I have chosen these gardens principally for their design, including the use of classical proportions, rather than for their botanical content.

Introduction to the subject

Garden Design: Influential Styles Throughout History - A brief overview by Gavin Woodworth, a Landscape Architecture student at Colorado State University, of four major movements affecting Landscape Architecture as it is known today: the Moorish gardens of ancient Spain, the villas of the Italian Renaissance, the Modernist designs of England and United States, and the religious gardens of Japan.

Historic Gardens Foundation - The Historic Gardens Foundation is a non profit-making organisation set up in 1995 to create links between everyone concerned with the preservation, restoration and management of historic parks and gardens. Historic Gardens have never attracted the same interest and support as historic buildings or the natural landscape. The Foundation is working to correct this imbalance, and to secure for historic parks and gardens, wherever they may be, their rightful place on the cultural map.

Japan and inspiration from Zen

Explore ...... the gardens of Japan - The Japanese garden is probably one of the most intriguing aspects of Japanese art and life.

The Japanese Garden by Bowdoin College - This web site is dedicated to the Japanese garden, and more specifically to the historic gardens of Kyoto and its environs.

Bonsai, Penjing, Japanese & Chinese Garden Links - This page has a very large number of links to Bonsai associations around the world. Some links may not work.

Gardens of China

Chinese Gardens - This site has links to many famous Chinese gardens, including Canglang Ting, Diaoke Lou, Ge Yuan, Guo Villa, He Yuan, Huanxiu Villa, Jichang Yuan, Liu Yuan, Mo's Villa, Qiuxia Pu, Shizi Lin, Shou Xihu, Tuisi Yuan, Wangshi Yuan, Yi Fu, Yi Yuan, Yu Yuan, Zhouzheng Yuan and Zuibai Chi.

Summer Palace, Beijing - The Empress Cixi called it "the garden where harmony is kept up" or Yi He Yuan. The Summer Palace is the largest and best-preserved imperial garden in China. Its Chinese name, YiHeYuan, translates as 'Garden of Nurtured Harmony' or 'Garden for Maintaining Health and Harmony'. Additional information.

Visual Sourcebook for Chinese Civilization - This American University online learning site has a section on design aspects for Chinese gardens.

Winter in Classical Chinese Gardens - An article by Kirk Johnson on classical Chinese and Japanese gardens.

European and US gardens

Sir Anthony Caro - A brief introduction to the work of the sculptor Sir Anthony Caro.

Julia Barton - Julia takes on commissions and design work for local councils, hospital trusts and private companies. Recently she has focused on simple and intensive garden art sculpture with substantial growing elements. The Axis visual arts site also covers her work and motivation and the BBC Gardening website features her as one of its designers. (If the BBC link expires, click here for a PDF version - you will need the free Adobe Acrobat reader to view this page).

The Sir Harold Hillier Gardens and Arboretum - The Sir Harold Hillier Gardens and Arboretum hold the greatest collection of hardy trees and shrubs in the world.

Palm House at Kew Gardens - Inspired by Chatsworth, Decimus Burton and Richard Turner designed the much larger Palm House in London's Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew.

The Dillon Garden - set in Dublin, this is the garden of Helen Dillon, Ireland's foremost plantswoman, garden television star, writer and lecturer.

Tholos Temple, Delphi - Nestled amidst the pine forested slopes and rocky crags of the sacred peak are the beautiful and exceptionally well preserved ruins of Delphi - perhaps not a garden in the modern sense, but a wonderful example of landscape architecture matching the location. This site is part of PLACES OF PEACE AND POWER - a comprehensive and stunningly photographed listing of sacred and tranquil places worldwide.

Vaux-le-Vicomte - The Chateau of Vaux-le-Vicomte was built in 1658-61 for Nicholas Fouquet, the finance minister of Louis XIV. The architects were Louis LeVau and Jules Hardouin-Mansart; the gardens were designed by André LeNôtre.

www.eyrignac.com French site about les Jardins du Manoir D'Eyrignac. These gardens were designed in the “French style”, and their design and originaility make them a rare example of this style. There are almost no French gardens left in France as costs of maintenance are high. Formerly, these gardens were called 'Gardens of Intelligence' because they were very well ordered and structured, conversely to 'English Gardens', which are generally packed with flowers in an apparently unconstrained show.

Middle East and Indian sub-continent

The Assyrians had ruled parts of Persia and the Persian monarchs continued their tradition of creating hunting parks, which they called “pairidaeza”. The Greeks called the Persian hunting parks and gardens “paradeisos” and the word has entered the English language as “paradise”. See the article by Kirk Johnson for an introduction to Arabic gardens.

Gardens of the Mughal Empire: Shalamar Garden.

The Royal Gardens, Sri Lanka - Here is another site for Sigiriya: The Mount of Remembrance. A stunning opening photograph!

Islamic Gardens

Alhambra Palace - For 200 years, the ruins of the Moorish palace of Granada have captivated the imagination of writers, artists and adventurers.

Overview of Islamic Gardens: Moorish Spain - An article by Ali Hasan on the influence of Islam at the Alhambra, Granada.

The ‘Chahar Bagh’ Garden Plan - The classic version of the ‘Chahar Bagh’ has a fountain at the centre of the garden which flows into four water channels at right angles to each other. Other water channels flow round the outside of the garden to link these up (see Plan 1, next page). Thus the garden is divided into four by water channels, hence ‘Four Gardens’.

Garden Features in Islamic Gardens - Islamic garden layout: Water Channels, Paths and avenues, ‘Eight’ is a special number, Flower-beds and flowerpots.

Aspects of Islamic Gardens - You also need to think about the people who will be using this garden and what it will offer them. Will it be a very peaceful place for solitary repose? Or will it have a social function, like tea gardens in the Islamic world where there are nice places to sit, drink tea, eat food or play chess or backgammon?