Prof.

B S Jagadeesha Chandra, Director, School of Architecture, REVA Univeristy

TERMS USED IN LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE:

ALLEY: Long walks or drives bordered by evenly spaced trees or by hedges. It is a

narrower but more inmate walk way. The alley in Versailles was as wide as 48' and
over half mile long. They crisscrossed the vast garden in every direction and with
fountains at intersections. The term avenue often used interchangeably to describe
long walks or drives bordered by rows of evenly spaced tree or by hedges. Avenue is
now more often used where the spacing between the rows is quite broad; often
accommodating a drive way. The term “avenues of trees” etc are common usage in
landscape architecture.

ARBORS: It defines and encloses spaces with an open type of roof to support the
plants almost equivalent to "Lata mantap" of Indian garden. Pergola, gallery are also
related to arbors.

GALLERY: Normally it is an essential arched tunnel of greenary trained over a light

structure of metal or lath.

PERGOLA: It is a colonnade that supports beams and cross members to form an

open roof. The structure may be free standing also.
BASINS: Originally to collect or store water for house as well as garden use. They
may be wall mounted or floor mounted. Many shapes and types are available.
Japanese water basin has "CHOZUBACHI" a tall basin normally used in home
garden. "TSUKUBAI" a low basin originally used outside shrine now used in tea
gardens. Now these are used for symbolic purification before entering shrine or tea
garden. Most of the basins are filled by hand or from a bamboo pipe. Sometimes
water will run continuously and over flows from basin to form a stream reaching a
pond a symbolic 'sea'.

ENGLISH KNOT GARDEN: Beds planted or otherwise designed in ornamental knot

like patterns. They are normally squarish shape with geometric patterns. Low
growing herbs are used for this.

PARTERRES: Italian gardens had steep slopes, terraces and rushing water as their
garden features. But French who had flat lands adopted and emphasised surface
design with still water, low shrubs etc. The parterres had geometric patterns, but
simple designs. They resemble embroidery in cloths. The plants used may be low
shrubs either flowering or foliage type. The other similar to this are carpet bedding
and herbaceous borders.

BIRD BATHS: They serve a dual purpose by furnishing water needed by wild birds
and water as a decorative element in the absence of pools, fountains, ponds etc. It is
a shallow basin set on a stone or marble column and may be a focal point in small
garden.

DOVE COTE or COLUMBARIUM: It is a specialised bird house for keeping doves or

pigeons. These can be seen as old as from ancient Romans to modern day. They
were made ornamental feature of the garden by their shape, material used etc.
Prof. B S Jagadeesha Chandra, Director, School of Architecture, REVA Univeristy

GAZEBOES: It is a combination English 'gaze' and latin 'ebo'(make it) that is 'I shall
gaze'. It is a small structure that overlooked an enclosed garden. But currently it is an
open structure from where one can enjoy the scenery within and outside the garden.
It may be used as as garden feature with architectural continuity or a contrast to the
architecture.

GROTTOES: They originated in Europe with classic Greek nympheums. In Greece

rocky caves with water flowing, ferns etc. with hints of mystery were used as places
for worship and offering to nymphs. These were artificially created by Romans and
known as grottoes. In Chinese garden rocks of strange and irregular forms were
symbols of sacred mountains. Water was always associated with grottoes in the form
of drips, gurgles, fountains or water surprises. Later in the churches too these
grottoes became features.

MAZES: Also called "LABYRINTH" is a network of paths or passages through which

it is difficult to find the way. They create challenging and interest so that one can
reach the goal in the centre which may be a fountain or any other centre of interest.
If hedges are used as walls it is known as hedge maze. Even floral Labyrinths a form
of parterre design with low growing herbs or flowers. But there is no much
challenges in this as one can cross over another.

BANDSTAND: This is an interesting architectural after found in public park and

gardens as focal points. This can be used for entertainment purposes like orchestra
etc.

CONSERVATORY: It is a term generally applied to a decorative glass house

permanently attached as an extension to the house. Later they were used as display
house of exotic plants. For big gardens this may be a separate building. This is
purely for display of plants as well as a decorative feature along with shelter to plants
from hot sun or severe cold etc.

GREEN HOUSE: It is a glass enclosed structure where an atmosphere can be

controlled with a careful balance of heat, moisture, light and air to suit the kind of
plants that can be grown there. Freshly transplanted plants can be kept there for
establishment. They are primarily growing places only and not show cases like
conservatory. Wide range of shapes and sizes can be seen and currently equipped
with modern devices to control temperature, light, humidity etc.

LATH HOUSE: They are simple structures made of lath and narrow strips just to
provide shade and shelter to the plants. They may act as transition place between
green house and the ground where plant is to be grown.

PLEACH: Pleaching is the term used to train and shape a tree or shrub in a particular
form which does not grow naturally. It is done by bending and intertwining the
branches. Thus it almost resembles topiary but pleaching is more architectural
whereas topiary is purely decorative normally in animal shape or geometrical
shapes. Arches, palisades, alleys etc, can be created by pleaching.
Prof. B S Jagadeesha Chandra, Director, School of Architecture, REVA Univeristy

Pleaching alleys are done by growing double row of trees or shrubs and after the
growth the upper branches are bent and twined together to form a green tunnel. The
lofty pleached alleys of French garden were well known features.

RUINS: They were distinctive features of earlier landscape gardens. They were
another expression of romantic revolution. They may be natural or artificially created
to look like a ruin. Even an existing ruin outside the site can be linked to the garden
design concept.
STILES: It is a device to cross over a fence, wall etc. where there is no gate. It allows
passage to cross smoothly and no damage occurs to the fence, hedges by animals
etc. and prevents short cuts.

SUMMER HOUSE: It is a garden building type where one can enjoy his time reading,
writing etc. It is more enclosed and private than a gazebo but still informal and airy.
Earlier it was also called as shade house. The treatment of interior as well as exterior
is done with care to make it impressive. In modern context they were built to match
with the style of the house. But it can also be rough and rustic and remote so that
one can enjoy after a long walk in the wild garden or they may be located at
interesting spots in the garden.

TEA HOUSE: Common feature in Japanese gardens where tea drinking with guests
was a regular practice. Later it was transformed in to aesthetically good, still simple
in design. Normally wooden posts, thatch roof, rough stone floor, un-plastered wall
etc. were common features of the tea house. Guest will enter tea house from waiting
space on their knees which is a symbol of humbleness and equality of all
participants.

TOPIARY: It is an art of shaping and clipping trees and shrubs in to unnatural

decorative forms. They are done over a wire cage which is fabricated to the required
shape or geometrical objects like cubes, pyramids, sphere etc.

TREE HOUSE: It is a shelter built above the ground over a tree which may be as small
as playing for children or up to an architect designed house. They can be used as
observation points, watch tower etc. Pleached tree house is more elaborate where
tree itself trained to look like a house with the trunk of the tree as the main column.
Any tree house built depends upon tree shape, size, their branches position etc. but
to match with tree as much as possible.

TRELLISES: These are simple structure to support and display of plants at the same
time act as training them to the required shape. It is suitable more for vegetable
garden plants and climbers. For aesthetic purpose flowering vines are trained over
the trellis. Trellises need not be an enclosing device and it can be even used in front
of a wall or in the shape of arch ways, entrances etc. It may be used to give vertical
emphasis to a large flat area or against a flower bed or an element for repetition etc.
Three dimensional trellises in the form of obelisks, piers were common in earlier
days. Trellises out of bamboo are the most common feature in the gardens which is
originated from Japan.

Refer Library and websites for photographs and examples. Add sketches to the above
definitions.