There are four main rivers in paradise, one of water, one of milk, one of wine, and one of honey. Early Persian hunting parks reflected this concept by being divided into four parts with a mansion at the center and Islamic gardens are their direct descendents. The English word paradise is derived from the Greek, and it has always been connected with gardens, especially the Garden of Eden. In the book of Genesis, Eden is described as a paradise where the first man and woman were free from hunger and death. It would be impossible for a gardener to create such a paradise on this earth, at least not with living plants.
Gardeners constantly conceal death in their attempts to create an illusion of a perfect world.
In nature, trees and shrubs die and their skeletons are left standing until they rot and fall to the ground, but very few gardeners are such naturalists that they are willing to wait for this process to happen. Most gardeners will cut down an ailing tree or shrub before it is even dead, rather than allow the shadow of death to enter their garden. That is my definition of a paradise garden, so if she is correct about what gardens are, then every garden must be a paradise garden. Used under License. Question of the Week Tell us what you think of the new Garden Center.