The principle of division larger garden areas into quarters, typical i.a. for medieval cloister gardens.
A kind of garden border, not hiding or limiting a view on surrounding areas. Usually built as a deep ditch or ground fault . Popular in gardens of XVIII and XIX centuries. The name came from unaccepted experience of visitor after reaching such a border.
A road (only for pedestrians or also for vehicles) with trees or hedges on each side, especially private road going up to a large country house or palace. Usually used to emphasize the approach to the main entrance. Typical in many garden styles due to the practical usage. It could be open or closed (by entwined tree branches), single or double (regarding number of tree rows along each side of the road), white or green (depending on coverage material, e.g. sand or lawn).
A rock garden with mountain plants, planted usually on a small hill among boulders, in the arrangement resembling a mountain environment, introduced in the XVIII century.
Artificial channel for supplying water, esp. one built of stone or brick and higher than the surrounding land. In gardens, its main purpose was to provide water to ponds and fountains as well as of decorative reasons in sentimental and romantic gardens (often in form of ruins).
A simple garden structure, to support plants, used often as an entrance to the garden or its part.
A term used to describe an area dedicated for cultivation of vines, already existing in gardens of Ancient Egypt or Mesopotamia.
A style created at the beginning of the XX century, consisting in connecting the buildings with the surrounding landscape with the use of only local building traditions and with respect to the nature.
Described also as a seat of honour. Open inner court, often pillared. Characteristic for ancient Greek and Roman houses, smaller than peristyle.
Tiles, predominantly blue, of Portuguese and Spanish origin, painted. Used for both functional and decorative purposes, in gardens especially popular in Portugal.
A bigger gazebo or sometimes a regular building, usually situated on the hill. Its location selected due to extensive and beautiful views.
A series of arches over a garden walk, forming a continuous tunnel from trees or climbing plants. Typical for Baroque gardens, also appearing often in Renaissance ones.
Compact group of trees and shrubs, of regular geometrical outline, bordered by hedges. Used in Baroque gardens, as full one or with small interiors, as cabinets, theatres or road junctions:
- open bosquet (bosquet paré) – bosquet, where trees are planted only along walks and junctions, living the area between avenues free, only covered by lawn,
- bosquet quinconces - the whole area is covered by trees planted in square sometimes with additional trees in the middle,
- normal bosquet (bosquet marmanteaux) – created by regular woodlot, bordered by cropped hedges or lines of trees.
A big stone, used mainly for ornamental purposes.
A sunken parterre, usually made from the lawn, on the geometric basis, its central part is also lowered comparing to surroundings. Typical for Baroque gardens. Opposite to verdugarin.
A separate place within a bosquet area, usually on oval or rectangular basis.
An artificial water reservoir of elongated shape and regulated coasts. Used mainly as a garden border in Renaissance period, although in Baroque gardens it received more prominent location usually in the centre of a garden along main view axes.
A lay-out of Persian gardens, where in the middle there was a reservoir (pond) from which water canals proceeded in four directions, a reference to Garden of Eden, from which four rivers flowed. Paths were set out along pond and canals and between walks there were square or rectangular flower beds at regular intervals.
A tea ceremony garden, one of the styles used in Japanese gardens.
A style referring to Chinese culture, implementing Chinese motifs and materials. It appeared in the middle of XVII century. Typical garden elements of this style are characteristic arbors, pavilions, pagodas, etc.
A semicircular niche, colonnade or pergola, with a stone bench around the outer perimeter.
Agricultural farm with intentionally shaped landscape including both farm buildings and ploughlands, connected by road system. First ferme ornee was constructed in 1735 in Wooburn Farm in Surrey.
A meadow typical for medieval gardens, usually located outside the castle walls, surrounded by trees, shrubs. It served recreational purposes for courtiers. The typical equipment of such meadow were: springs, fountains and turf benches.
A structure which squirts water into a basin, in gardens for decorative purposes. Usually sprinkling in Europe culture and murmuring in Persian one.
A carpet originated from Persian region, displaying the patter of a garden lay-out, with its regularity of square or rectangular beds crossed out by water canals.
A style consisting in displaying single specimens of plants and trees as single objects and not as structural parts of bigger composition.
A hole or a break in the fence or the wall for crossing purposes, usually equipped in closing part. Important element of gardens, very often rich in ornaments, especially on main roads, sometimes in form of a building. In former periods, a size of the portal usually expressed the status of the owner.
A garden building, a garden shed, offering a place to rest and hide (from rain or sun), usually with some benches (also tables and other garden furniture), having a floor and a roof. Classic gazebos (especially regarding those from historical gardens) were built of wood, stone and brick. They could be open or closed, shaped in ornamental forms like Chinese pagoda or antique temple.
A triple pattern of roads, composed of one main road and two side ones, popular in Baroque gardens. The pattern reminds a goose’s leg – therefore a name of this arrangement.
A small garden, usually for both ornamental and utilitarian purposes, isolated from whole garden area, usually situated near main house, used for growing herbs and flowers as well as for the recreation. Popular in Renaissance and Baroque gardens.
A small building in form of open pillared pavilion, situated in visible places, mainly on hills, at the end of view axis, typical for Baroque gardens as well as in landscape ones.
Training establishments, originated from Ancient Greece, later used also for high-school education. The centre was made up of a spacious court surrounded by pillared halls and baths, enhanced by extensive tree plantations.
One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, located in Babylon, a garden built on several levels, artificially irrigated. Due to lack of authentic pictures of these gardens, their views can be only reconstructed based on some descriptions and few archaeological finds.
The first notice of a terrace garden (at Kuyunijk) was made by King Sennacherid, a garden and a palace constructed on a big terrace foundations together with complex network of irrigation canals.
A medical-herb garden in mediaeval cloisters.
A decorative construction consisting of a squared stone pillar with a carved head or bust on the top. Used as a free standing element or attached to wall of various buildings and constructions, e.g. walls.
A small garden pavilion or gazebo, situated out of the way, dedicated for contemplation as well as intimate meetings, winning popularity in XVII and XVIII century.
A medieval rose garden, situated near the main residence, surrounded by walls and dedicated to grow roses as well as other herbs and also for recreational purposes. The typical equipment of this type of garden were turf bench, well or fountain and gazebo.
A basin to catch the rain-water, located under rectangular opening in the roof of Ancient Roman villa.
One of the styles used in Japanese gardens, a dry landscape garden, built only of materials such as stones and gravel. No living ingredients except moss, lichen and ferns are used.
An open summer house or pavilion with roof on columns, typical for Persian gardens.
Low flat flower beds, constructed of intertwining strips of various flower plants, surrounded by hedges as well as gravel, sand or seashells. The hedges varied in heights to indicate the crossing of stripes.
An garden element, mainly for recreational purposes, consisting of winding walks set out among hedges and leading to the central square, where usually a pond or a fountain was located. During the Renaissance period, such maze was built on a square or circle base. During Baroque period, it took often asymmetrical forms.
Arranging and modifying of outdoor space for man’s use and pleasure.
A burial place for royal person or other notable.
A part of Baroque garden where animals were kept.
A type of ancient temple on circle basis and with walls made of pillars and covered by a roof. Typical in garden in XVIII and XIX century.
A garden style, founded by Arabs in Spain, Portugal, and northern Africa. Typical features are courtyard gardens with a symmetrical four-part division, geometric and arabesque motifs in stucco, tilework.
An artificial hill made of earth, but also of gravel, sand or other material, erected above the ground level to obtain better or more interesting view. A gazebo or a bench was usually place at the top of it. Popular in Renaissance, Baroque and landscape gardens.
A pond surrounding by an amphitheatre to present naval battles. Originated from Ancient Rome, popular also in following periods as ornamental element in the gardens.
A holy grotto with springs trickling through it, a monument consecrated to the nymphs in ancient Greece and Rome. In following centuries, during Renaissance and Baroque periods, used as popular garden ornament.
A Chinese construction in the form of a decorative, sculpted gate, covered with one or more tilted roofs. Its purpose is to emphasize a beautiful view or to memorize important place, often at the entrance to the temple, etc.
A Buddhist temple, in gardens built in the shape of tower, usually having a few levels, with rolled-up roofs, characteristic for Chinese architecture, widespread in European romantic gardens.
pairi (around) + daeza (wall)
A Persian word being an origin for English word “paradise”.
Typical for formal garden, constructed of plant beds, usually in symmetrical patterns, which are separated and connected by paths. It can consists of ponds.
A lawn with cut paths in symmetrical patterns.
A flat flower bed resembling the patterns of embroidery, framed by low hedge. The ornamental motif of such parterre was usually a flower or a herb. Typical for Baroque gardens.
A parterre decorated with small trees planted in buckets, placed along the paths in summer period, usually near the orangery buildings.
A main element of this type of parterre is one or a few ponds usually together with fountains.
A partially open recreation area that adjoins a residence, usually paved, for enjoying the outdoor environment. Popular in regions of warm and hot climates.
A courtyard or square garden space, surrounded by a columned portico. Typical for residential buildings in ancient Greece and Rome.
A separated area with specialized equipment, to keep pheasants, founded since XVII century.
An open roofed garden structure over a patio or free standing, support for climbing plants.
An enclosed area of water, already used in gardens of Ancient Egypt, usually having geometrical shape, mainly for decorative purposes (alone or in connection with fountains, cascades or channels).
A public place, created in Middle Ages, in the form of a meadow with avenues, ponds, etc. outside city walls, for recreation of all inhabitants of the city.
A decorative sculpture motif in form of naked child figure, especially popular in Baroque gardens.
A underground system for water supply, an underground aqueduct, constructed already in ancient times in area of present Iran, Iraq and surrounding countries. It allowed to limit water losses due to evaporation.
An orchard planted in a quincunx pattern of five points, four in a square with one more in the middle of the square.
A type of interior garden or courtyard enclosed on two sides and associated with house and palace architecture, deriving from Persian gardens that spread during the Islamic period.
A separated part of the a larger garden, dedicated for the cultivation of roses of various species and varieties, popular since the XIX century.
A square or rectangular garden compartment, separated by path walks and surrounded by a hedge, sometimes flanked by trees. The interior of a quarter contained usually a flower bed, a pond, an orchard, a vegetable garden or a herbarium. Typical for medieval, Renaissance and Baroque gardens.
The oldest and most important Japanese text on the art of gardening, written in the XI century, a collection of principles concerning garden design and maintenance, stone arrangement, water courses as well as many philosophical and aesthetic aspects.
A see-saw mechanism for raising water, at one end it has a heavy stone attached to it, at the other end a bucket or scoop, used already in Ancient Egypt.
A method originated from Japanese gardens, an integral part of their composition. It consists in incorporating the landscape outside the garden borders as a background for the garden interior.
A style of landscape gardens, where straight lines and symmetry are avoided to obtain an organic, naturalistic appearance. The tem introduced by William Temple at the end of XVII century.
One of rule, implemented in Japanese garden, modesty, simplicity, understatement, "..less means more..."
Originally developed by farmers to scare off deer. A thin bamboo pipe spilling water into thick bamboo one, set on an axle. When the water collects, its weight forces the front tip of the bamboo to the ground, when water runs out, it moves in opposite direction, each time producing a clacking sound. Now used in Japanese gardens as decorative element.
A single standing tree (or big shrub) of outstanding features, mainly because of unique shape, size or species.
People, animals or small scenes, introduced into a landscape composition to add better artistic impressions and to enliven the views. Implemented mainly in landscape gardens of XVIII and XIX centuries.
Isolated part of a garden, dedicated for growing (during warm period of the year) exotic plants, usually in buckets or pots, present in gardens since XIX century.
Tree plants artificially shaped in geometrical or figural forms, used already in ancient Rome gardens, i.a. mentioned by Pliny the Elder and practiced by Pliny the Younger. Especially often introduced in gardens in England and Netherlands.
A characteristically shaped gate, usually painted red, placed at the entrance to holy places of the Shinto religion, where the deity may live. A commonly recognizable element of Japanese architecture.
A type of gazebo, on a circle plan, placed usually in the corner of the garden, their style refers to medieval fortifications, popular in Baroque gardens.
A free-standing cluster of ornamental, woody or herbaceous plants, with a horizontal or oval horizontal outline and a characteristic size distribution, from the tallest forms in the middle to the lowest on the edge. Widely used in landscape gardens.
A garden construction used to support plants, especially climbing ones.
sky - earth – human
An arrangement of three stones, tops of which form a triangle, characteristic of Japanese gardens.
A type of Japanese garden, the courtyard garden, in a small, enclosed area.
A water reservoir, characteristic for the Japanese tea ceremony garden, used for ritual washing of hands, rinsing the throat and spraying plants before the arrival of guests.
A bench, covered by turf stripes, sometimes with sides constructed of bricks or wood. Typical for medieval gardens, usually situated along the walls.
An elevated parterre, usually at the crossing of main axes, a kind of ground platform erected over the surroundings. Typical for Baroque gardens. Opposite to boulingrin.
A small interior cloister garden, surrounded by pillared roofed passages. Usually on square basis (ad quadratum) and divided into four parts by paths. The crossing point of these paths was accepted usually by a tree or a fountain or a well.
A small pond or other water reservoir for keeping and raising small fishes, and other animals as well as plants.
Hydraulic garden devices, constructed specially for entertainment purposes, popular in XVIII century, e.g. watering a person, who accidentally activated a hidden mechanism or a kind of water organs.
A large ornamental greenhouse arranged as a winter garden room with various exotic plants, pools, fountains and sculptures, widespread from the beginning of the XIX century.
A small garden in front of portico in ancient Roman villas, ornamented by flowers.