Sacred Groves

As described in Garden History - Early Gardens, both Christopher Thacker and Elizabeth Barlow Rogers state that the first gardens were simply natural settings. Some of these settings—such as sacred groves—held special meaning. In The History of Gardens, Thacker defines the sacred grove as “a place apart, consecrated to a spirit or divinity, or to the memory of a hero; with trees, rocks and water, surrounding a shrine or an altar, in a temple or within a grotto or a cave.” The place takes on a religious significance.

He cites sacred groves in ancient history – groves dedicated to Baal in the Middle East, groves used by druids in Britain, groves in pre-Christian Europe (some cathedrals are build on sites of ancient sacred groves), and the site of an ancient sacred grove in Cypress (on which the mosque Umm Haram is built, where the prophet Mohammed’s aunt is entombed). Veneration of trees is also evident in ancient India, Japan, and Russia. Sacred groves continue into the present day. Interestingly, some of the sacred groves in India have preserved endemic species: http://ecoheritage.cpreec.org/index.php.

A sacred Hindu grove near Chandod on the banks of the Narmada River,
drawn by James Forbes, 1782. This image is from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_groves_of_India;
and is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired.

To relate sacred groves to garden history, Thacker observes that when man distinguishes between one place and another, he recognizes that a place may have a “genius loci” of its own. This idea of “genius of the place” or “spirit of the place” shows up much later in garden history, as landscape designers purposely attempt to capture the feeling of a place in the design. Another key point is that humans are naturally drawn to trees and groves of trees, making them an important element in landscape design.

The Garden of Eden

For today’s garden history, I’m taking a look at the Garden of Eden – not as a theologian, but as a gardener. The book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible describes the third day (or period) of creation—after the appearance of water, but before the division of light into night and day. In the account (Gen. 1:9b) vegetation, seed-bearing plants, and trees that live on land and bear fruit with seeds are spoken into existence. Streams come up from the earth and water the earth.

Later we learn (Gen 2:7 – 9) that God forms man, plants a garden in the East in Eden, and places man in the garden. The garden is planted with all kinds of trees – those pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden are two trees – the Tree of Life, and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Water flows from the garden (remember the underground streams), and splits into four head streams (Pishon, Gihon, Tigris, and Euphrates).

Detail from a Tree of Life tapestry.

Further into the account, God gives man the tasks of caring for the garden and naming the animals. To name something requires study and understanding, so the task is as much discovery as work. God also gives man a helpmate, and a warning not to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Inevitably, Adam and Eve do just that. In Gen 3:8, we find God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. He calls out to Adam to give an accounting. Instead of an honest dialog, Adam defaults to fear and blame, and man is banished from the garden with the curse of toil.

Within this narrative are several key themes which appear in garden history:

• The garden is a representation of paradise on earth.
• Water is important in the garden (we will see the four rivers again).
• Tending a garden is a responsibility and pleasure, and a source of learning and discovery.
• The garden is a place for intimacy and fellowship (as depicted in the imagery of God walking the garden in the cool of the day and seeking Adam and Eve for fellowship).
• Trees are used as symbols, and often a focal point for the garden.

Garden History - Early Gardens

I have been delving a little deeper into garden history, focusing on early gardens. I’m using Christopher Thacker’s The History of Gardens as my guide, and reading sections from Elizabeth Barlow Rogers’ Landscape Design - A Cultural and Architectural History. Both agree that the first gardens were discovered and not made. A natural spot, such as a clearing in the forest or a lush valley in a barren mountainside, might attract the attention of humans. The garden spot is not tended, but grows naturally. Thacker reports that the oldest texts describe these spots as gardens of the gods, or those favored by the gods, where no toil is needed.

According to Rogers, almost all prehistoric cultures held that some places in nature are especially sacred. These sacred places, or natural gardens, provided a ritualistic setting for humans to attempt to understand their origins and control the natural environment. A marker, an altar, a temple, a cosmological structure, a complex were added to the natural garden over time, making myth, religion, philosophy, and science closely integrated with garden and landscape development.

Ablaze in late afternoon fall light, the hoodoos in Bryce National Park
have an almost mythical quality.

I, too, have encountered those natural gardens, although I’m too modern to call them sacred. Yet certain places do have a certain draw, or mystery, or beauty that causes me to take notice. Places like the rainforest behind my childhood home in Alaska; a grotto in Atlin, British Columbia; the sweeping tundra north of the Arctic Circle; a jungle waterfall on the Yucatan peninsula; the quaking aspens around Dawson City, Yukon Territory; the beaches off the Oregon Coast. They are more than just beautiful places, they are places that capture my imagination, inspire me, and cause me to contemplate God and the cosmos.