History Of The Early Gardens

In the beginning there was a garden with natural2,700 B.C. Olive trees are raised in Crete.
water fountains. Creation's garden. And life was2,000 B. C. Watermelon is cultivated in Africa; figs
good. All plants were natives. Food was pure andare cultivated in Arabia; tea and bananas, in India;
abundant. Predators and prey were in balanceand apples, in the Indus Valley.
(which is not to say they were equal).1,900 B.C. The Egyptian pharaoh Ramses III
Then people got involved and introduced concretecommissions more than 500 public gardens.
fountains and many other things. They brought600 B.C. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of
with them their urge for order and control, and athe Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, are
robust curiosity fed by experimentation. Soon, thebuilt by King Nebuchadnezzar II (with help, no
earth was plowed into furrows and crops planteddoubt, from a few thousand slaves). The gardens
in rows. The best specimens were selected forare laid out on a brick terrace about 400 feet
breeding.square and 75 feet above the ground. Irrigation
Yet even after farmers began growing food forscrews are designed to lift water from the
whole communities, and pharmacists tookEuphrates River to the gardens.
responsibility for mass-producing medicine, people301 B.C. In the History of Plants and Theoretical
continued to tend gardens. For sustenance, yes,Botany, Theophrastus (considered the Father of
but also to create beauty, retain a connection toBotany) describes plant diseases, such as rusts
nature, and enjoy the simple pleasure of digging inand mildews, and explains how to hand-pollinate fig
dirt. Cast stone fountains were a way to carrytrees to maximize productivity.
water to the gardens. For a clearer picture of149 B.C. Cato the Elder, in De Agriculture, urges
what a cast stone fountain looks like visitfarmers to plant grapes and olives (because they
For nearly... well...forever, gardeners and farmersdraw moisture and nutrients from the subsoil)
grew plants using common sense, carefulinstead of planting drought-susceptible grain.
observation, and the resources nature provided.900 A.D. Tofu becomes a dietary staple in China.
Today, we call that approach "organic." But that1305 Opus Ruralium Commodorum, by Bolognese
term became necessary only to distinguish thoseagriculturist Petrus de Crescentiis, is the first book
time-tested tactics from the shortsightedon agriculture to appear in Europe since the
chemical practices foisted on the public in thesecond century.
name of progress within the last century. The1354 The Alhambra, built by the Moors in Spain, is
garden was, and always will be, our connection tocompleted. The Islamic-style garden features
the earth. The garden may be the true waterenclosed courts surrounded by arcades, planted
fountain of youth.with trees and shrubs and enhanced with tile,
7,000 B.C. Barley, millet, and lentils are cultivated infountains, and pools.
Thessaly, one of the Greek isles.1510 Sunflowers from the Americas are
5,000 B.C. The staples of Native American cuisine,introduced to Europe by the Spanish. In many
corn (maize) and common beans, are cultivated incountries they become a major oilseed crop. In
the Western Hemisphere.others, they are bird food.
4,0000 B.C. Hello, variety: The people of the Indus1528 Sweet potatoes, and haricot, cocoa, and
Valley (what is now Pakistan and Afghanistan) arevanilla beans, are introduced to Spain by Hernando
raising wheat, barley, peas, sesame seeds,Cortes, who presents some of the beans to Pope
mangoes, and dates on irrigated fields, as well asClement VII. Until then, fava beans have been the
bananas, citrus, and grapes for wine in smalleronly beans known to Europeans.
plots.1540 A potato from South America reaches Pope
3,000 B.C. Potatoes are cultivated and harvestedPaul III via Spain. The pope gives the tuber to a
in the Andes Mountains.Frenchman, who introduces it into France as an
2,700 B.C. The Egyptians already know and growornamental plant. Stay tuned for French fries.
500 medicinal plants.