Gardens with Connie and Oggie
There are so many Types of Gardens to explore
with our team. Connie and Oggie are leading this area with the help of other Erath Stewards
Connie has been
exploring gardens around the world
Types of Gardens Around the World
Urban Settings
| Garden Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Rooftop Gardens | Found on building rooftops to grow food or provide green space in dense cities. |
| Vertical Gardens / Green Walls | Gardens grown up walls using hydroponics or soil pockets — space-saving and decorative. |
| Community Gardens | Shared public or private spaces where people grow food, flowers, or herbs together. |
| Balcony Gardens | Small container gardens for flats or apartments — herbs, vegetables, or flowers. |
| Pocket Parks / Mini Gardens | Tiny green spaces developed in unused city corners for biodiversity or relaxation. |
| Sensory or Therapeutic Gardens | Created in schools, hospitals, or care homes to support wellbeing and education. |
| Pollinator Gardens | Gardens designed to attract bees, butterflies, and other pollinators in urban areas. |
Rural and Agricultural Settings
| Garden Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Cottage Gardens (UK/Europe) | Informal, flower-filled gardens that often mix food and ornamentals. |
| Homestead or Kitchen Gardens | Traditional family gardens for growing vegetables, herbs, and medicinal plants. |
| Agroforestry Gardens | Mix trees and crops to support biodiversity and sustainable farming. |
| Medicinal Herb Gardens | Used in rural areas for growing native or traditional healing plants. |
| Orchard Gardens | Designed for fruit production (e.g. apples, mangoes, olives, etc.). |
| Permaculture Gardens | Sustainable, self-sufficient systems designed using ecological principles. |
Gardens in Specific Ecosystems
1. Tropical Ecosystems
Rainforest Gardens – Dense, lush plantings of native species, often with edible or medicinal uses.
Shaded Understory Gardens – Mimic rainforest layers and support biodiversity.
2. Arid and Desert Ecosystems
Xeriscape Gardens – Drought-tolerant plants using minimal water (e.g. cacti, succulents).
Rock Gardens – Use stones and minimal soil for desert-loving plants.
Wadi Gardens – Traditional Middle Eastern gardens using seasonal flood channels.
3. Temperate Ecosystems
Woodland Gardens – Feature shade-tolerant plants, mosses, ferns, and native species.
Wildlife Gardens – Designed to support birds, insects, amphibians with log piles, ponds, and native flora.
4. Wetland or River Ecosystems
Bog or Marsh Gardens – Built around ponds or water features, using reeds, rushes, and water-loving plants.
Floating Gardens – Like those in Bangladesh or Inle Lake (Myanmar) — soil mats floating on water for crops.
5. Mountain Ecosystems
Alpine Gardens – Use cold-tolerant, hardy species such as edelweiss and cushion plants.
Terrace Gardens – Step-shaped gardens that prevent erosion and use gravity-fed irrigation.
Educational and Cultural Gardens (Found in Any Region)
| Garden Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Ethnobotanical Gardens | Showcase plants used by Indigenous or local cultures for food, medicine, and rituals. |
| School Gardens | Used to teach science, sustainability, and nutrition. |
| Monastic /Spiritual or Memory Gardens | Found in temples, monasteries, or churches — symbolic and contemplative. |
| Botanical Gardens | Large collections of global plant species for education, conservation, and research. |
| Sacred or Zen Gardens (Japan) | Designed for mindfulness, using gravel, stones, moss, and carefully placed plants. |
Great Books About Gardens
Stories in Literature About Gardens
Classic Literature
| Title | Author | Garden Role |
|---|---|---|
| The Secret Garden | Frances Hodgson Burnett | A hidden, locked garden becomes a symbol of healing and transformation. A classic for upper primary and beyond. |
| Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland | Lewis Carroll | Includes surreal garden scenes like the Queen’s rose garden — symbolic of logic, absurdity, and childhood imagination. |
| Tom’s Midnight Garden | Philippa Pearce | A magical time-travel garden that appears at midnight, connecting past and present. |
| The Garden Party | Katherine Mansfield | The garden reflects class and privilege; used to contrast wealth and mortality. |
| Paradise Lost | John Milton | The Garden of Eden represents innocence, temptation, and the fall of humanity. |
| Candide | Voltaire | Ends with the line “we must cultivate our garden,” symbolising rational effort and self-sufficiency. |
Modern and Contemporary Literature
| Title | Author | Garden Role |
|---|---|---|
| The Curious Garden(children’s) | Peter Brown | A boy transforms a grey city into a green, lush space — inspired by the real High Line in NYC. |
| The Garden of Evening Mists | Tan Twan Eng | A garden in post-war Malaya becomes a space of memory, trauma, and reconciliation. |
| Garden Spells | Sarah Addison Allen | Magical realism — a garden with enchanted plants that influence human behaviour. |
| The Memory Garden | Mary Rickert | A blend of folklore and memory, with a garden that holds secrets and histories. |
| The Forgotten Garden | Kate Morton | A historical mystery about identity, with a garden as the link between generations. |
Multicultural & Mythological Connections
| Story | Culture / Author | Garden Theme |
|---|---|---|
| The Garden of Eden | Biblical / Abrahamic traditions | A universal symbol of origin, temptation, and paradise lost. |
| The Hanging Gardens of Babylon | Ancient Mesopotamian myth | One of the Seven Wonders — represents abundance and human achievement. |
| Ashurbanipal’s Royal Garden | Ancient Assyrian | Historical records show grand gardens as symbols of power and knowledge. |
| The Nightingale and the Rose | Oscar Wilde | A rose garden where a bird sacrifices herself — symbol of love and loss. |
| Japanese Zen Gardens | Eastern traditions | Represent harmony, stillness, and meditation — used in stories and poetry. |
| Persian Paradise Gardens | In Persian poetry (e.g. Rumi, Hafez) | Symbolise spiritual joy and divine beauty. |
Stories and Picture Books for Children
| Title | Author | Garden Element |
|---|---|---|
| And Then It’s Spring | Julie Fogliano | A child waits patiently for a garden to grow — a metaphor for hope and change. |
| Miss Rumphius | Barbara Cooney | The Lupine Lady plants flowers everywhere to make the world more beautiful. |
| The Gardener | Sarah Stewart | A young girl brings joy to a grey city by planting rooftop flowers during the Great Depression. |
| Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt | Kate Messner | Explores the garden as an ecosystem above and below ground. |
| Errol’s Garden | Gillian Hibbs | A diverse community comes together to build a shared garden in a block of flats. |
Gardens in Literature
Sensory Gardens
A sensory garden is a collection of plants and elements designed to stimulate the senses, foster observation skills, and encourage emotional and sensory development. It supports learning in science, design, literacy, and sustainability education.
Vertical Gardens
Vertical gardens are space-saving gardens where plants grow upward on walls or structures, using soil, felt, or hydroponic systems, often seen in urban environments.
Memorial Gardens
This links with war Topics and dealing with grief
How are memorial gardens sustainables
Water in Gardens
Water gardens are gardens that feature aquatic plants and water elements like ponds, fountains, or streams, designed to create a natural habitat, support biodiversity, and offer a calming, reflective space.
