Persian gardens have always existed in hot climates and shade is vital, making walls, trees and water design mainstays.
Persian gardens have always existed in hot climates and shade is vital, making walls, trees and water design mainstays.
For a few weeks now I've been trying to redesign our front garden. It's only a 6m x 6m space, so you would think it wouldn't be that difficult but, so far, I've failed.
But it's amazing where you find inspiration. The small appliance department of Briscoes (we've had Briscoes for only a few months so the novelty hasn't worn off yet) gave me my first clue.
I needed a replacement for our cordless jug, which, although I bought it only six months ago, looks older than me. I chose it because it looked rather stylish but didn't cost a fortune. You get what you pay for, and obviously I hadn't paid enough. So I splashed out on a quite expensive jug that looks seriously smart and probably will for years to come.
And that, in a very roundabout way, crystallised my thoughts on the front garden. The reason I've been stuck is that I want a seriously smart garden, but I've been reluctant to lash out a heap of money. Happily, an online article (and photograph) about a US garden gave me the second clue.
Its owner wanted a classical Persian paradise garden inspired by ancient spaces in Shiraz and Isfahan, the deep blue, white and yellow-tiled facades of the royal pavilions at Chehel Sotoun, and the pure turquoise waterways and cypress allees of the Fin Garden in Kashan. The motivation was to share her culture and highlight the best of it, she said. I realised that in trying to replicate elements of a Persian garden, money would have to be spent on quality materials and craftsmanship. This is less of an issue in a small space.
The design of a Persian garden is symmetrical quadrants separated by waterways and lined with cypress trees, reflective pools and tiled and carved pavilions. The gardens are often meant to be representations of paradise.
Because Persian gardens have always existed in hot climates, shade is vital, making walls, trees and water design mainstays. These gardens are often walled.
Our Kiwi penchant for outdoor living within enclosed garden spaces works perfectly with this concept.
And, although I've never been a fan of arches, I can see how one beautifully executed arch, or even a faux arch, can create an aura of mystique.
Water features, rills and ponds are also central to the theme - water is usually at the heart of a Persian or Islamic-inspired garden.
And finally, symmetry. My favourite. Symmetry is a frequent requirement for this style of garden, and matching or mirroring elements can be a delightful part of the planning.
I'm not daunted by the prospect of using a Persian garden's elements to create my own version in a completely different environment. The Jewish-Iranian-American author who gave me the idea wasn't either. Her garden is not a replica, but a design simplified and made modern. It contains a fountain, a rill, a pavilion, beautiful tiling, mosaics, formal lines of cypress, camellias and magnolias, and many more plants, which were probably never part of original Persian paradise gardens.
Because it is a lifestyle property in California, she has added a vegetable-and-herb garden with eggplants, tomatoes, rosemary, mint and lavender. And, in case you're still worrying about just how far you can go to customise a traditional design, there's even a pizza oven. I rest my case.
Oleander and Lavender fit the Persian-garden style.
Piece of Persian bliss
Since we don't have a lot of Persian gardens in this neck of the woods, there may have to be some compromise on materials and plants when planning and implementing a Persian-style design.
A Kiwi interpretation of Persian style might use sandstone or Oamaru stone blocks, tiles, mosaics, concrete or pale terracotta urns and basins, and a palette of jade, teal, aqua and white.
The plant list could include dwarf palms, standardised citrus, bay trees, roses, conifers, tamarisk, lavender, geranium, oleander and violets. And a couple of tips for Persian-style ponds: keep the water clean with tablets you can buy for goldfish ponds - they don't harm goldfish, or pets. To maintain an aqua colour, use blue food colouring. Dilute it before adding to your pond so it doesn't stain the concrete, and take care not to spill it on anything white.
I thought the paulownia tree we've been trying to kill since 2007 was the biggest tree in the world, but it's not, no matter what The Landscaper says.
The title goes to a Mediterranean cypress that lives in the heart of Yazd desert in Iran. This extraordinary tree, thought to be between 4500 and 8000 years old, stands 25m tall and 18m in circumference, and is one of Iran's national monuments. Some scholars believe it could have been planted by Noah's son.
