ENCLOSURE of outdoor growing spaces probably began about 10,000 BC. as wealthy citizens started to create gardens for aesthetic purposes not just for food.
As time went by and countries developed, beautiful gardens came about, countries in South America, England, China, India, Europe and Canada to name but a few.
Studies show that some of the first food type gardens consisted of wheat and barley, plants that are still grown today.
These commenced some 11,000 years ago and as time went by, other types of food plants evolved, available to us today.
Previous archaeological evidence suggests that the earliest seeds from domesticated grapes dated from about 8,500 years ago.
However, it is also thought that the humble grape vine may have come about at a similar time to the wheat and barley crops.
In the 18th century, large ornamental gardens were a symbol of the owner’s wealth, and often managers were put in charge solely to look after and grow these gardens.
Even though there have been years of inspiration, it’s not until more modern times that detailed garden plans came to light. Ancient civilizations like the Egyptians, Romans and Greek gardens came into being around 1400 BC.
There were often set rules governing the establishing of these huge gardens, with walls, water and fountains being major features as well as shapes and styles.
As time went on these changed, but some derivatives of these rules still applied.
Many countries exploring, (invading) other countries tried to bring their style of gardens with them, however often climates were different and the harsh reality was that the climate generally ruled what was planted.
The hanging gardens of Babylon, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, is thought to be at Hilla in Iraq. Although now in ruins they were built around the 6th or 7th century and were used by the rulers of the day and society’s elite as a cool and shady place to rest.
A little known fact is that Government of Norway has fully funded a world seed bank at Svalbard, 1,300 km beyond the Arctic Circle.
