The archetypal garden, Paradise, derives its name and its symbolism from the old Persian, Pardeiza, meaning an enclosed area.

The Persian garden was born as a retreat from the harsh landscape. These gardens are the forerunners of the modern day garden and span centuries of development from the magnificent sanctuaries and hunting parks of 5th century B.C. Persepolis, to the magical nightingale gardens of 19th century Tehran. They provide an earthly paradise, where the garden can be used as a place of spiritual solace, a meeting place for friends, or a formal adjunct to the house or palace.

The ruins of the earliest surviving garden, dating to 550 B.C. and built by Cyrus the Great, are found on the plain of Marvdasht in southern Iran. This garden had a geometrical plan and stone watercourses. Incorporating both architecture and planting, water rills and shade-giving pavilions, Cyrus's garden offered the background to all later garden development.

When Islam came to Persia, this model -- always walled and inward-looking -- was embraced, and the waterways came to signify the four rivers of paradise: of water, wine, and milk and honey.

This style was widely copied with the spread of Islam, from the Moorish gardens of Spain to the Moghul gardens of India.

The Persians built lavish gardens in contrast to the European garden of the time, which consisted of modest herb plantings around monasteries. One Persian garden featured a lake surrounded by tin, 20 meters by 30 meters, while another was more than a mile square with fruits that gleamed yellow and red, bright as the stars of heaven in a dusky night.

Unfortunately many have not survived, but Bagh-e Shahzadeh is one of the few remaining gardens, not far from the earthquake-devastated ancient city of Bam. Built in 1873, it contains a series of split level fountains leading to a large palace that was once the residence of Abdul Hamid Mirza, one of the last princes of the Qajar dynasty. It continues to work its magic, showing that the power of the Persian garden does not just come from itself alone, but its contrast to the harsh terrain that surrounds it.

Persian Garden Structures

Today, there are several structural styles of Persian gardens, which include the following:

Chahar Bagh

Cyrus the Great, can be considered the pioneer of the Chahar bagh paradise design, whose basic structure consist of four quadrants divided by waterways or pathways. Chahar Bagh gardens balance structure with greenery where plants are often placed around the periphery of a pool, pathway or waterway.

Hayat

The Hayat style is a classical Persian layout where man-made structures in the garden are particularly important such as arches and pools. The ground is often covered in gravel and plants are typically very simple, such as a line of trees that offer shade.

Meidan

The Median garden minimises structure and places more emphasis on the natural element. Plants range from trees to shrubs, bedding plants to grasses. Again, there are elements of a pool and gravel pathway, which divide up the lawn.

Park & Bagh

The Park and the Bagh styles emphasise the natural and green aspect of the garden. Persian parks are public areas and have a strong emphasis on plant life but are usually limited in terms of structural elements. The Bagh is a private area around a person’s house and consists of lawns, trees, and ground plants. Waterways and pathways in this type of garden are largely functional.

Niavaran Park
Tehran, Iran

Persian Arts
and Crafts

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