in recent years with the increasing awareness of the existence of climate change and its potential impacts on gardens. However, the future effect of the occurrence of extreme weather events such as floods, fires and droughts is difficult to predict with any certainty.
As the years wore on, it was interesting to discover that the various species of lavender I had planted turned out to be one of the most versatile herbs in this exposed location. It was consequently not surprising that just across the valley from the farmhouse was a speciality lavender farm called ‘Maesmynis Lavender’, producing its own essential oil! Aromatics actually offer a lot of potential in adapting to climate change, since many of them will tolerate very dry conditions, such as the Santolina and Cistus genuses … However, they will only flourish if they have sufficient warmth and can escape being drowned in winter. Low temperature tolerance varies greatly amongst garden plants. For example, scented pelargoniums, will not survive even short periods below freezing, while others will tolerate temperatures of -40°C (-40°F) or even lower.
Poet’s narcissus (Narcissus poeticus)
Sarah2
Selecting the right variety of a plant for a specific temperature zone and then providing the correct soil type, enough water and adequate drainage will have a major influence in the art of creating a beautiful fragrant garden in the future. Hardy, drought-resistant plants, such as those from the Mediterranean region and the Middle East, especially those aromatics with silver or grey foliage, will play an important role in the planning of gardens in the 21st century, while features such as raised beds and gravel gardens will inevitably become more popular. The theme of naturalistic gardening, where plants are matched to their natural habitat, which was introduced by William Robinson in the late 19th century and upheld by Gertrude Jekyll at the beginning of the 20th century, also provides valuable inspiration as a means to avoid placing further stress on individual plants. Conversely, rising temperatures will also mean that many gardeners may be able to grow a wider range of exotic plants from warmer climates in the future.
Moreover, the impact of climate change, not only on gardens but also in relation to the wider environment, is a subject that simply cannot be ignored today. The cost of human disaster as a result of gale-force winds and hurricanes, as a well as widespread fires and floods, has reached momentous proportions within the last decade alone. Applying sound ecological principles to our way of living so as to try to ensure a sustainable future is no longer a matter of choice but a matter of necessity. If we view our gardens like a microcosm of the natural world at large, we can learn through direct experience, each in our own way, to apply a new philosophy of sustainability to our homes and gardens in a practical way.
In the first half of this book, we will look at scented gardens throughout history and explore ways of creating a unique and personal fragrant environment. In Chapter 7, we will be looking at a number of specific aromatic plants in greater depth. I have been very disciplined in choosing each plant portrait for this section: apart from being used specifically to produce an essential oil, each plant must also add interest to a garden through its aesthetic appearance and practicality. These selected plants provide what I consider to be the basis of a modern aromatherapy garden – a beautiful (yet useful) haven of tranquillity with an emphasis on the healing and transformational qualities of scent.
The History of the Scented Garden
From the enclosed courtyards of Persian gardens over 2,500 years ago, through medieval monastic gardens and knot gardens of the Renaissance to the revival of scent as a garden feature in the twentieth century, this chapter takes you on a tour of the history of the scented garden.
Lavender is an easy-to-grow, evergreen shrub that produces masses of beautifully scented flowers.
Christian Jung
THE PERSIAN GARDEN AS AN IMAGE OF PARADISE
The very concept of creating a scented garden is rooted in ancient history. From the earliest times, the culinary and medicinal properties of herbs and aromatic plants have made them a vital part of human existence. From material necessity to aesthetic pleasure is a short step and historical records suggest that the first scented gardens were planted within the enclosed courtyards of Persian palaces over 2,500 years ago.
These gardens were made not only to delight the senses but also to provide a spiritual sanctuary, quite apart from any practical benefits they conferred. Since the Koran taught that it was mankind’s duty to conserve and revere nature as part of the divine creation, these sacred gardens were looked upon as a means of recreating and experiencing heaven on earth.
The term ‘paradise’ derives from the Greek word paradeisos, which in turn was based on the Persian, pairidaeza, literally ‘surrounded by walls’. This referred to an enclosed garden of pleasure, an earthly paradise where both secular and sacred elements were intertwined. The classical Persian garden was constructed to a formal plan within a square or rectangle, having a fountain in the centre from which four streams issued – one in each direction. The whole area was then carefully planted with fruit-bearing and fragrant trees, aromatic herbs and flowers, for the Persians required three main qualities in their paradise gardens: running water, shade and scent.
Canals and fountains in the garden of Qavam House, Iran, built 1879–1886.
Borna_Mirahmadian
An orange tree growing in the Bahia Palace in Marrakesh, Morocco.
tazzymoto
Within the Islamic tradition, water was naturally considered to be a very precious element within the garden, since the surrounding area was frequently dominated by desert or wilderness. Shade, of course, was also essential as a place of refuge from the burning heat of the sun. The patterns of light and shadow created by decorative screens and doorways, which were frequently used to create different ‘rooms’ within the overall layout, also played an intrinsic part in the construction of these traditional designs. Scent within the garden may seem by comparison to be less ‘essential’ than the absolute necessity for water and shade. Yet for much of the ancient world, including Persia, perfume was held in such high esteem that it was virtually seen as being as vital to life as food or water! In the words of the prophet Mohammed:
Three things of the world which I love the most are women, perfume and prayer.
In the Islamic esoteric text The Jasmine of the Fedeli d’Amore, Ruzbehan describes the celestial world as being suffused with a wondrous scent which was associated with the presence of the divinity. The evocative power of perfume was also understood as the silent language of passion and human emotion and was valued as a sacred tool of transformation. Scented plants, therefore, endowed the early Persian paradise garden with a very special quality by providing a direct ‘bridge’ from the mundane to the heavenly and elevated it from being simply an earthly domain into a pairidaeza – a paradise realm. Like an oasis, these fragrant, fertile gardens came to represent a miraculous place of refuge or a haven within a hostile environment. Indeed, like most early gardens, they are found within courtyards or are surrounded by low buildings, rather than lying outside the domestic compound, simply because the outside world was such an unsafe place.