greece was turned when the Hellenic fleet destroyed the naval forces of the Persian fleet. Despite the reverance of the Persians to water Poseidon did them in.

Yet during the seige of Thermopylae the Persians took care not to foul their rivers ... I only wish that today's "civilized" nations would do the same.

Thank you Kirk for a great article!

Herbert Senft
Manager Director - Pacific Northwest Gardening
Pacific Northwest
The Mad Cow Recipe Archives
Skyline Nursery

-- posted by bindweed