What Were The Earliest Gardens Like?

In its earliest form, in Neolithic times, a garden was an enclosure of thorn or scrub that was meant to keep domestic animals in and wild animals out. More substantial defences of dried mud, earth or stone were made when nomadic communities started to settle in one place. These became areas for cultivation of plants for food.

The earliest recorded gardens were in Egypt and date back to 3000 BC. They were rectangular and surrounded by mud walls to absorb the sun's heat. They contained a house in which the owners lived and irrigation channels that divided the garden into geometric areas where onions (part of the staple diet of the Egyptians) and other vegetables were grown together with herbs for medicinal use.

In the gardens of rich people, the irrigation channels and enclosure walls became stylised to provide formal pools and seating areas with vines for shade and relaxation.