ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the development of enclosed gardens in the West and Middle East, starting from early enclosures and, by tracing their lineage through Persian, Roman and Islamic origins. It discusses their growing metaphorical significance, particularly through their association with Paradise. There is much archaeological evidence that suggests a desire to be close to nature in our everyday lives. The enclosed garden was an integral part of the Roman domestic house. The peristyle house, with its interior garden, was a very popular and versatile dwelling type. With the fading of the Roman Empire, pragmatism in the layout of gardens and architecture gave way to new models. There was an increasing emphasis on the religious significance of the garden. It gave rise to the hortus conclusus in the Christian world and the garden as expressions of Earthly Paradise in Islam. Religious allegory thrived in the medieval period as a means of interpreting ideas of good and evil, heaven and hell.
