Editing Gardening (section)

===Ancient times===
[[Forest gardening]], a forest-based food production system, is the world's oldest form of gardening.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Forest Farms of Kandy: And Other Gardens of Complete Design|author=Douglas John McConnell|year=2003|page=1|publisher=Ashgate |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QYBSfUJPQXcC&pg=PA1|isbn=9780754609582|access-date=6 October 2020|archive-date=15 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115181038/https://books.google.com/books?id=QYBSfUJPQXcC&pg=PA1|url-status=live}}</ref>

After the emergence of the first [[civilization]]s, wealthy individuals began to create gardens for aesthetic purposes. [[Ancient Egypt]]ian tomb paintings from the [[New Kingdom of Egypt|New Kingdom]] (around 1500 BC) provide some of the earliest physical evidence of ornamental [[horticulture]] and landscape design; they depict [[Egyptian lotus|lotus]] ponds surrounded by symmetrical rows of [[acacia]]s and [[palm tree|palms]]. A notable example of ancient ornamental gardens was the [[Hanging Gardens of Babylon]]—one of the [[Seven Wonders of the Ancient World]] —while [[ancient Rome]] had dozens of gardens.

Wealthy ancient Egyptians used gardens to provide shade. Egyptians associated trees and gardens with gods, believing that their deities were pleased by gardens. Gardens in ancient Egypt were often surrounded by walls with trees planted in rows. Among the most popular species planted were [[date palms]], sycamores, [[Ficus|fig trees]], nut trees, and [[willows]]. These gardens were a sign of higher socioeconomic status. In addition, wealthy ancient Egyptians grew vineyards, as wine was a sign of the higher social classes. [[Rose]]s, poppies, [[Asteraceae|daisies]] and [[Iris (plant)|irises]] could all also be found in the gardens of the Egyptians.

[[Assyria]] was renowned for its beautiful gardens. These tended to be wide and large, some of them used for hunting game, rather like a game reserve today, and others as leisure gardens. [[Cupressus|Cypresses]] and palms were some of the most frequently planted types of trees.

Gardens were also available in [[Kingdom of Kush|Kush]]. In [[Musawwarat es-Sufra]], the Great Enclosure, dated to the 3rd century BC, included splendid gardens.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Stirn|first=Isma'il Kushkush,Matt|title=Why Sudan's Remarkable Ancient Civilization Has Been Overlooked by History|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/sudan-land-kush-meroe-ancient-civilization-overlooked-180975498/|access-date=2020-08-23|website=Smithsonian Magazine|language=en|archive-date=12 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210712111903/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/sudan-land-kush-meroe-ancient-civilization-overlooked-180975498/|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Ancient Roman]] gardens were laid out with hedges and vines and contained a wide variety of flowers—[[Acanthus (plant)|acanthus]], [[cornflowers]], [[crocus]], [[cyclamen]], hyacinth, iris, ivy, [[lavender]], lilies, myrtle, narcissus, poppy, [[rosemary]] and violets<ref name="localhistories">{{cite web|url=http://www.localhistories.org/gardening.html|title=A Brief History of Gardening|access-date=2010-06-04|archive-date=6 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181006030245/http://www.localhistories.org/gardening.html|url-status=live}}</ref>—as well as statues and sculptures. Flower beds were popular in the courtyards of rich Romans.