It is written that the word paradise comes from the Persian word pairideaza which means surrounded by walls. To be in a walled garden, possibly within a larger, wilder garden, is to be in a paradise of sorts. A walled garden or hortus conclusus is a place of contemplation, separate from the world outside the walls.
My study of the walled garden or hortus conclusus began after reading an article in The World of Interiors (August 25, 2023 )about Ronald van der Hilst, a Dutch landscape designer who is cultivating rare tulips in a walled presbytery garden near his home in Antwerp. Further reading revealed that a hortus conclusus may have a fountain or other water feature in its center and be divided by paths into four quadrants.
A recent exhibit at the San Antonio Museum of Art (SAMA), Roman Landscapes: Visions of Nature and Myth from Rome and Pompeii, featured works of art centered on human interactions with nature. The sculptures, wall paintings, mosaics, and decorative objects were created between 100 B.C. and 200 A.D. Visitors to the exhibit learned of the vital relationship between the people of this time and the natural world. The private garden was central to this relationship. The image above is a painting of a courtyard peristyle (continuous porch surrounding a building perimeter) and a garden enclosed on three sides.
These came to be known as cloister gardens. Above are photos of a garden in Pompeii and another of the San Marco Monastery in Florence.
As pictured in this mosaic in the SAMA exhibit, gardens of ancient Rome were also places where people came together to talk, listen to music, or eat.
When we visited Paris we saw many beautiful walled gardens within the city. Some were open to visitors and you might see someone sitting on a stone bench having a coffee and reading the morning paper or walking a small dog on a gravel path through the garden.
This garden in a suburb of Paris was created by Christian Fournet and photographed for Paris: Gardens of Secret Delight. You can see several distinct levels with a water feature in the center. The trees and slate raised beds filled with boxwood serve as walls for the garden.
Interior designer Isabel Lopez-Quesada writes of her own courtyard garden in Madrid, “In the evenings, we have dinner alfresco, amid the scents and sounds of the garden…Spain has a rich tradition of incorporating water features into house and garden design.” (Isabel Lopez-Quesada at Home)
Welsh garden designer, Arne Maynard created a 17th century inspired knot garden in this low walled space outside Haddon Hall in Yorkshire, England. The garden is planted with lavender, rosemary, germander, sweet violets, and orris root; plants which could have been used for culinary or medicinal purposes.
Arne Maynard included what he calls a physic garden.at Guanock House, his former home. The garden has distinct pathways and a water feature in the center.
Here is another walled garden designed by Arne Maynard; a kitchen garden of herbs and other edible plants.
Luciano Giubbilei works with creative artisans to craft intricate walled gardens where plants, art, and architecture co-exist.
This is the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion in Hyde Park (Wikipedia) by architect Peter Zumthor and garden designer Piet Oudolf. Their concept is based on a hortus conclusus or garden within a garden to provide a place for city dwellers to sit and contemplate nature without outside distractions.
In my next post I’ll write about creating our own courtyard garden within a garden here in the Texas Hill Country. Until then, take a moment to enjoy sitting in a garden near you!
