Lecture o.

5
Garden Styles - i : Hindu Type Gardens (vanams), atural Garden, Wild
Garden

Hindu type of gardens

‘Vanams’ in ancient period served the purpose of a garden and was synonymous
with garden. Vanams were the natural gardens furnished by the mother earth for the
humans and animals to dwell on and inhabit in. Such vanams were put to various uses by
the various sections of the society. Vanavasam was part of the life of Vikramaditya,
Rama and Pandavas. Great sages resided in vanams to attain spiritual bliss.

Rajavanam
It referred to an area of natural forest exclusively meant for kings to hunt wild
animals. More than hunting, it was the time spent in hunting that is relaxing in real sense.
Later on four kinds of Rajavanams came into existence as detailed below.

i Promododyan: Private garden for king and

queen exclusively. It was attached to the fort
where the queen resided.
ii Udayan: A vanam where the kings passed
their leisure time in playing chess, enjoying
dance and listening to music.
iii Vriksha vatica: a vanam meant for ministers
and courtiers where they made merry with
courtesans.
iv Special gardens dedicated to god with water
pools studded with lotuses and lilies.

Tabovanam
It was meant for sages and hermits to meditate to explore the self and the super
natural power. Tabovanams had trees of spiritual significance as listed below.
 Guettarda speciosa
Couropita guinensis
Butea frondosa
Callophyllum inophyllum
Michelia champaca
Ficus bengalensis

Brindavanam
‘Brindavanam’ means a place of
eternal bliss. It is supposed to be the
advanced version of tabovanam. It is the
natural abode where sages are believed
to have relinquished their ‘physical
body’ and attained ‘radiant body’ and
‘eternal ecstasy’. The Arvind Ashram at
Pondicherry is an example for such a
garden. Trees with showy, colourful
flowers which express absolute joy
found a place in Brindavans.

Asokavanam
It was a garden where royal
ladies like queens and princesses
relaxed. Asoka trees (Saraca indica)
were grown in woodlots. The down
flowing coppery leaves of Saraca
were believed to suggest to royal
ladies that their kings would return
with triumph and pacify their
emotionally imbalanced hearts.
andavanams
They are small gardens established around village temples with flowering shrubs
the flowers of which are offered to various deities. The shrubs commonly grown in such
gardens include Tabernaemontana coronaria, Hibiscus, Tecoma, %erium, Jasminum spp.,
etc.

atural gardening during Indus and Harappan civilizations

The history of systematic gardening in India is as old as civilization of Indus and
Harappan which existed between 2500 BC and 1750 BC.

Harappan pots were generally decorated with designs of trees of pipal, mango and
neem.

The culture of animal and tree worship was at its peak.

The pipal tree (Ficus religiosa) and banyan tree (Ficus bengalensis) served
mankind and fauna in many different ways and they were considered as the
symbols of fertility.

Wild garden
This is comparatively a recent style of gardening. The revolutionary concept of
‘wild garden’ was expounded by William Robinson in the last decade of the nineteenth
century. The concept of wild garden is not only against all formalism but it also breaks
the rule of landscape styles. His main idea was to naturalize plants in shrubberies. He
also preached that grass should remain unmowed, as in nature, and few bulbous plants
should be grown scattered in the grass to imitate wild scenery. He also suggested that
trees, shrubs, and bulbous plants should be planted among the forest flora to fulfill his
idea of a wild garden and to allow creepers to grow over the trees naturally imitating
those of the forests.
 Questions
1. Rocks, shola and a rustic hutment are provided to create rural effect in ----------------
style of garden
Ans: natural / informal

2. An example for tree of spiritual significance found in Tabovanams is -----------------

Ans: Couropita guinensis

3. -------------- means a place of eternal bliss

Ans: Brindavanam

4. ------------ was grown in woodlots of Asokavanam

Ans: Asoka tree (Saraca indica)

5. --------------- are small gardens established around village temples

Ans: andavanams

References
• Bose TK, Maiti RG, Dhua RS and Das P. 1999. Floriculture and Landscaping.
Naya Prokash.
• Nambisan KMP.1992. Design Elements of Landscape Gardening. Oxford & IBH.
• Randhawa GS and Mukhopadhyay A. 1986. Floriculture in India. Allied Publ.
• Trivedi, PP.1983. Home Gardening. Statesman Press. New Delhi. India.
• Woodrow MG.1999. Gardening in India. Biotech Books.