Sacred garden

A sacred garden is a religiously influenced garden, often found on temple grounds.

Sacred garden at Mission San Juan Capistrano in California

Overview

Religion has been an important influence on garden design. Temple gardens were made in Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt. Sacred groves were made in ancient India, Greece, Rome, China and Japan. Sacred trees were important in Celtic and Germanic Europe and still are important in India.

Many groves or forests were sacred in ancient India and continue to be so in modern Hindu worship. Buddhism had a significant influence on garden design, with the Zen gardens of China and Japan as famous examples. In Christianity, particularly Catholicism and Anglicanism, Mary gardens are common among churches and institutions.

The practise of creating sacred gardens is re-invigorated and adapted for modern times in the Ringing Cedars series of books by Russian author Vladimir Megre.

See also

• List of plants for Biblical gardens
• List of garden types

References

• Michel Conan, ed. (2007). Sacred Gardens and Landscapes: Ritual and Agency. Dumbarton Oaks. ISBN 9780884023050.
• Maureen Carroll (2003). Earthly Paradises: Ancient Gardens in History and Archaeology. Getty Publications. p. 60. ISBN 9780892367214.
• Martin Palmer, David Manning (2000). Sacred Gardens: A Guide to the Traditions, Meaning and Design of Beautiful and Tranquil Places. Piatkus. ISBN 9780749918309.

External links

• Sacred Space: Religion and Garden Design History
• Sacred Places: Introduction