An Easy Task: Plants to Suit an Islamic Garden in the British Climate
Some of this information comes from a book by Emma Clark, an English Muslim garden designer, who helped choose plants for the ‘Carpet Garden’, an Islamic Garden on Prince Charles’ estate at Highgrove in Gloucestershire.
It’s called the ‘Carpet Garden’ because it was inspired by designs from Turkish carpets. Many Persian and Turkish carpet patterns have been inspired by Islamic gardens. But this Islamic garden copied the carpet, rather than the other way round. For pictures of this garden at the Chelsea Flower Show: http://www.middleeastuk.com/culture/mosaic/chelsea/index.htm
Good Options for Suitable Plants.
Conifers, first and foremost
Probably the most important thing is to concentrate on slim conifers, since these are so important to the atmosphere of an Islamic garden. And if no space for trees, then think about coniferous bushes and shrubs. Even if a garden is small, many conifers will still be suitable for many years, though eventually their growth might require trimming.
As mentioned earlier, the famous slim dark conifer in Islamic garden is the Italian Cypress tree, cupressus sempervirens. A specially slim ‘cultivar’ – or special breed - of this tree is cupressus sempervirens ‘Stricta’ and this was the tree used for Prince Charles’ Carpet Garden. Another cultivar of this tree is cupressus sempervirens ‘Swane’s Gold’, which is a pale yellow or greenish yellow colour.
But while the Italian Cypress is the tree of choice, it does not suit very cold, windy locations. Emma Clark suggests as a hardier alternative the Irish yew, Taxus baccata ‘Fastigiata’, though this is not so slim.
Narrow cultivars of the famously fast-growing Leyland Cypress might be suitable in some places.
British garden centres offer many varieties of juniper, chamaecyparis and Monterrey cypress which could suit an Islamic garden in Britain.
Cupressus macrocarpa ‘Wilma’ is bright fresh green and could make a nice contrast with darker conifers. If kept in a pot, it will grow in an elegant, narrow shape. Cupressus macrocarpa ‘Goldcrest’ is another Monterrey cypress of similar bright colour.
One juniper with a narrow shape is juniperus communis ‘Pyramidalis’. Another, which is dramatically slim and dark, is juniperus scopulorum ‘Skyrocket’.
To get the right effect, these conifers need to be planted in regular, symmetric arrangements.
Fruit trees
Mentioned earlier was the symbolic practice in some Islamic gardens whereby cypresses and fruit trees are planted side by side. Emma Clark recommends almond, wild cherry and bird cherry. Apple, pear or plum trees would also be fine.
There are other trees which feature in paintings or poems about Islamic gardens and also suit the British climate – like mulberry, hawthorn, sumach and rowan. Also, plane trees are very common in traditional Islamic gardens. But they grow very large.
Trees mentioned in the Koran
There are four trees mentioned in the Koran as present in Paradise: the fig tree, the olive, the pomegranate and the date palm. Whether these grow well in Britain depends on how warm and sheltered is their location and how well they are cared for.
Sometimes outdoor fig trees bear fruit even in northern England. Sometimes they grow but bear no proper fruit or do not even survive. Pomegranates and olives can bear fruit in the London area, given good conditions. For these plants you need to find out about the right conditions and consider whether your site could supply these.
For Prince Charles’ Carpet Garden, fig, pomegranate and olive trees were planted because of their mention in the Koran. But date palms were thought to be unsuitable for the location.
But there is no reason why you cannot have a different palm tree. The Cordyline Palm (Cordyline australis) can grow vigorously even in North Yorkshire.
Flowers
One particularly important flower for an Islamic garden is the rose.
Many other flowers, common in Britain, are also found in traditional Islamic garden. These
include:
Tulips, Marigold, Love-in-the mist, Lavender, Rosemary, Geraniums, Daffodils, Crocuses, Hyacinths,
Bluebells, Irises, Lilies, Poppies, Wallflowers, Hollyhocks, Night-scented Stocks and Tobacco
Flower, Jasmine, and Cornflowers.
Sweet peas are another possibility. They could be grown so that they climb up dark conifers, as was done in the Carpet Garden.
Ordinary grass lawns are also common in Islamic gardens.
Choosing plants for a design for an Islamic garden is not difficult.