The Function Of A Garden
This will be the first of a series of blogs that look into, and touch on the function of a garden and the elements that make a garden; these topics will be gone into individually on a much deeper level in later more specific blogs. But the purpose in this series is, to give a general understanding of the basic functions of what I think are the most important principle aspects of a garden.
The function of any garden is many things. But generally speaking, it should be said that the purpose of a garden is to create ambience, or at least add or improve ambience in the area it occupies, and the surrounding area. Now, to understand this concept we must look at what ambience is, and why it is important.
Ambience is a word that try’s to articulate the existence of the unseen; it is made up of many things, and it fulfils the needs of our senses; for example ambience can stimulate, calm, relax and please.
Look at it this way; a garden, just from one standing or sitting there opening your eyes and observing it, can stimulate our minds and relax our minds. It can stimulate our bodies and relax our bodies. By closing your eyes and listening to a garden, it can stimulate or calm our minds. The same could be said for smell and touch; so if a garden can have that effect on us, it is fair to say that this could be said to the actual environment, and every sentient being within that environment, this is ambience; it effects the surrounding environment on a deeper level, more than what the eyes can see.
Ambience is essentially the result of regulating energy, and this is why gardens can effect us the way they do. We must understand, a garden is more than just plants; it is a complex eco system, made up of an eclectic array of living entities. It is full to the brim with electricity, positive and negatively charged ions, in the form of living creatures, metals and minerals. A heathy garden is balanced with its life forms, and therefore intern is balanced in its energy. It is an ebbing and flowing of energy that is brought about by the individual life forms living in unison.
So it could be said that gardens bring balance to an area. Take a look at any great city, any successful city; there is always a contrast to the concrete jungle in the form of gardens or parks; Japan is such a great example of this. When you look at cities like Tokyo; they use gardens in such a thoughtful way, to create contrast in one of the must densely populated cities in the world, and it is an amazing city to visit, with such a great presence of ambience. That is the ultimate function of a garden; to enhance the ambience of a place, to bring life to an area, and show case how great a force life is, no mater how small.
Now, what are the characteristics of ambience, and how do you create good ambience. Essentially we need to look at function. Function is the essence of life and ambience is the manifestation of life; therefore, function is the cornerstone of life. If you can get a sound grasp of this one concept you can rest assure you have the base knowledge for being a top notch gardener. And the more deeply you apply this concept into your garden the better your garden will be. A great example of this is to look at a river, it starts in the mountains and ends in the sea; a river is a vital part of the water cycle, and in turn the whole eco system and life on earth. Rivers have great ambience, great function and are full of life.
I am going to leave you with a few key aspects of a garden that contribute to its function of creating ambience through a garden. In the following blogs in this series we will look at all these aspects in a little more detail, individually. However, until then try to contemplate the following; What are these individual aspects role's and how they are in your own garden. Water, soil, air, light, acoustics, aesthetics, ambience, wildlife, plants and microbes, all these things make up the backbone of a garden, and the way they are managed. The more they are understood and what their functions are, the more rewarding your garden and gardening experience will be. Remember function is the cornerstone of life, and functionality is the bellwether of life force. Happy Gardening.