Garden
BY ANY OTHER NAME
When we think of gardens, we tend to think of ornamental gardens, not – for
example – vegetable gardens or herb gardens. And the ornamental garden is, if you
think about it, a very strange thing.
My garden, my space
No-one knows for sure where or when the first ornamental
garden was planted (for all we know australopithecines were
cultivating little plots of daisies), but it’s generally assumed
to have been in West Asia, where walled gardens were cool,
green, scented artificial oases that formed a strong contrast to
the harsh desert beyond the wall. And, of course, ornamental
gardens were the preserve of the wealthy.
Familiarity and contempt
And, while gardens are now virtually ubiquitous, they still
serve pretty much the same purposes – to draw a line between
‘our space’ and the wilderness, and to serve as a status symbol.
So, yes, gardening can be about one-upmanship, and the best
way to put one over your neighbour is to cultivate a slew
of exotic, hard-to-get, expensive, hard-to-propagate
plants. That’s why we in South Africa continue
the colonial tradition of thinking of roses,
tulips and daffodils as garden plants, while
the beautiful blooms that brighten up the
hillside are just bush.
That’s ironic, because almost everywhere
else in the world, South African plants
are among the most sought-after garden
flowers. It’s a sad but true fact – familiarity
really does breed contempt, and a protea is
not without honour except in its own country.
Renishaw Hills
50 | www.estate-living.co.za
Well, that was the case in the past.