The original garden of the desert was the oasis, a lush, green haven and place of safety where towering palms gave shade and fresh springs provided water for both people and animals. But as our distant ancestors developed skills and intellectual understanding they began to structure their world and the enclosed garden was born in response to the difficulties of living in an extreme environment – an environment characterised by high average temperatures, high solar impact, strong winds, sandstorms and the lack of sufficient water - conditions that affect every aspect of life in the Middle East, North Africa and many other parts of the world.

It is thought that the ancient Egyptians were the first to design and cultivate formal, ornamental, domestic gardens, possibly as early as 2800 BC. Egyptian tomb paintings depict walled enclosures within domestic buildings containing fig trees, date palms and trellises of vines and scrambling roses, neatly laid out around rectangular pools. The ancient Persians also made large, enclosed, formal ‘paradise’ gardens - the word ‘paradise’ comes from the Old Persian word ‘pairidaeza’ meaning ‘enclosure’. They were planted with trees, flowers and fruit and irrigated by canals representing the great rivers of this ‘cradle of civilization’ – the Tigris and the Euphrates.

Garden design was also influenced by the teachings of the great world religions. The belief that the garden was a symbol of the creation of heaven on earth cut across many cultures and the Old Testament of the Bible contains one of the oldest descriptions of a garden - the Garden of Eden, familiar to Christians, Jews and Muslims alike. Trees, flowers and of course, fresh flowing water provided a perfect environment for prayer, contemplation and communion with God.

The Koran contains 164 verses devoted to descriptions of heaven in terms of a garden; it describes the trees, fruits, flowers, birds, animals and the life-sustaining waters and talks about the joy of being in the outdoors. The Prophet Muhammad taught about the importance of privacy for family life and the belief that beauty lies within and only a humble exterior should be presented to the world, reinforcing the idea that a garden should be an enclosed, private space.
Early Muslims were always eager to learn from the great civilizations of the past. The Persians were great horticulturists with sophisticated irrigation techniques and their ideas spread along the Silk Road and other trade routes and were disseminated around the Mediterranean basin by the Romans and across North Africa by nomadic tribesmen. Later new plant species were introduced in the same way.

The traditional courtyard garden was enclosed by walls and buildings to protect it from the effects of the desert environment or the dust and pollution of the city streets outside. These structures provided an inward-looking, private space for the family or close-knit community where female members of some cultures could be free from the constraints of purdah. They were not to be entered by strangers! The walls and buildings were traditionally made from adobe which is composed of sandy clays, water and organic materials, compressed and shaped into bricks using wooden frames and dried in the sun. Adobe structures are extremely durable and well suited to a hot, dry climate where they stay cool by absorbing and storing heat from the sun and releasing it very slowly.

Water is the most important element in a courtyard garden and plays a variety of roles within it. In more elaborate, affluent gardens it is used as an important design tool with smooth, mirror-like pools reflecting images of fine architectural elements and canals providing both perspective and irrigation water. The sound of water coming from simple fountains and other water features masks noise from outside and fine sprays moisturize the air, reducing air temperature. But the fountains in these gardens are not like the gushing fountain of the Renaissance; the people in these regions are only too aware of the scarcity of water and the difficulties encountered in bringing it to the garden. In more modest, domestic gardens water provides washing facilities for clothes and ritual ablutions before prayers. It helps to cool the microclimate created by the planting and encourages birds and other wildlife into the garden. There is often a simple, central pool or spring but the intersecting ‘rivers’ are usually represented by paths. These gardens are metaphors for life and places for meditation and contemplation, protected from the desiccation and death of the surrounding desert.

A rich legacy of courtyard garden style has been left to us in Europe. The gardens of Andalusia in southern Spain, particularly those in the great inland cities of Cordoba, Seville and Granada are a legacy of the Moors who came to Spain in the 9th century, leaving a lasting impression on the landscape and culture of the region.

The very first ‘paradise garden’ in the west was made in the 9th century in front of the Great Mosque in Cordoba and is believed to be the oldest, continuously gardened space in the world. It was originally planted with date palms which the Moors brought with them from North Africa but by the 11th century they had been replaced by orange trees and that is how it remains today. The orange tree is the most treasured plant in an Islamic garden – it provides fruit and colour, especially valuable in the winter and the blossom perfumes the air with a wonderful fragrance. The canopy gives much needed shade in summer and the large, glossy leaves help maintain a cool microclimate.
Abd al-Rahman 111, the first Caliph of al-Andalus or Muslim Spain built his palace and gardens at Medinat al-Zahra in 936AD, the design of which was inspired by the great palaces at Samara in present day Iraq. It was sited 12km outside Cordoba beneath the slopes of the Sierra Morena from where it received water via the Roman aqueducts. It is now an important and impressive archaeological site containing some well preserved elements including the ‘Prince’s Garden’, a small courtyard garden with a fountain that filled a pool and channels that irrigated the flower beds.

From the 11th century onwards new ornamental plants were introduced into the west including Crataegus azerolus and Melia azedarach along with apricot and almond trees with their delicate blossom. In 1348 Ibn Luyun wrote his Treatise on Agriculture in which he recommended plants for decoration that would delight all the senses. Highly scented climbing roses, jasmine and bergamot orange, grown for its essential oils were trained up pillars and against walls and he also recommended many bulb species such as lilies, narcissus and anemones. Tender plants and fern species were grown in containers in shady corners away from the burning sun.

The temperature in Cordoba during the summer months can reach as high as 50 degrees centigrade therefore shady gardens are vital for the people who live in the city. Cordoba is famous around the world for its courtyard gardens or ‘patios’, as they call them in Spain - internal, outdoor space - a tradition here that dates back to Roman times and was continued and developed by the Moors. Large town houses surround private gardens, whereas smaller houses and apartments share a communal garden. Patios are very intimate spaces made up of elements that delight all the senses. Every spring Cordoba’s patios are opened up for everyone to enjoy the colourful plants, mosaics, ceramic decorations, wrought iron work and the scents of the city – jasmine, roses, orange blossom, myrtle, pelargoniums, lavender and other herbs. The 14th century Viana Palace in Cordoba has 12 patio gardens that have been open to the public since 1980 and each one has its own unique story and atmosphere.

  The gardens of the Generalife above the Alhambra in Granada were laid out towards the end of the 13th century and contain some fine examples of patio gardens. The Patio de la Acequia has, despite many changes over the centuries, managed to retain the style and atmosphere of a medieval garden in Moorish Spain. The water spouts, an 18th century addition were designed to imitate the ‘music’ of falling rain. It is planted with myrtle, orange trees, cypresses, and roses and it is hard to imagine that this glorious garden was born out of such humble beginnings in the desert so long ago. This garden, like all intimate courtyard gardens in hot climates is on a human scale in which everyone can derive pleasure from its smallest components. A present day designer of Islamic gardens, Safei El-Deen Hamed summed up the human condition very eloquently when he wrote the following –
‘…certain human needs persist, no matter what the time or place; fresh air to breathe, a beautiful landscape to view, nice sounds and scents to enjoy and a private place to repose and reflect, to meditate and to come close to nature and to one’s soul.’

Shirley Walker 2009
Shirley is a senior horticulturist working at the Eden Project, Cornwall, UK
http://www.edenproject.com/whats-at-eden/index.php