A Brief History of Gardening 园艺简史

2021-02-26蒂姆·兰伯特陈栋

英语世界 2021年2期

蒂姆·兰伯特陈栋

Gardening in the Ancient World

The earliest gardens were grown for practical reasons. When man became civilized an upper class emerged with the leisure to enjoy purely decorative gardens. They also had servants （or slaves） to do the gardening for them.

Gardening in Ancient Egypt

In the hot and arid1 climate of ancient Egypt， rich people liked to rest in the shade of trees. They created gardens enclosed by walls with trees planted in rows. Sometimes the Egyptians planted alternating species. They grew trees like sycamores2， date palms， fig-trees， nut trees， and pomegranate trees. They also grew willows. The Egyptians also grew vineyards. （Although beer was the drink of the common people; the rich liked drinking wine）. The Egyptians also grew a wide variety of flowers including roses， poppies， irises， daisies， and cornflowers， and they liked their gardens to have rectangular ponds. Sometimes they were stocked with fish.

The Egyptians believed that the gods liked gardens and so temples usually had gardens by them. In ancient Egypt different trees were associated with different gods， so gardens had religious significance. However in Egypt there was no strict division between gardens for pleasure and gardens for produce. As well as being beautiful gardens were used to grow fruit and vegetables and to produce wine and olive oil.

Gardening in Ancient Iraq

In the ancient world beautiful gardens were created in what is now Iraq. The Assyrians came from Iraq and in the period 900 BC–612 BC they ruled a great empire in the Middle East. Like the upper-class Egyptians， Assyrians enjoyed gardens. They created large hunting parks but they also made pleasure gardens irrigated by water canals. The Assyrians planted trees such as palms and cypresses. When the Assyrian Empire was destroyed in 612 BC， the city-state of Babylon created another huge empire. King Nebuchadnezzar is supposed to have built the hanging gardens of Babylon， one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. According to tradition his wife Amyitis missed the mountainous terrain of her homeland， so the king built a stepped terrace garden for her.

The Babylonians liked formal gardens. They enjoyed the shade of trees planted in straight lines. In 539 BC the Babylonian Empire was destroyed by the Persians who created yet another great empire. The Persians were superb gardeners. They built underground aqueducts to bring water to their gardens without it evaporating on the way. These were called qanats. Like the earlier civilizations， the Persians grew fruit trees and fragrant shrubs and flowers. Their gardens also contained pools， fountains and watercourses or rills.

Greek Gardening

The Greeks were not great gardeners. They sometimes planted trees to provide shade around temples and other public places but gardens were rare. The Greeks did grow flowers but usually in containers. Although Greek travelers admired the gardens of the east， in Greece gardens were usually grown for practical reasons. The Greeks grew orchards， vineyards and vegetable gardens.

Roman Gardening

When they conquered Egypt in 30 BC， the Romans introduced eastern ideas about gardening. Rich Romans created gardens next to their palaces and villas. The Romans were masters of the art of topiary3. Roman gardens were adorned with statues and sculptures and laid out with hedges and vines. They contained a wide variety of flowers including acanthus， cyclamen， hyacinth and iris. Wealthy Romans built houses around a courtyard which usually contained a colonnaded4 porch， a pool， and a fountain as well as beds of flowers.

Gardening in the Middle Ages

After the fall of Rome， gardening declined in Western Europe. However the church still made some gardens for growing herbs （e.g. for medicines） and some flowers were grown to decorate church altars.

Islamic Gardening

In the 7th century the Arabs created a huge empire. When they conquered Persia they took over many Persian ideas about gardens. Islamic gardens were surrounded by walls and very often they were divided into 4 by watercourses. In the center was a pool or pavilion. Islamic gardens also contained rills and fountains， and were decorated with mosaics and glazed tiles. Rows of plane or cypress were planted for shade.

In the early 8th century the Arabs conquered Spain. The Moors as they were called， grew ash， laurel， hazel， walnut， poplar， willow， and elm. They also grew a wide variety of flowers including roses， hollyhocks， narcissus and wallflowers.

Gardening in Medieval Europe

Gradually order was restored in Europe and by the late 13th century the rich began to grow gardens for pleasure. The gardens were walled both to protect them from wild animals and to provide seclusion. In the 14th and 15th centuries， gardens were planted with lawns sprinkled with fragrant herbs. They had raised flowerbeds and trellises5 of roses or vines.

16th and 17th Century Gardening

In the 16th and 17th century， symmetry， proportion and balance became important. Very often gardens were laid out with a central axis leading down from the house with a number of cross axes forming a grid pattern. Flowerbeds were often laid out in squares， separated by gravel paths.

16th century gardens were adorned with sculptures， fountains and topiary. Often they contained water jokes （unsuspecting visitors were sprayed with jets of water）. Water organs played music or imitated bird song. Gardens also often contained grottoes （cave-like buildings）， and intricate patterns like knots were made by planting lines of box6 and herbs like lavender. Hedge mazes became very popular in Europe.

18th Century Gardening

In the early 18th century many people preferred a more ‘natural style. Gardens often contained shrubberies， grottoes， pavilions， bridges， and follies7. In the North American colonies， life was， at first， rough but by the end of the 17th century， the wealthy began to create pleasure gardens. However the Americans preferred more formal gardens.

19th Century Gardening

In 1804 the Horticultural Society was formed.

In 1829 Dr Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward accidentally discovered that if plants were kept sealed under glass they formed their own micro-climate. Creating sealed micro-climates made it much easier to transport plants around the world.

In the 19th century， gardeners began to build large greenhouses or conservatories8 to provide plants with both heat and light. The largest was Crystal Palace， which was built in 1851 by Joseph Paxton （1806–1865）.

Gardens attached to suburban villas became important. A new style of garden evolved called gardenesque9， which displayed a wide variety of plants in a limited space.

Towns and cities boomed in size. Workers were herded together in cramped and unsanitary houses， but in the later half of the 19th century local authorities began creating public parks for them.

20th Century Gardening

At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century， some gardeners were influenced by the arts and crafts movement. They had an idealized view of old-fashioned cottage gardens and designed gardens with trellises of flowers， neat hedges and old-fashioned English flowers.

There was a new movement in architecture and gardening called modernism. The modernists rejected copying old styles of gardening and advocated starting afresh using modern materials. Modernists liked gardens to be ‘uncluttered.

In 1926 a German engineer called Andreas Stihl developed the chain saw， and in 1963 the first hover mower went on sale.

In the 20th century， as incomes rose gardening became a popular hobby. Meanwhile the Garden History Society was founded in 1965 and the Museum of Garden History opened in London in 1977.

古代世界园艺

最早的花园是出于很实际的原因营建的。在人类走向文明的过程中出现了上层阶级，他们有闲情逸致来欣赏纯装饰性的花园，还有仆人（或奴隶）来为其打理花园。

古埃及园艺

古埃及气候炎热干燥，富人们喜欢在树荫下休息。他们建起带围墙的花园，园内种下成排的树木。有的时候，埃及人还会间植各种树木。他们会种西科莫无花果树、枣椰、无花果、坚果树、石榴树，以及柳树。此外，他们也会营建葡萄园（不过普罗大众喝的是啤酒，富人才喜欢喝红酒）。埃及人种植的花卉也丰富多样，包括玫瑰、罂粟、鸢尾花、雏菊和矢车菊等。他们还喜欢在花园里建长方形的池塘，有时里面养鱼。

埃及人认为，神灵们喜爱花园，所以庙宇旁边常常会有花园。在古埃及，不同的树与不同的神明相关联，所以花园有宗教意义。然而在埃及，用于游乐的花园和用于生产农产品的花园并没有严格的划分。一座花园既可以漂漂亮亮，也可以用来种植果蔬、生产葡萄酒和橄榄油。

古伊拉克园艺

在今天的伊拉克境内，古代曾建造过美丽的花园。亚述人的祖居地在伊拉克，公元前900—前612年间，他们在中东统治着一个庞大的帝国。和埃及的上层阶级一样，亚述人也十分喜欢花园。他们建造了大型的狩猎场，也修建了用水渠灌溉的游乐花园，种棕榈和柏树之类的树。当亚述帝国在公元前612年被摧毁时，巴比伦城邦创造了又一个庞大的帝国。据称，尼布甲尼撒王建造了古代世界七大奇迹之一的巴比伦空中花园。据传说，他的妻子安美依迪丝想念家乡的山岭，于是国王便为她建造了一个阶梯式的台地花园。

巴比伦人喜欢规整的花园。他们将树木沿直线栽种，享受它们带来的阴凉。公元前539年，巴比伦帝国被波斯人所灭，后者又创造了一个大帝国。波斯人是极为出色的园艺师。他们建造了地下水渠，将水引入花园，同时又避免水分一路蒸发。这些地下水渠被称为坎儿井。和更早期的文明社会相似，波斯人会种植果树、芳香灌木和花卉。他们的花园还有水池、喷泉以及水道或小溪。

希腊园艺

希腊人不擅园艺。他们有时会在庙宇或其他公共场所种植树木以庇荫，但花园却少之又少。希腊人倒是会种花，但通常是在容器里栽种。虽然希腊的旅行者倾慕东方的花园，但在希腊，造园通常出于实用目的。希腊人会修建果园、葡萄园和菜园。

罗马园艺

公元前30年，罗马人攻占埃及，引入了东方的园艺理念。罗马富人在他们的府邸、别墅旁边修建起一座座花园。罗马人是林木造型艺术大师。罗马的花园以雕像、雕塑作为装饰，以树篱和藤蔓布置花园景观，里面会种上各种各样的花卉，包括茛苕、仙客来、风信子和鸢尾花。罗马富人围绕着庭院建造房屋，庭院里通常会有一条柱廊、一处水池、一口喷泉，以及多个花圃。

中世纪园艺

罗马帝国灭亡后，园艺在西欧日渐没落。然而教堂仍会建造一些花园，用以种植香草（如药草）和一些装饰教堂圣坛的花卉。

伊斯兰园艺

7世纪，阿拉伯人建立起一个庞大帝国。他们征服波斯时，承袭了波斯人在园艺方面的很多理念。伊斯兰的花园四周环绕着围墙，通常由水道分成4个区域，中心是一个水池或一座亭子;花园里还有小溪和喷泉，并装饰有马赛克和釉面瓷砖，园中栽着成排的悬铃木或柏树，可以遮阴。

8世纪初，阿拉伯人征服了西班牙。这群被称为摩尔人的征服者会种植梣树、月桂、榛树、核桃树、杨树、柳树和榆树，还有各色花卉，包括玫瑰、蜀葵、水仙和桂竹香。

中世纪欧洲园艺

随着欧洲秩序的逐渐恢复，到13世纪后期，富人们开始种植花园供消遣。花园的四周立起了围墙，既可以抵御野兽，又可以阻挡外界的尘嚣。14、15世纪，花园里铺起了草坪，草坪上零星点缀着香草，此外还有花坛和爬满玫瑰或藤蔓的花架。

16及17世纪园艺

16、17世纪，对称性、比例和平衡变得很重要。花园通常会从房屋延伸出一条中轴线，一路下来多条横轴与之交错，形成网格图案。花坛通常被砾石铺就的小径分隔成一个个方格。

16世纪的花园会用雕塑、喷泉和园艺灌木进行装饰，里面常设有喷水机关（毫无防备的访客会被水滋到），水风琴会弹奏音乐或模仿动听的鸟鸣，花园里还常会有洞室（洞穴般的建筑）。种下一排排黄杨和薰衣草等香草，形成如绳结一般的复杂图案。树篱迷宫当时在欧洲非常流行。

18世纪园艺

18世纪初期，很多人偏好更加“自然”的园艺风格。花园中往往有灌木、岩室、亭子、桥梁和装饰性建筑。在北美殖民地，最初的日子很艰苦，但到了17世紀末，富人们也开始建造起用于游乐的花园。不过美国人偏好更规整的花园。