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9. Three gardens,
three relationships between man and Nature
The French garden
The 17th century.
France in all its glory.
And at the court of Versailles, Nature itself pales before the brilliance of the Sun King and forsakes its foolish abandon in the implacable symmetry of the French-style garden.
Paths running in perfectly straight lines.
Closely pruned hedges.
Water channelled into gushing fountains.
Colourful flower beds.
Exotic orange trees.
Shrubs formed into walls of greenery, their shapes squarely trimmed beyond recognition.
The English garden
The 18th century.
England replaces France on the world stage and, prompted by its artists, creates the "picturesque" garden.
The mirror-perfect French vision is shattered.
Now the atmosphere is impressionistic, combining nature and artifice.
Winding paths lined with benches, trees and groves reflected in a reed-bedecked pond...
perennial borders dotted with splashes of bright colour...
The Japanese garden
Whereas a French garden unabashedly seizes control of nature, the Japanese garden venerates the natural world in both its forms and materials.
No symmetry here, but irregular lines that combine to produce harmony.
The garden is an integral part of its surroundings, despite the obligatory hedge or wall.
And while the English garden is bursting with colour from around the world, the Japanese garden prefers the subtle greens of local species.
Since visual disturbances interfere with meditation, flowers-especially annuals-are few.
No lawns, either, but stone everywhere, and water to balance it.
In this simple garden, stripped to its essentials, you breathe in serenity.
You feel the presence of eternity and a unique oneness with nature.
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