Gardens have long captured the human imagination, both as physical places and as symbols. They are places of peace, where the senses can be awakened by brightly coloured flowers, the buzzing of a bee, the scent of herbs. They are ideal for a walk, a spot of weeding or simply enjoying the beauty of nature. Many gardens serve another important purpose: the growing of food and medicinal plants. Gardens also have an important place in religious traditions: in Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam gardens represent calm, harmony and simplicity, and in many cases the garden is regarded as an earthly manifestation of the heavenly world, or paradise.
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