Persian Gardens
Persian
Gardens :-
Marked the beginning of “Modern
Garden Architecture”.
•Persian Garden Style evolved after
the Egyptian Style of gardening.
•The Persian garden was an answer to
the aridity of the local climate where the high walled garden and the shady trees
with its air cooled by streams and fountains, was a simple recipe for paradise.
•Pools reflecting the image of the
sky and the garden
•The word ‘paradise’ originally is
believed to have meant a hunting park in Persian and it is still a Persian word
for garden.
•The Persian garden is resolutely
formal and is an elaboration of the Egyptian Plan.
•In larger gardens subsidiary canals
subdivided the garden..
Formal and Informal Gardens
•The style or Persian gardens can be
both formal and informal. The formal gardens are the type found in front of
palaces, and are geometric in their layout. Cyrus’ garden, the ChaharBagh,
meaning four gardens, consisted of four squares within a square – a
quadripartite ground-plan.
•A example of informal gardens are
the family baghs found on the outskirts of major Iranian cities such as Tehran.
•The fundamental layout of all
Persian architecture is the division of space into four quadrants, a form
originating in the Fifth Century B.C. First found in the Parthian constructions
of Tchahâr-tagh, linking the square plan of the Zoroastrian temple
to the circular form at the base of the cupola via the use of the
architectural device known as the pendentive.
•This four-part archetypal
element can be found transposed into other fields of artistic expression
as well.
•Small jets of water made sounds
such that water was heard and seen.
•Tall Chenar trees shaded the centre
while the edge of the garden was lined with cypress, pine, poplar, date palms,
almonds, orange and other fruit trees.
•Flowers were sometimes planted
along the canals or in the long grass under trees. Tulips, iris, primula,
narcissus, evening primrose, violets, carnations and jasmine have been
mentioned in literature
•A
high surrounding wall.
•Straight
tile-lined channels of water.
•Bubbling
fountains.
•Trees
for shade and fruit.
•A
Pavilion or gazebo.
•Strong
emphasis on flowers in beds and pots.
•The garden offers the passer-by a
series of spaces ideally suited to solitary meditation, while pleasing the
senses.
• It offers the warmth of the sun
and the freshness of its shade, the whispering of breezes in the leaves and the
murmur of running water in the channels, the song of birds, the perfume of flowers, the
bursts of colour.
•The garden can be easily converted
into a place of conviviality when the occasion arises, and can accommodate
musicians and dancers.
Shalimar
Bagh:
Place for musicians and dancers to
perform.
•The paving tiles on every surface
and their pattern provided colour in the garden.
•Low hedges line flowerbeds near the
gazebo.
•The Moghuls made the grandest of
these gardens in the 16th and 17th century in India.
•The Shalimar Bagh in
Kashmir shows a similar layout. Shah Jahan built it in 1642. However,
these gardens lacked a high compound wall in India.
•Persian Garden Architecture was
then followed by Italian and French Garden Architecture…
Mughal
gardens
• Built by Mughals According Islamic
architecture.
• Influenced by Persian gardens.
• The founder of Mughal empire Babur
started building gardens ,hefavouritlycalled CHARBAGH.
• His son didn’t take much interest
in gardens. Akbar built few gardens in Delhi.
• But it was Shah Jahan who enhanced
the Mughal architecture and floral design.
Symbiotic
relationship between the kinetic water and plants, and the static stonework and
the rigid plans.
•Formal and symmetrical design.
•Mughal gardens would originally
have taken advantage of naturally occurring streams flowing from the mountains,
channelling
the water into canals for pleasure and decoration near to the palaces, in
geometric quadrants according To Paradise mentioned in Koran, then
flowing on down to irrigate crops in adjacent fields.
•The focal point is always an
arrangement of canals edged with stone or brick.
•Typically, two water channels cross
each other, dividing the garden into four quarters.
•A central pool or pavilion marks
the centre of the garden.
•Water is also used in cascades and
fountains, and is appreciated for its air-cooling properties.
•Scented flowers, in formal
symmetrical beds, were important.
•Trees, such as plane and cypress,
emphasise the lines and create a background to rose beds bordering the streams
• On forts and hillsides, elaborate
terraces were constructed.
•Paths were usually raised above
ground level.
•The overall effect is one of
complete calm and delight.
•Numerological and zodiacal
significances- number 8 and 9 were considered auspicious.
•Often seen in octagonal pools.
•To replicate paradise on earth,
they used running water and a pool to reflect the beauties
of sky and garden.
•Trees of various sorts, some to
provide shade merely, and others to produce fruits; flowers, colourful
and sweet-smelling.
•Birds to fill the garden with song;
the whole cooled by a pleasant breeze.
•The local tradition
of white fragrant night flowering plants
was adopted by the Mughals and these were planted near open pavilions and also
near residential buildings of the garden.
•The complex is set around a large
300-metre square charbagh or Mughal garden.
•The garden uses raised pathways
that divide each of the four quarters of the garden into 16 sunken parterres or
flowerbeds.
•A raised marble water tank at the
center of the garden, halfway between the tomb and gateway with a reflecting
pool on a north-south axis, reflects the image of the mausoleum.
•Elsewhere, the garden is laid out
with avenues of trees and fountains
•The TajMahal garden is unusual in
that the main element, the tomb, is located at the end of the garden.
•The use of symmetry and pattern can
be seen in the relationship between sunlight and shade, plants and water, and
light and dark tones. The effect is that of a Persian rug leading to the
entrance of the mausoleum.
•Early accounts of the garden
describe its profusion of vegetation, including abundant roses, daffodils, and
fruit trees.
•NishatBagh
is a Mughal garden built on the
eastern side of the Dal Lake, close to the Srinagar city.
•‘NishatBagh’is a Hindustani word,
which means “Garden of Joy,” “Garden of Gladness” and “Garden of Delight”.
•Even though the layout of NishatBagh
was based on the basic conceptual model of the ChaharBagh, it had to be
remodelled to fit the topographic and water source conditions at the site
chosen in the Kashmir valley.
•A rectangular layout with east-west
length of 548 metres and width of 338 metres was adopted.
•NishatBagh as laid out now is a
broad cascade of terraces lined with avenues of chinar and cypress trees, which
starts from the lakeshore and reaches up to an artificial façade at the hill
end.
•Rising from the edge of the Dal
Lake, it has 12 terraces representing twelve Zodiacal signs.
•There are, however, some
similarities with the Shalimar Bagh, such as the polished stone channel and
terraces.
•The source of water supply to the
two gardens is the same.
•Built in an east-west direction,
the top terrace has the Zenana garden while the lowest terrace is connected to
the Dal Lake.
•Water flows down in a cascade from
the top to the first terrace at the lake level.
•The water flow from one terrace to
the next is over stepped stone ramps that provide the sparkle to the flow.
•At all the terraces fountains with
pools are provided, along the water channel.
•At channel crossings, benches are
provided for people to sit and enjoy the beauty of the garden and the cascading
flows and fountain jets.
The Chinese garden
The Chinese garden, also known as a
Chinese classical garden, recreates natural landscapes in miniature.
•The style has evolved for more than
three thousand years, and includes both the vast gardens of the Chinese
emperors and smaller gardens built by scholars, poets, and former government
officials.
•The classical Chinese garden is
enclosed by a wall and has one or more ponds, a rock garden, trees and flowers,
and an assortment of halls and pavilions within the garden, connected by
winding paths and zig-zag galleries.
•By moving from structure to
structure, visitors can view a series of carefully-composed scenes, unrolling
like a scroll of landscape paintings.
•”Borrowed scenery”
•Concealment and surprise.
•Multiple functionary.
“Even though everything [in the
garden] is the work of man, it must appear to have been created by heaven…”
The
beginnings
– Ji Cheng, Yuanye, or The
Craft of Gardens (1633)
–The earliest recorded Chinese
gardens were created in the valley of the Yellow River, during the Shang
Dynasty (1600-1046 B.C).
–These gardens were large enclosed
parks where the kings and nobles hunted game, or where fruit and vegetables
were grown.
–There were three types of gardens,
namely, you, pu and yuan.
–You was a royal garden where birds
and animals were kept, while pu was a garden for plants. Whereas yuan was a
garden enclosed in walls and had a pavilion, a pond and trees in it.
–Famous garden: Shaqui, or the Dunes
of Sand (most famous features of this garden was the Wine Pool and Meat Forest
)
Han
Dynasty (206 BC–220 AD)
•Under the new Han Dynasty (206 BC –
220 AD) Emperor Wu of Han built a new imperial garden, which combined the
features of botanical and zoological gardens, as well as the traditional hunting
grounds.
•Notable garden was the Garden of
General
•Immense landscape garden with
artificial mountains, ravines and forests, filled with rare birds and
domesticated wild animals.
Tang
Dynasty (618–907), First Golden Age of the Classical Garden
•The Emperor Xuanzong built a
magnificent imperial garden, the Garden of the Majestic Clear Lake.
•The new gardens, were inspired by
classical legends and poems.
•A notable example was the Jante
Valley Garden.
•During the Tang Dynasty, plant
cultivation was developed to an advanced level.
Song Dynasty (960–1279)
•The Emperor Huizong of Song
(1082–1135), a scholar himself, integrated elements of the scholar garden into
his grand imperial garden. His first garden, called The Basin of the Clarity of
Gold, was an artificial lake surrounded by terraces and pavilions.
Yuan
Dynasty (1279–1368)
• An excellent example was
the Lion Grove Garden in Suzhou. It was built in 1342, and took its
name from the collection of fantastic and grotesque assemblies of rocks, taken from
Lake Tai. Some of them were said to look like the heads of lions.
Ming
Dynasty (1368–1644)
•Famous gardens:
– Humble Administrator’s
Garden: principle of ‘borrowed view’.
–Lingering garden: tall limestone
rocks symbolising mountains.
Qing Dynasty (1644–1912)
•Famous gardens: the Summer Palace
in Beijing and the Old Summer Palace eight kilometers north of Beijing.
•Artificial mountains and rock
gardens:
–The mountain peak was a symbol of
virtue, stability and endurance in the philosophy, of Confucius and in the I
Ching.
–During the Qing Dynasty, the Ming
rock gardens were considered too artificial and the new mountains were composed
of both rocks and earth.
•Water:
–A pond or lake is the central
element of a Chinese garden.
– The main buildings are usually
placed beside it, and pavilions surround the lake to see it from different
points of view.
•Flowers and trees:
–They represent nature in its most
vivid form, and contrast with the straight lines of the architecture and the
permanence, sharp edges and immobility of the rocks.
–Trees: pine, bamboo, chinese plum,
pear, apricot, peach, pomegranate, willow.
–Flowers: orchid, peony, lotus.
•Lobby
–A lobby is where guests are met,
feted, invited to marvel at exotic potted plants, or entertained with theatrical
performances.
•Corridor
–The corridor comprises the center
piece of a garden. It not only serves as a link between buildings, but also
partitions up the space.
•Parlour
–This was where the patriarch of a
family lived or where family celebrations were held. The parlor is mostly
located on the axis of an entire complex, with a well-conceived design and
elegant interior decoration.
•Waterside
kiosk
–It is used to decorate the shore of
a lake or a river, and adds a touch of appeal to the surroundings.
•Bridge
–The bridge is not only a means of
transportation but also serves to beautify the environment and incorporating
the surrounding scenery into the picture.
•Storied chamber/pavilion
–The storied chamber is a house with
more than two floors. It is often used as bedroom or reading room, or
simply for marveling at the scenery.
•Pagoda
–The pagoda is a major Buddhist
building. In a garden it often appears in the center of the entire layout, and
is an element for the creation of new scenery.
•Kiosk
–The kiosk is where one stops to
take a rest or enjoy the scene, and forms a scene on its own. Kiosks vary
in size and style.
•Wall
–The wall, serving as a screen built
of brick, stone or rammed earth, comes in a variety of shapes, such as cloudy
walls and flowery walls. Windows are often let into the wall to create shifting
scenes of captivating beauty.
•A Chinese garden was not meant to
be seen all at once.
•Beautiful disorder and
anti-symmetry.
•Everything is in good taste, and
well arranged.
•Chinese classical gardens varied
greatly in size.
•Surrounded by a wall, usually
painted white, which served as a pure backdrop for the flowers and trees.
•A pond of water was usually located
in the center.
•Many structures, large and small,
were arranged around the pond.
Eastern
gardens
•Zoroastrian Heritage by K. E.
Eduljee.
•The Persian Garden: Echoes of
paradise.
•Gardens of Persia by Penelope
Hobhouse.
•Perspectives on Garden Histories by
Michel Conan.
•The Mughal Garden: Gateway to
paradise by James Dickie.
•The Classical Gardens of Shuzou by
ChaoxiongFeng.
Subscribe Our Newsletter
