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The psychology of gardens |
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The garden business is one of the fastest growing industries in this country. Literally millions of pounds are spent on a massive range of plants, pots & paving, whist the huge media exposure of programmes like Ground Force & Better Gardens creates a ground swell of interest in the improvement of the whole garden, rather than the bits & pieces attitude that used to be prevalent. Many experts claim that it is this media interest that has caused people to flock into their gardens in their thousands, & this holds true for the publics’ increased level of activity. However, the reasons for our deep-seated need for green spaces & gardens exists at a much deeper unconscious level.
As with many fields of study into our attitudes there are several factors that affect us when it comes to gardens, & they are locked deep within us. One theory holds that our relationship with green landscapes is a result of our primitive ancestors developing an instinct for a good location for living. Lush vegetation gave our ancestors (who were hunter-gatherers) a good indication that the factors for survival were all present. 1. Gathering food – a place that would have edible foodstuffs growing roundabout. 2. Hunting food – would attract animals. 3. Water – likelihood of a reliable source. These things would need to be near a place that could provide shelter & protection, which can be given a modern interpretation as the garden that surrounds your house. I also think that the need for a source of water may be a direct cause of the often repeated request from many clients to include a water feature in their garden, far more than the trials & tribulations of one Charlie Dimmock might. (A small aside is that this theory does not appear to have any bearing on the most requested aspect of garden design. The desire of clients for a low maintenance garden is pretty much taken as read these days, & as I often say when this is raised, in twenty years of creating gardens I have never been asked for a HIGH maintenance garden.) Similarly our liking for flowers may also be influenced by the innate knowledge that fruit follows flowers, providing a source of food. Carl Jung (not normally associated with garden matters) discussed the effects of certain components of the landscape & all of these can be tied into the design of gardens & public green spaces. Stone has a very definite effect on our psyche & this can be demonstrated by the use of stone in primitive worship. Stone generates a feeling of permanence & solidity, & this is heightened by increasing size & naturalistic qualities. Unfortunately this desire for large natural stones has had a devastating effect on places like Westmoreland, where the water worn stone pathways on the peaks have been decimated by constant removal of the most desirable pieces. As much as possible, designers should bear this in mind when creating a landscape. Trees are another feature of the landscape that induces strong emotions from the unconscious. Apart from the obvious ecological aspects, the need for tree preservation draws strength from the hunter-gatherer & Jungian permanence theories, but the long growth patterns of trees instil awe in many of us. At Tandridge churchyard in Surrey is a Yew tree that has a 10m circumference at the base. It is at least 1000 years old, & the fact that the Norman crypt to the church was built out of alignment to accommodate the tree roots indicates two things. Firstly, this tree was of considerable size when the church was built, making it possibly the oldest living thing in Britain, & that site of this tree was an obvious mystical site which may have prompted the building of the church at that place. Two miles away a similar Yew at Crowhurst also fills the churchyard, adding weight to the tree before church argument. The writings of Jung also give an insight to the use of shapes in the garden. Circular (or curvular) shapes demonstrate the flow of creativity from the unconscious, & are comfortable shapes for many people in their gardens. Strong linear shapes reflect a more conscious design process, the creation of a definitive statement. This can make people uncomfortable in their own gardens, as it can be interpreted by the unconscious as the designer’s statement. People are more likely to accept a strong linear landscape design in a public space because they do not expect to have an influence on it. This sheds some light on the reasons for many clients I design for asking for curves in a garden. Although many people say that they ‘don’t want straight lines’ I wonder whether anyone has asked themselves why? So the next time you take up your secateurs & stride into the garden, sense the shadow of your hunter-gatherer ancestor, & don’t worry that you are about to step into a horticultural psychiatrist’s chair. A garden is, after all, still a garden. |
