Earthly Utopias

Sacred Gardens of the World

Yolanda Zappaterra

• Publisher: Frances Lincoln
• Year: 2024
• Print ISBN:
  9780711285897
• eBook ISBN:
  9780711285903
• Topic: Ciencias biológicas
• Subtopic: Arte religioso

This rich, beautiful book takes readers from the mountains of Kashmir to a repurposed castle in the west of Ireland, as it tours the most magnificent sacred gardens in the world.

Elements from religious gardens – from labyrinths and grottos to monastic herb gardens and geometrical patterns – have long been familiar in garden design, as has the tradition of seeking spiritual enlightenment through nature. But this book takes the reader straight to the source, showcasing the best gardens designed and informed directly by religious and spiritual teachings.

These include functional gardens created by monks for sanctuary, medicine and food; the sacred bathing pools of Tirta Gangga in Bali; and the kare-sansui garden at Ry?an-ji, informed by Zen Buddhism. Many are ancient sites full of myth, others have been lovingly restored from ruin, and some have been newly created in recent years in a bid to get closer to the Divine, through traditional religion or the worship of nature itself.
 
Earthly Utopias visits cathedrals, monasteries, and ruined abbeys; temples, mausoleums, and shrines; forests, islands, and deserts, in search of these sacred gardens. And each one serves as a prime example of how religion, philosophy, and spirituality can inform and inspire beautiful garden design.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Contents
• Introduction
• Hakone Estate and Gardens, USA
• Sunnylands Center, USA
• Cleveland Cultural Gardens, USA
• International Peace Garden, Canada & USA
• Rodef Shalom Biblical Botanical Garden, USA
• Bishop’s Garden, Washington National Cathedral, USA
• San Agustín Archaeological Park, Colombia
• Le Prieuré d’Orsan, France
• The Bishop’s Palace Gardens, UK
• Marburg Garden of Remembrance, Germany
• Alhambra, Spain
• The Hague Peace Garden, Netherlands
• Buckfast Abbey, UK
• Neot Kedumim Biblical Landscape Reserve, Israel
• Villa d’Este, Italy
• Kylemore Abbey, Ireland
• Fontevraud Abbey, France
• Bahá’í Terraces, Israel
• Villandry, France
• The Gardens of the World, Germany
• Tresco Abbey Gardens, UK
• Pagan Tarot Garden, Italy
• The Cloister Garden of Utrecht, Netherlands
• Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove, Nigeria
• The Shalimar Gardens, Pakistan
• Jingshan Park, China
• Bell Gardia, Japan
• Bagh-e Fin, Iran
• Ryōan-ji, Japan
• Mehtab Bagh, India
• Milarri Garden, Australia
• Sala Keoku, Thailand
• The Lion Grove Garden, China
• Nishat Bagh, India
• Daitoku-ji Compound, Japan
• Shambhala Gardens, Australia
• Soswaewon Garden, South Korea
• Tirta Gangga, Indonesia
• Te Parapara and Hamilton Gardens, New Zealand
• Saihō-ji, Japan
• Index
• Picture credits
• Author thanks
• About the Author
• Copyright