One of the best stories in the history of horticulture concerns the gardens of Nebuchadnezzar built on the plain of Babylon, beside the Euphrates, to gladden the heart of his bride who missed the hills of her homeland. Four acres of terraces rising tier upon tier until there stood on that plain what must have appeared to be a verdant mountain.
According to Greek historians of the first century after Christ, each terrace was set back from the one preceding it and it all was supported by immense arches of the sun-baked brick.
Cedars, larch, cypress, mimosa and palms were placed so that the roots could penetrate into the hollow, soil-filled supporting columns below. Water was brought to the top most likely by slaves to keep the great mountain green. The water of the Euphrates reached new heights of glory. From the top they fell to splash in pools below.
Although some historians dispute the very existence of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, saying that the Greeks saw the remnants of only a fortress or a ziggurat, a tall tower-temple symbolizing the link between heaven and earth, there are too many examples in later gardens to remind us of Nebuchadnezzar’s gift.
What better link between heaven and earth than a garden which would have been a special ziggurat indeed.
Pliny the Younger, A.D.62-113, was a gentleman of considerable education, wealth, and culture, and was the owner of several beautiful villas. At his Villa Tuscum, he wrote “The moment you enter, you take it in at a glance. A space surrounded by trees covered in ivy. Box and laurels are planted between and a garden runs in a straight line. A line of cypress forms the background. Within these are several inner circles in full sunshine planted with roses to break the monotony of the shade with their brilliant colors.”
The Roman love for the land was a high passion. Wealthy Romans owned several villas, large and small. They were the first to grow plants for their beauty alone. Before then the plants had practical uses such as pot or medicinal, herb, oil, fruit, aromatic or cosmetic value, or dye properties. The Romans developed the orangeries and modern greenhouse with windows of talc or mica in which roses could be brought to bloom out of season.
The heritage of ancient Rome is evident today in the city, as well as the surrounding countryside. In small towns are tiny balconies which overflow with a brilliant abundance of plants of every kind. It seems there was no such thing as enough and as if, without them, Romans as human beings could not possibly exist.
In medieval Europe, knowledge of plants and gardens was cloistered inside monasteries. While the Korn taught that the religion of Mohammed should be spread by the sword, it said that the Day of Judgment would take place in a garden of pleasure and that those favored to enter it would go to a verdant, shaded garden cooled by flowing springs.
Now is the time, this is the week, these are the hours for us to plant our Summer gardens. I will spend hours cleaning up the area and planting the lobelia, geraniums, pansies, begonias and the zennias. All the while watching the seasonal displays of the perennials. The lily of the valley arrive followed by the peonies, the clematis, the hydrangeas, the day lilies and the hollyhocks. I could never leave my gardens. From this point on the calendar to the first frost in October, I shall be thinking that the time for singing has come. The voice of the turtledoves is heard. And my heart sings a tune long remembered.
And never forgotten.