Garden ideas can spring up from anywhere. The urge to garden, to beautify and enhance one's surroundings by cultivating ornamental or useful plants, is one of humanity's most cherished pastimes and oldest civilized pursuits.
Scrolls and wall paintings from Ancient Egypt and vase-paintings from Classical Greece and Rome depict recognizable varieties of flowers grown in pots and borders, demonstrating that the love of green, growing things has been shared by people in many climates and cultures throughout history.
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Why do gardens hold this fascination for so many of us? For one thing, many people seem to feel better around plants. Their presence is relaxing and offers an oasis of restful green as an escape from the pressures of everyday life; this phenomenon has even been used in some forms of stress-reduction therapy.
In an age when much of life seems to move at an incredibly fast pace and time seems all too short and precious, many people like to feel connected to the slower and gentler rhythms of the natural world. Tilling the soil, planting seeds or young plants, and eagerly awaiting the appearance of new shoots and flowers provides a way for the modern gardener to connect with the processes of nature.
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