What does the word ‘garden’ mean to you?

Crafting a personal definition of the term 'garden' is no easy feat. The word can be used to describe a broad spectrum of phenomena, everything from a patch of land to grow vegetables to acres of open space carefully sculpted for a landowner’s enjoyment.

However, in my opinion, at its core a garden is a designated space, indoor or outdoor, that has been manipulated by humans for either recreation or cultivation.

First of all, when I hear the term garden, I think of a labeled space that has boundaries. Whether its borders are the size of a sandbox or the size of San Diego, there are limits to its expanse. When I contemplate the concept of 'garden,' I envision that this location has been deemed by the greater population as a garden and that there is an agreed upon concept as to where the garden begins and ends. I find the element of borders to be essential, as while a garden could blend with the surrounding natural vegetation, what makes it a garden is that it is not nature’s work but man’s.  

An example of a vegetable garden with a boundary clearly marked by a fence. (source: http://humansarefree.com/2014/06/how-to-grow-vegetable-garden-from.html) 

Moreover, to me, the key element of a garden is that it has been premeditated by an individual. It is not a space that has been left to nature’s mercy, but rather a gardener or landscaper has developed a plan for the allocated parcel. Someone has established a vision for what they want the space to look like and through planning, they will develop their ideas into reality. In a way the gardener is an artist, the land is the canvas, and the garden is the masterpiece.

Chateau of Versailles, plan of the gardens designed by Le Notre, ca. 1680 (source: https://www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/rschwart/hist151/lectures/Lecture8_EnlightenmentNature.htm)

Lastly, in my view, a garden must have a purpose in some form. Its purpose by no means needs to be complex, controversial, or confusing. A garden could have the objective of simply providing a relaxing setting, a place to grow fruit or an area for children to play. Nevertheless, there must be some form of reasoning for why the garden exists. When designed someone, somewhere had a goal for the space and that goal was motivated by a specific desire to see the space be used for some designated activity. For this reason, I find it essential that a garden has an underlying purpose.

A garden used to showcase topiaries in Newport, RI (source: http://thephotogardenbee.com/2010/01/26/2933/)

To recapitulate, I view a garden as a selected space that has been crafted by humanity to serve a function in our lives. In my opinion, if these criteria are not meet than I do not see the subjected area in contemplation as a garden, rather has another form of nature. 

Related link: http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20150113/COLUMN10/150119919