What is gardening?
A: Gardening is the practice of growing and cultivating plants as part of
horticulture.
In gardens, ornamental plants are often grown for their
what?
A: Flowers, foliage, or overall appearance; useful plants, such as root
vegetables, leaf vegetables, fruits, and herbs, for use as dyes, or for
medicinal or cosmetic use.
Gardening may be very specialized, with only one type
of plant grown, or what?
A: It can involve a variety of plants in mixed plantings.
It involves an active participation in the growing of
plants, and tends to be what?
A: Labor intensive, which differentiates it from farming or
forestry.
What is the world's oldest form of gardening?
A: Forest gardening, a forest-based
food production system.
Forest gardens originated in prehistoric times along
what?
A: Jungle-clad riverbanks and in the wet foothills of monsoon regions.
In the gradual process of families improving their
immediate environment, useful tree and vine species were what?
A: Identified, protected and improved while undesirable species were
eliminated.
Eventually foreign species were what?
A: Selected and incorporated into the gardens.
After the emergence of the first civilizations, wealthy
individuals began to do what?
A: To create gardens for aesthetic purposes.
Ancient Egyptian tomb paintings from the New Kingdom
(around 1500 BC) provide some of the earliest physical evidence of what?
A: Ornamental horticulture and landscape design.
They depict lotus ponds surrounded by what?
A: Symmetrical rows of acacias and palms.
A notable example of ancient ornamental gardens were the Hanging Gardens of Babylon—one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World —while ancient Rome had dozens of gardens.
Wealthy ancient Egyptians used gardens for what?
A: Providing shade.
Egyptians associated trees and gardens with what?
A: Gods, believing that their deities were pleased by gardens.
Gardens in ancient Egypt were often surrounded by what?
A: Walls with trees planted in rows.
What were among the most popular species planted?
A: Date palms, sycamores, fig trees, nut trees, and willows.
These gardens were a sign of higher what?
A: Socioeconomic status.
In addition, wealthy ancient Egyptians grew vineyards,
as wine was a what?
A: A sign of the higher social classes.
Roses, poppies, daisies and irises could all also be
found where?
A: In the gardens of the Egyptians.
Assyria was renowned for what?
A: It’s beautiful gardens.
These tended to be wide and large, some of them used
for what?
A: Hunting game—rather like a game reserve today—and others as leisure
gardens.
Ancient Roman gardens were laid out with what?
A: Hedges and vines and contained a wide variety of flowers as well as
statues and sculptures.
Flower beds were popular in the courtyards of whom?
A: Rich Romans.
The Middle Ages represent a period of what?
A: Decline in gardens for aesthetic purposes.
After the fall of Rome, gardening was done for what
purpose?
A: Growing medicinal herbs and/or decorating church altars.
Monasteries carried on a tradition of what during the
medieval period in Europe?
A: Garden design and intense horticultural techniques.
Generally, monastic garden types consisted of what?
A: Kitchen gardens, infirmary gardens, cemetery orchards, cloister garths
and vineyards.
Individual monasteries might also have had a what?
A: A "green court", a plot of grass and trees where horses could graze, as
well as a cellarer's garden or private gardens for obedientiaries, monks who
held specific posts within the monastery.
