It’s Yours, So Now Put Your Stamp On It: The Garden Remix, Part Two

Hopefully our last post gave you some ideas about what your garden can be and where it can take you. This time, we will take look at garden design and use in some early civilizations of Mesoamerica and Asia, and if we so desire, explore how we can put that spin on our own container garden spaces.

The Aztecs and Mayans

The most commonly referenced early civilizations of Mesoamerica are that of the Aztecs and the Mayans. The Aztecs and the Mayans were both practical and ornamental gardeners. Native foods were often grown and tended in their natural environment. There were edible gardens, gardens for medication, spiritual ceremonies, and for the powerful and revered, gardens for pleasure which included flowers and amenities like fountains supplied by aqueducts.

What do you imagine this was like? For some reason, I picture an episode of The Smurfs in which some random village member decides that they are in the mood for a smurfberry (or some other variety) pie, and carefree, head off into the known area of the nearby forest to forage for their berries. I suppose this is no different than what people have done for centuries and millenia who lived off the land, in homes surrounded by the woods. Other than the potential threat of predators in some areas, wouldn’t that be nice? You could just venture into the forest and harvest and use what was in season, just let nature provide. The most you might have to do is cut back other wild plants that were maybe impinging on the desired crop, or maybe trap or deter your natural animal competitors.

The Mayans found a way to enrich the rainforest soil, by creating and mixing ash into the planting area. Mayan gardeners/farmers cut back the brush and trees in the areas they designated for their crops, burned them to ash, and then mixing and planting began. Does this method sound familiar?

The Aztecs had an advanced skill and desire for knowledge regarding agriculture/horticulture, and held a special consideration and honor for flowers. As a matter of fact, their word for garden was “xochitla” which means flower place. Flowers were used in birth and death ceremonies, to represent periods of time in their calendars, offered in exchange/greeting among leaders, used to represent the forces and elements of nature, and the quantity and rarity of flowers that one possessed, was an indication of your worth. Each king built a botanical garden to rival his predecessor. The elite often had quests to locate new or rare flower species and hired professional gardeners to bring their garden designs to life.

Historians believe that Spanish conquerors’ documentation of the Aztecs’ pleasure gardens and agricultural practices, as well as the trade (especially medicinal) of their native plants is probably what influenced the creation of the early Italian botanical gardens. The Aztecs cultivated new flower varieties and had a sophisticated plant classification system, using names to group plants by their purpose, habitat, distinguishing features, presence or absence of fruit, whether a tree or shrub, etc. They also created floating gardens, which were essentially artificial islands (on swampland), built to increase land for farming! Other than the descriptions of the Spanish invaders, the only remnants of the Aztec gardens of old are structural, such as the aqueducts, reservoir areas, terraces, and stonework.

Container Garden Takeaways:

Well, you can always include berries and herbs that are in season in your container garden. You can purchase from your local nurseries, or maybe even collect cuttings to propagate and plant later. Are you adventurous? You can collect your cuttings, while foraging in nearby forest areas (as permitted). I recommend only taking the latter approach if you are well-versed in plant identification or if your local forest rangers or forestry service provides guides and maps to identify and locate specific herbs and other plants that are in season. Never forage in these areas without first contacting your local forestry service to determine the rules and regulations.

You can grow some plants that were commonly found in Aztec and Mayan gardens, such as corn, marigolds, dahlia, beans, squash, tomatoes, or simply establish a container area for a bounty of gorgeous blooms!

Plan a container cutting garden and like the Aztecs, offer up bouquets in greeting as we are now gradually able to meet with family and friends more freely, or simply do it to flex your flower-growing prowess!

Chinese and Japanese Gardens

Both Chinese and Japanese gardens were meant to give its occupants and viewers the sense of being immersed in nature, with emphasis on mountains and water, two crucial features in the natural landscapes of both nations. This was accomplished by both abstract and concrete garden additions.

Chinese Gardens

Garden walls often had geometric cut-outs (known as leaky windows) to allow a view of the garden space, and/or moon gates, which were half-moon openings, that served as passageways into the garden. Imagine arches or arbors but built into a wall and shaped from stone or tiles. Entering a garden space seemed almost a matter of ceremony. This architectural design became such a part of Chinese culture, that it eventually was incorporated into Chinese gardens all over, not only the elite. Circles represented togetherness and were used throughout the garden spaces.

Wealthy citizens included pavilions, bridges, water features such as ponds and fountains, and numerous uses of stones in their gardens. Plants and stones were strategically placed to represent mountains. Elsewhere, citizens homes included courtyard gardens and at times, stoneware fish tanks in their garden space.

Chinese garden design was influenced by two schools of philosophy, Confucianism and Taoism. Confucianism embraced the idea of general kindness and goodness, morals, and appreciating the simple things in life. This philosophy also emphasized accepting your station in life and the world, and balance. This translated to symmetry in garden design and inclusion of common aspects of nature, what was considered to be a classic design.

Taoism embraced the idea of simplicity, naturalness, humility, compassion, and frugality, as a way to achieve harmony and become one with the force that created the universe and all of life. Here, you might see more abstract interpretations of the elements of nature and simple objects might be highlighted in a garden. The “snapshots” created in the leaky windows and various garden areas seen from within the garden, are meant to show balance (by contrast) and appreciation for the simple things; hard and soft, static and dynamic (still vs. moving), high and low, etc.

Container Garden Takeaways:

Toss some yin and yang elements in your garden by pairing up contrasting characteristics among plant pairings or plants and non-living elements you have in your garden space. Sometimes things that don’t seem to go together work the best magic when paired.

Place rocks/stones throughout your garden space, maybe near or with a contrasting water feature.

There may not be room, time or skill for a moon gate, but maybe there is for an arbor at the entryway to your garden, or add an element that clearly indicates transition into your garden space. That could be whatever you choose, like a garden flag or windsock, a sign, wind chimes, potted ornamental plants, dwarf trees or shrubs.

Japanese Gardens

Japanese gardens were also designed to celebrate nature by using plants, rocks, hills, to create a landscape that seems to represent mountain and river areas. In Japanese gardens, trees and shrubs may be manicured or trained to grow in a specific fashion and rocks strategically placed for to achieve the desired effect. Most Japanese gardens were designed to be viewed from the home. Imagine designing a garden with the intent to create the look and feel of a natural landscape, but for the perfect “snapshot” of that landscape to be taken or viewed from your patio door(s), your bay window, your window seat, your kitchen window, or wherever your window-gazing area is. Imagine this window or doorway as the frame for the picture you see in that glance.

We found the images of my first garden design on a modest budget. We lived in Japan briefly and when we purchased our first home, I really wanted to include some Japanese garden features. What intrigued me about the Japanese gardens were the water elements, all of the various greens with surprising bursts of color interspersed, the varying heights of shrubs and trees, bamboo and stone accents, and the overwhelming feeling of peace and calm.

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Container Garden Takeaways:

Design your garden where the best “snapshot” can be seen from your favorite outdoor gazing area or the window of the most frequented room.

Include contrasting textures when grouping living and non-living garden features.

Use stone and bamboo for structure(s) and accents.

Include evergreens, bonsai, plants with varied shades of green foliage and bright pops of color.

Include a water feature, whether fountain with moving water or pond in your container garden space.

Include accent pieces which have shapes or patterns that give the impression of mountains, sky, wind and/or water, or tier your planters to achieve this feeling.

Gardens of South and Southeast Asia

Alright! Below features a slideshow of gardens from various countries in these regions. I would have loved to go into more depth, but believe me, this would be an endless series. Get your note-taking system ready to go! Some of these locations are likely to make your travel wishlist.

Container Garden Takeaways:

The importance of water features is universal, apparently. Water is a central or connecting piece of garden design.

Symmetry, symmetry, symmetry.

You can incorporate geometric shapes and patterns in your garden space whether it is layout or accents.

Gardens look vibrant and alive not just with varying color but with adding some evergreen and/or plants with lush greenery.

Growing vertically in areas adds dimension and depth to your garden, and can also provide areas of shade.

What Now?

Hopefully, your brain is swimming with new garden ideas, and you are just thinking of ways in which you can use the garden design and knowledge of gardeners of the past, and from all over the world, to remix your garden so that it is a reflection of you and yours, and embodies what makes you happy in your garden space. Please come back and share some images or do so on our social media pages. We would love to see what your garden remix looks like. We want to know how you put your mark on your garden space!