The origins of the "mystery" are lost in the darkness of the early Middle Ages. More than a thousand years ago, monks and nuns began to engage in work behind the high, tight walls surrounding the monasteries, which we now generally call gardening.Their work was fruitful : vegetables and fruit were born on the beds, healing herbs grew here, and the garden area turned out to be an ideal place for prayers and meditation.
Only 500 years later the gardens completely separated from the outside world received their own name. Since then, Italians have spoken of "giardino segreto" - the secret garden - when they think of the covered and hidden nooks in a country estate or town garden directly adjacent to their home. Very often the walls of a building are so tightly covered with plants that the house and the garden, viewed from a distance, form an inseparable whole.Such a garden, surrounded on three sides by a hedge or wall at least two meters high, becomes completely invisible to both neighbors and passers-by.
Sometimes there were huge gates in the massive fence, which, however, were usually only an additional decorative element The interior of the secret garden, divided into parts, is full of surprises.You can find here geometric low boxwood gardens, the so-called ground floors, or regular labyrinths "built" of boxwood or yew trees.
Meanwhile, similar garden layouts were built in Great Britain. There were high walls made of clinker bricks, covered mainly with wild-romantic plant arrangements with wisterias, climbing roses or ivy, heathers and chrysanthemums. The massiveness of these fences is not accidental. The winds blowing from the coasts are very strong and the wooden fences are too weak for them.That is why the pragmatic English opted for more durable brick fences.
Many of these imaginative and emotional design elements can be found in today's green oases. Under the cover of magnificent hedges or stone or brick walls and walls, on winding paths, we feel completely unconsciously safe.
The impression of a friendly space is also provided by stepped paths, as well as recessed and raised parts of the garden.Even in a large city, vine-overgrown gazebos and tool sheds or benches surrounded by imposing clumps of rodgersia, bokkonia and forest parrots become cozy places with an atmosphere that inspires dreams and reflection.
Mysterious nooks can also hide luxuriantly flowering perennials and shrubs. However, it should be remembered that high demarcation elements create larger shadow zones. These specific conditions must be taken into account when selecting plants for the flowerbeds there.
The atmosphere of intriguing mystery is enhanced by small windows in hedges, wooden walls or walls, through which you can see only small fragments of fenced-off parts of the garden.In many cases, massive walls can be replaced with more flexible curtain walls made of wood or wicker.Planted with plants, they will easily blend into green or flowery surroundings.
