E-Books →Earthly Utopias Sacred Gardens of the World

This rich, beautiful book takes readers from the mountains of Kashmir to a repurposed castle in the west of Ireland, as it tours the most magnificent sacred gardens in the world.
Elements from religious gardens - from labyrinths and grottos to monastic herb gardens and geometrical patterns - have long been familiar in garden design, as has the tradition of seeking spiritual enlightenment through nature. But this book takes the reader straight to the source, showcasingthe best gardens designed and informed directly by religious and spiritual teachings.
These include functional gardens created by monks for sanctuary, medicine and food; the sacred bathing pools of Tirta Gangga in Bali; and thekare-sansuigarden at Ryōan-ji, informed by Zen Buddhism. Many are ancient sites full of myth, others have been lovingly restored from ruin, and some have beennewly created in recent years in a bid to get closer to the Divine, through traditional religion or the worship of nature itself.
Earthly Utopiasvisits cathedrals, monasteries, and ruined abbeys; temples, mausoleums, and shrines; forests, islands, and deserts, in search of these sacred gardens. And each one serves as a prime example of howreligion, philosophy, and spirituality can inform and inspire beautiful garden design.