An Emperor's Garden

The might of the Mughal dynasty lasted from 1526 until the sun set on the empire in 1857. The Mughal rulers were generally cosmopolitan and were renowned for their interest in their various construction projects. The Taj Mahal is perhaps one of the best-known buildings commissioned by a Mughal emperor called Shah Jahan in memory of his beloved wife. The original gardens of the Taj Mahal were built with the ideals of Mughal garden design in mind but were altered rather extensively years later by Lord Curzon when he was Viceroy of India. 

So, what were the integral features of Mughal garden design? Like Persian gardens, Mughal gardens were centred around breathtakingly geometrically exact walkways, channels of water, water features, and shimmering pools. Because access to large amounts of water was a necessity in Mughal garden design the location of a garden was always carefully chosen to ensure that it could be conveyed to the garden consistently. But beauty was not the only thing the imperial garden designers had in mind they literally wanted to create a vison of paradise on earth. Every plant and structure and their positioning was dictated by this desire to reflect a kind of paradise on earth where all was harmonious and peace reigned. 

Take a trip over to our virtual shed next week Thursday to see another post on garden history.