A beautifully illustrated book tracing the beginning of gardening and garden history, from Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, to the Minoans and Mycenaeans, Greeks, Etruscans and Romans, through Byzantine, Islamic and Persian gardens right up to the Middle Ages. It shows how gardens in each period were designed and cultivated. Evidence for garden art and horticulture is gathered from surviving examples of ancient art, literature, archaeology, actual period gardens that have survived the centuries and the wealth of garden myths associated with certain plants. These sources show which plants were chosen as garden worthy, their setting and the design and appearance of ancient gardens. Deities associated with aspects of gardens and the garden's fertility are featured - everyone wanted a fertile garden. Different forms of public and domestic gardens are explored, and the features that you would find there; whether paths, pools, arbours and arches, seating or decorative sculpture. The ideal garden could be like the Greek groves of the Academy in Athens, a garden so fine that it was comparable with that of the mythical king Alcinoos, the paradise contemplated by the Islamic world, or a personal version of a garden of Eden that Early Christians could create for themselves or in the forecourt of their churches. Generously illustrated with 150 images, with plant lists for each period, this is essential reading for everyone interested in garden history and ancient societies.

About the Author
Linda Farrar is a specialist in ancient gardens, with a particular interest in Roman gardens. She has been lecturing since 1999 at the University of Warwick on aspects of ancient gardens and has also given lectures at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, and at various venues throughout the country (including the British Museum as part of their 2013 Pompeii exhibition, where she gave a lecture on Life and art in the Gardens of Pompeii). She is the author of Ancient Roman Gardens (Sutton Publishing).

Reviews
Linda Farrar's excellent survey of the gardens of antiquity is an enjoyable volume and is well illustrated with 150 images in colour and monochrome including its author's own pen and ink drawins and plans. * ARA Journal *
This handsomely illustrated book... is geared towards the general reader, written in accessible language, with a user-friendly layout. * Bryn Mawr Classical Review *
An insightful and scholarly assessment of medieval life, useful for students and scholars interested in the roles that gardens played in the social and philosophical life of the Middle Ages. * Journal of Greek Archaeology *



Book Information
ISBN 9781909686854
Author Linda Farrar
Format Paperback
Page Count 304
Imprint Windgather Press
Publisher Windgather Press