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Roman Lawns Into Gardens

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Lawns and Gardens have been developed since civilization started to settle. The two very diverse ideas had different meaning than in today’s industrial society. Lawn is defined as a flat and level area of mown or cultivated grass, while garden is defined as a plot of ground where flowers, vegetables, fruits and herbs are cultivated (Lawns into Gardens). However, despite their differences, both show the relationship between people and nature. Lawns, in today’s society, are seen as an attempt to dominate and homogenize nature. Gardens, on the other hand, illustrate “the intimate relationship between people, cities and food, constantly reminding us of the complexities and poetry of growing food and eating (Lawns into Gardens).” Studies show …show more content…

While an average gardener can produce around half-pound of food per square foot, it is estimated that for every 100 square feet, a garden can produce 50 pounds of food, unlike lawns that have purely decorative purpose (Lawns into …show more content…

In this period, wealthy Romans created gardens next to their villas. Their gardens were decorated with statues and sculptures to elaborate on the idea of a garden. Not only did the Romans use the garden as an attractive space, they also used it for agricultural purpose. Roman gardens were laid out with hedges and vines and contained a wide variety of flowers like acanthus, cornflowers, cyclamen, hyacinth, iris, lavender, lilies, myrtle, narcissus, poppy, rosemary and violet (A Brief History of Gardening). Additionally, wealthy Romans could build houses around a courtyard. The courtyard usually contained a colonnaded porch, a pool, a fountain as well as beds of flowers (A Brief History of Gardening). After the fall of Rome, gardening declined in Western Europe. Only the church used gardens for growing herbs for medical use and for growing flowers for altar decoration. By the late 13th century the rich began to grow gardens for pleasure as well for medicinal herbs and vegetables, thus restoring the idea of a

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