My Roman-Inspired Garden
Gardening and exploring others’ gardens are among my cherished pastimes; my personal garden reflects Roman principles, complete with a dedicated herb section. In my Roma Nova novels, I frequently highlight gardens, plants, and flowers, with Carina gaining access to a secluded walled space filled with figs, vines, myrtle, and fragrant herbs. Notable characters like Aurelia, Sylvia, and Apollodorus exhibit a passion for cultivating roses—a quintessentially Roman inclination.
The admiration for gardens (hortus in Latin) thrived in ancient Rome, where ornamental horticulture flourished significantly. Initially, many Romans of modest means cultivated gardens primarily for sustenance, growing an array of herbs and vegetables for their families. Unto this day, herbs served essential culinary, medicinal, and ceremonial roles. Even as ornamental gardens grew in popularity, practical food production was pushed to the periphery. Gardens became sanctuaries offering peace away from the hustle of city life, adorned with both personal and symbolic meanings—ideal for hosting friends and unwinding.
Influences from Diverse Cultures
As Rome expanded through conquest and trade, influences from Greek, Egyptian, Italian, and Persian horticultural practices shaped Roman gardening culture. Variants of Roman garden designs appeared throughout their territories, including settlements in Africa, Gaul, and Britannia.
Formal gardens had been established in ancient Egypt as early as 2800 BC, adorning the homes of the affluent. The architectural design of porticos was refined to blend indoor living with the outdoors, crafting spaces for open-air enjoyment. Persian gardens were designed as lush havens, shielded from drought, presenting a stark contrast to the surrounding barren lands.
The Peristyle Influence
The concept of the peristyle garden, influenced by Greek culture, was utilized to enhance temple groves and create warm recreational areas, eventually adapted for domestic use in town houses. Cato the Elder asserted that gardens should be adjacent to homes, complete with vibrant flower beds and ornamental trees. The explorations led by Alexander the Great introduced a variety of new plants to the Romans, igniting a burgeoning interest in horticulture. By Horace’s time, gardens filled with blooms became a national obsession. Augustus embodied this enthusiasm with his construction of the Porticus Liviae, a public garden situated on Rome’s Oppian Hill.
Expansive Gardens of the Elite
Large estates boasted expansive gardens laid out on grand scales, inspiring aristocrats during the Renaissance more than a millennium later. Elements such as topiary, tranquil lakes, riding paths, swimming areas, and water theaters were common, as evidenced in Hadrian’s villa at Tivoli. Nevertheless, the essence of the rural garden retained its origins in the simple hortus. Each garden included a portion for vegetables, or olera, alongside evolving hothouses intended for the cultivation of fruits like grapes and melons. Archaeological findings in Pompeii suggest that, due to spatial limitations, gardens connected to average homes were compact. As urban residences transitioned to towering insulae (apartment blocks), traditional gardens often transformed into window boxes or rooftop plots.
The Components of Roman Gardens
Regardless of style, Roman gardens typically comprised several core components. A xystus was a central walkway, enhanced by flower beds framed with boxwood. This pathway often overlooked a lower garden area—the ambulation—packed with diverse flowers and foliage, providing a scenic route for leisurely walks or pleasant conversations. Common pathways were made from loose stones, gravel, sand, or packed earth. Ornamental features such as sculptures, frescoes, sundials, and shrines dedicated to deities or mythical beings adorned these gardens. An open-air dining space—known as a triclinium—often featured trellises draped with vines for shading.
Delightful Designs
Pleasure gardens varied in design, tailored to the owner’s preferences. The layout featured a patio at the entrance, terraces, fruit trees, water elements, kitchen gardens, grottos, and multiple decorative accents. Patios typically included furnishings and fountains, leading guests to other sections of the garden.
The Greenery of Roman Gardens
Weather significantly influenced the selection of plants. These gardens flourished with a variety of flowering shrubs, everyday vegetables, and trees. Borders for pathways and beds often featured boxwood, cypress, and plane trees. A Roman family’s garden typically showcased plants such as roses, mulberry, fig trees, and a range of dwarf and larger trees—along with marigolds, hyacinths, narcissi, oleanders, violets, saffron, cassia, lilies, gladioli, irises, poppies, amaranth, and acanthus. Popular herbs included thyme, mint, savory, celery seed, basil, bay, rosemary, and hyssop.
Over the past two millennia, we have retained essential cultivation techniques pioneered by the Romans, including autumn soil preparation, compost mixing, hoeing beds, and sowing seeds in spring, alongside the pushing of flowers, fruits, and vegetables. Interestingly, the basic tools of modern gardening are derived from the innovations established by the Romans.
Roses in the Roman Garden
Almost every wealthy Roman household featured rose gardens. Much like the Greeks and Phoenicians, Romans not only cultivated roses but also engaged in their trade. As they occupied various locations throughout the Empire, they brought roses, which flourished in both their old and new environments. Notably, a repeat-blooming variant of the Damask rose emerged during this period, leading to what was later referred to as “Damask Perpetuals.” Roman advancements included hot-house technologies developed to induce more blooms in roses, along with the importation of roses from Egypt. Varieties such as Damasks, Albas, and Gallicas trace their origins back to the earliest periods across Europe and the Mediterranean.
Conclusion
As I reflect on my own garden, I find inspiration from the Roman ethos of creating serene green spaces filled with both utility and beauty.
