It's Their Fault! (Kind of)

 

Shortly after I returned home from my Mormon mission this May, I began to work for a landscaping company.  Week after week, the crew I was assigned to would slave away installing irrigation systems, building walls, laying sod, planting trees and perennials, and all the while hating life in the burning sun.  As we talked among ourselves, and more specifically, murmured about the job, a particular question was commonly brought up: Who started the whole landscaping thing anyway?

Well, technically, it wasn't the Romans.  According to my research, horticulture was practiced long ago.  However, during the history of the Roman civilization, ornamental horticulture became highly developed.  Romans drew inspiration from the Egyptians, Persians, and Greeks in designing private gardens and public courtyards.  Similar to today, it was usually the homes of the wealthy that sported grand and elaborate gardens.

The construction of gardens and other landscapes had many different purposes in the Roman tradition.  Sometimes it was created as a place of peace, and was filled with various religious symbols.  Other times it served as a recreational area, similar to the parks we find in our modern cities.  In line with what we see today, many Romans desired to bring a bit of the outdoors home with them and designed their gardens accordingly.  

With the expansion of the Roman empire, the Romans would implement newly discovered plants from places such as Western Asia into their designs.  Eventually, even those who weren't as financially well off would have small gardens in their window boxes or on the roof of their homes.

So to answer the question I asked all summer, I really don't know, but if it wasn't for the Romans, horticulture and landscaping wouldn't be nearly as popular as it is today.