Popular Article www.vigyanvarta.com Vol-2 Issue-3 Parmar and Hathi (2021) An Outlook on Different Garden Styles Pragnesh M. Parmar and Harsh S. Hathi* College of Horticulture, Sardarkrushinagar Dantiwada Agricultural University, Jagudan, Gujarat, India. Corresponding Author Harsh H. Hathi E-mail: [email protected] OPEN ACCESS Keywords Design, Formal, Garden, Informal, Style. How to cite this article: Parmar, P. M. and Hathi, H. S. 2021. An Outlook on Different Garden Styles. Vigyan Varta 2(3): 21-25. ABSTRACT Man’s everlasting desire is to create his living place like that of a heaven. The geometrical design of the former dwellings when man came out of caves lead to orderliness as well as provided being secured but it lacked the raw nature around him inside the dwelling. In garden design, the formal garden is known to be the contrary of the landscape garden, which follows nature and which came into trend in the 18th century. A formal garden is a garden with a clear arrangement, geometric shapes and in symmetrical layout. Its origin goes back to the gardens which are located in the desert areas of Western Asia and are protected by walls whereas the emergence of an informal garden style based on asymmetrical rather than straight lines was influenced in part by late 17th and early 18th century. INTRODUCTION Formal garden garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, A formal garden is laid out in a symmetrical or a cultivation or enjoyment of plants and geometrical pattern. In this garden the design is A stiff as everything is done in a straight and other forms of nature, as an ideal setting for social or solitary human life. The garden can narrow way. In such gardens everything is incorporate both natural and artificial materials. planted in straight lines also if there is a plant on The gardens serve the purpose of public the left hand side of a straight road, a similar recreation by refreshing the body and the mind. plant must be planted at the opposite place on the They are virtually a retreat for the public from right hand side i.e., mirror image of each other. the harsh strains and stresses of public life. The flower beds, borders and shrubbery are arranged in geometrically designed beds. Some of the typical features of a formal garden is 21 | P a g e Popular Article www.vigyanvarta.com Vol-2 Issue-3 Parmar and Hathi (2021) trimmed formal hedges, cypress, ashoka trees of water- the concept of Persian Paradise, ‘where and topiary. Ex: Mughal, Persian, Italian and cooling water flows’. If there was no natural French styles. source of water this was created artificially by diverting some rivulet or a stream. The Persian styles were strictly formal and symmetrical. The Persian garden style and the Japanese style both Few formal styles of gardens in the world: 1. Italian garden: The Italian garden style came into existence at the Time of Renaissance. There is a striking were based on their respective ideas of heaven. similarity between the Persian and the Mughal Except this similarity the two styles differ widely styles with the Italian style. The Italian elites from one another. They used for their gardens all conceived their gardens just as an extension of crafted materials such as masonry, carved and the prolific palaces, as a glamorous outdoor hall pierced marble stones and highly polished for entertainment and for showing off their stones. wealth as well as status. The most prominent 3. Mughal garden: features associated with Italian gardens was the The gardens laid out during the rule of Mughal enormous flight of stairs, generally of marble, Emperors in India are known as Mughal gardens. decorative urns, fountains generally in The Mughal gardens are similar to the style of gardens of Central Asia and Persia. Babar 1494- 1531 was the first Mughal ruler to introduce this style in India. All other Mughal rulers and some of the Mughal begums starting from Akbar and followed by Jahangir, Nur Jahan, Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb all laid their hand on developing one combination with stone sculptures or rather the fountains. 2. Persian garden: Persian garden style is one of the oldest. The main story of a Persian garden design was nahars 22 | P a g e Popular Article www.vigyanvarta.com Vol-2 Issue-3 Parmar and Hathi (2021) or the other Mughal gardens in India. The main flowering annuals that we see today in the Indian features of Mughal gardens, which are largely Wardens, exceptions of Amaranth, Balsam, borrowed from the Persian style. Gomphrena, Marigold etc. Informal Garden Informal gardens are likely the most ordinary garden style. An informal garden is less restrictive than formal gardens in their design symmetry. Informal gardening can set you free of limitations such as having any complete horticultural or design knowledge. In an informal garden, the whole design looks informal, as the plans and the features are arranged in a natural way without following any hard and fast rules but here also the work has to proceed according to a set and well throughout 2. Japanese garden: plan; otherwise the creation will not be artistic and attractive. The major idea behind this design One most admirable feature of the Japanese is to imitate nature. Ex: English and Japanese garden is that while other major styles of gardens. gardening of the world changed radically or fallen into disfavor, the Japanese continued the same style for centuries but still remained popular. This can be attributed to the special relation of the Japanese gardens to nature. A most important teaching of the Japanese garden is possibly that unless a garden has an air of peace it's not worth a place visiting. It should be a place where the mind finds rest and relaxation." The Japanese gardens which are planned with so much of thought appear so casual that they do not appeal to many people. The immutability is achieved also because rather than a grand 1. English garden: mixture of flowers, shrubs and trees more Due to favorable climatic conditions such as emphasis is placed on natural elements such as a high annual rainfall, the natural ground cover in simple path, a group of rocks, stepping stones, the English countryside is grass. With this in streams, waterfalls, bridges, stone lanterns and mind the famous British garden architects so on. A Japanese garden tries to capture natural scenery or to imitate a landscape. Repton and Brown advocated the concept that the British gardens should like the countryside. Their main idea was that the gardens should merge with the countryside without any artificial barriers such as fences, hedges, etc. The lawn, mixed border especially of herbaceous annuals, as well as herbaceous perennials, shrubbery and rock gardens. The English climate suit admirably well for the growth of herbaceous annuals. This prompted them to evolve a large number of hybrids of a well to collect the best flowering plants from all over the world. Most of the 23 | P a g e Popular Article www.vigyanvarta.com Vol-2 Issue-3 Parmar and Hathi (2021) The important Japanese gardens styles are further classified based on positions, shape and purpose: PASSAGE GARDEN (Roji-niwa) Difference Between Formal & Informal Garden: FORMAL GARDEN INFORMAL GARDEN HILL GARDEN (Tsukiyama) Follows a strict Not necessarily symmetry symmetrical at all – though balance is still important Strong shapes in Plantings is loose and planting and formal features are quirky or features causal (topiary and monumental sculpture) Often public or semi- Private and personal public spaces spaces FLAT GARDEN (Hira-niwa) Structure of design is It may not at first glance clear and apparent look deliberately example: ‘designed’ at all knot garden Representational Abstract statues or use statutes; dressed stone of feature stone etc., walls, rustic fences or arches clean lines Box or other clipped Wild or native hedging hedges (Cratageus monogyna) TEA GARDEN (Chaniwa) Straight stone lined Wild life ponds or water features, formal streams. fountains CONCLUSION: In garden design, the formal garden is said to be the opposite of the informal garden. It is differentiated by its distinctive features. The area that has been created for formal garden is divided by hedges and framework; this creates an SAND GARDEN (Ryoanjii) impression of clarity and straightness and also 24 | P a g e Popular Article www.vigyanvarta.com Vol-2 Issue-3 Parmar and Hathi (2021) extent of simplicity. The center of the garden is Muthukumar, P. and Selvakumar, R. (2017). often oval, round or square structural component Glaustas Horticulture. 2nd ed. New Delhi, made of dimension stone. The planting is limited New Vishal Publications. in variety that can be maintained simply, providing a feeling of recreation for mind, body http://eagri.org/eagri50/HORT281/lec34.html and soul. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden REFERENCES: http://eagri.org/eagri50/HORT281/lec34.html Shankaraswamy, J. (2018). Comprehensive https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formal_garden floriculture. New Delhi, Jaya Publishing House. https://www.slideshare.net/SadiaHameed6/form al-landscape Gupta, S. N. (2019). Instant Horticulture. 15th ed. New Delhi, Jain Brothers. 25 | P a g e .