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1. The Persian paradise garden is one of the handful of fundamental original garden types from which all the world's gardens derive. In its simplest form, it consists of a formal rectangle of water, with enough flow to give it movement and life, a raised pavilion to view it from, and strictly aligned, formally arranged trees, in particular the chenar or Platanus provide shade. The perimeter is walled for privacy and security. Scent and fruit are important elements in this pairedeza or paradise, which realizes the symbol of eternal life, a tree with a spring issuing at its roots. more 2."the genius of a place" (Alexander Pope, line 57) suggests that a locale possesses ecologically and spiritually unique qualities. In order for humans to live in balance with nature, they must access this genius and allow it to infuse decisions they make when altering a site. Achieving the genius of the place reveals an awareness of humans' ecological interconnection to all else. Aldo Leopold, the renowned 1930's conservationist, stressed that an environmental ethic "changes the role of Homo sapiens from conqueror of the land-community to plain member and citizen of it." Most architecture can not worry about environmentalism as it goes about filling space. However, more than any other form of spatial design, landscape architecture pursues a natural aesthetic as it seeks to use organic forms to make outdoor spaces at once pleasing and useful. The best landscape architecture possesses an interest in applying the genius of the place to construct beauty. Through such an ethic or conviction, the creator and the created can come to possess at least a portion of a locale's genius, transformed into an environmental ethic. more When I see Heaven and Earth As my own garden, I live that moment Outside the Universe. ~ A Zen Harvest: Japanese Folk Zen Sayings, p. 53 "The many great gardens of the world, of literature and poetry, of painting and music, of religion and architecture, all make the point as clear as possible: The soul cannot thrive in the absence of a garden. If you don't want paradise, you are not human; and if you are not human, you don't have a soul." ~ Thomas Moore |