HISTORY OF ORNAMENTAL GARDENING.
What known of the history of this branch of garden ing, may be arranged in four different epochs. 1st, From the earliest accounts, that is, from about the tenth century antecedent to the vulgar era, to the second century before the same era ; referring chiefly to the Jewish, and sonic of the Greek authors, as Moses, Solomon, Homer, Hesiod, Pausanias, &c. 2d, From the above period to the decline of the Roman empire, including the Roman poets and philosophers; as Cato, Varro, Virgil, Pliny, Columel la, &c. 3,1, From the revival of the arts to the introduc tion of the modern style, or what is properly called land scape gardening, about the middle of the 18th century ; including Zanoni. Clarici, &c. among the Italians ; Gestic') Trinkhouse, &c. among the Germans; Lobel, Liebault, &c. among the Dutch, and the United Provinces ; Ber trand, d'Argenville, he. among the French ; and Didymus Mountain, Temple, James, Switzer, &c. among the English. 4th, From the introduction of the modern style to the present time ; among the principal writers during which period may be reckoned Lauguier, Girardin, Wattelet, &c. among the French ; Hirschfield, Grohmann, Stc. among the Germans ; and Shenstone, G. Mason, Chambers, Wheatley, Mason the poet, Price, Knight, Repton, Ste. among the English. We shall take a cursory view of each of these periods, and in our progress, refer the more in quisitive reader to such works as will afford him ample information.
The first garden on record is known to every reader. Moses, in describing it, no doubt intended to combine every sort of excellence of which he deemed a garden suscep tible ; and it is remarkable, that in so remote an age, his outline should contain so much of general nature. What was sketched by Moses, was ably completed by Milton, whose finished performance, as Mr. Walpole observes, ex hibits all the higher beauties of the rural scenery of a mo dern country residence. Thus the origin of gardening, as of most other arts, is traced to the eastern nations, through the writings of the Jews. It is to be regretted, that Solo mon has left so imperfect an idea of the manner in which his garden was laid out, though he has made some degree of compensation for this omission, by the hints of what it contained. Besides fruits and odoriferous flowers, there were baths, summer-houses, and water in various forms. It was powerfully enclosed, as is generally the case with eastern gardens to this day, for the sake of privacy and se clusion. That it was contiguous to some of his palaces, appears more than probable, from the circumstance of Ahasuerus, one of his successors, being mentioned as going forth from the banquet of wine into his garden, and return ing; and king Ahab, wishing to extend his garden, desired the vineyard of Naboth for that purpose, " because it was near his palace."
The next garden, in the order of time, was situated on an island in the Archipelago, on the confines of Europe, and is that of the Phoenician king Alcinous. It is very minutely described in the Odyssey, and seems to have been little ITIOIC than an orchard of four acres, containing three or four sorts of fruit trees, some beds of flowers or vege tables, two fountains to water it, and a hedge as the boun dary enclosure. That of Laertes, also described in the Odyssey, was very similar to the above. Both appear to have been placed adjacent to the house, and evidently in tended for use more than ornament. Odyss. lib. v. 112.
The paradises of Semiramis, or, at:core:nig to Mr. Bry ant, (Anal. of ?incient Mythology, vol. ii. p. 100, Ste.) of a people called Semarim, ancient Babylonians, ale the next in order. They were distinguished by their elevated and romantic situations, and also by their.extent. When Se miramis came to Citation," observes Diodorus Siculus, (book ii. chap. 13 ) a city of Media, she observed on an ele vated plain, a rock of stupendous height, and of consider able extent. Here she formed another paradise, exceed ing large, enclosing the rock in the midst of it ; on which she erected sumptuous buildings for pleasure, command ing a view both of the plantations and of the encamp ment." Where nature did not furnish an adequate site, art sup plied the deficiency ; and hence those well-known stupen dous mechanical constructions, entitled the hanging gar dens of Babylon, and ranked among the ancient wonders of the world. "This surprising and laborious experiment," observes Mr. G. Mason, (Essay on Design in Gardening, p. 9.) " was a strain of complaisance in king Nebuchad nezzar to his Medean queen, who could never be recon ciled to the flat and naked appearance of the province of Babylon, but frequently regretted each rising hill and scattered forest she had formerly delighted in, with all the charms they had presented to her youthful imagination. The king, who thought nothing impossible for his power to execute, nothing to be unattempted for the gratification of his beloved consort, determined to raise woods and terraces, even within the precincts of the city, equal to those by which her native country was diversified." The word paradise, among the eastern nations, seems to have had different shades of meaning, as well as the word garden of modern times. The paradise of Alcinous was an orchard ; while those of queen Semiramis seem to have included all the external scenery appropriated to a country residence.