HORTICULTURE  

The Garden of Eden 

It is widely accepted that the first gardens were planted 10,000 years ago in what we regard as the Fertile Crescent — between the two great rivers of the Tigris and Euphrates than run into the Persian Gulf. The biblical Garden of Eden is thought to be in that part of the world. 

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon 

They are one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Hortus, Latin for garden, must obviously lend its name to the horticultural science and art of cultivating flowers, ornamental plants, vegetables and fruit. 
The Knowledge 
As much as London’s taxi-drivers need The Knowledge to go where they need, we horticulturists need the knowledge of the science of plants and plant-life to know where to plant what and how and when. 

Horticultural Basis 

Today horticultural knowledge includes plant genetics, physiology and pathology, molecular biology, agronomy, biochemistry, and of course, ecology. The study of plants, trees, flowers and ornamental shrubs is truly fundamental to the long life of a garden. 

The Garden: Form, function, aesthetics 

The garden’s first obligation is to be a thing of beauty. Equally important is its form (contouring, structure, layout) and its function (outdoor living, orchard, kitchen vegetable garden, cut-flower beds). 
 
 
 
Investment in plants 
A beautiful garden is worth its investment: money and time. Short-term consideration of growth potential of certain species can cast unwanted long shadows upon lawns and engulf buildings in year-round gloominess. Plant knowledge is important.