Gardens have existed in Russia since ancient times. The beginning of their device is connected with transition of Slavs to agriculture. In Novgorod, Kiev and other Russian cities numerous wooden constructions were buried in the greenery of gardens and vegetable gardens. The word "garden" means a plot of land planted with trees, shrubs and flowers. Gardens of ancient Russia combined decorative and utilitarian features. Thus, fruit and berry trees and shrubs, as well as ponds, where fish were bred, were the main elements of the garden composition.
With the advent of Orthodoxy (10th century), closer ties were established with Byzantium. One of the consequences of this was a change in the appearance of the gardens at the Russian monasteries. Large orchards were distributed outside the walls of the holy monastery, and small, decorative ones - inside it. The latter had a rectangular breakdown with a cruciform scheme of the plan. Later it was reflected in the arrangement of gardens of such monasteries as Valaam, Solovetsky, Tolga, Novodevichy, etc., where cedar and deciduous groves, alleys, ponds, canals and roads, individual buildings with great art included in the landscape are still partially preserved. First, in the cities of Kievan Rus, and then in Moscow there appeared "hanging gardens", which were arranged at the level of the upper floors of residential houses. This is a tradition in Byzantium. The most famous were the Upper and Lower Red Embankments Gardens in the Kremlin Palace. The layout of these gardens was regular, and they also had a lead pond. Flower plants prevailed here, sometimes adding a small number of fruit trees.
However, from the very beginning, all garden art techniques that came to Russia from other countries were creatively processed and in most cases completely changed. Russian architects and gardeners always gave their compositions their "face", reflecting both national and psychological and climatic features of Russia. Unfortunately, reliable documents, images, drawings of Russian gardens dated to the Х-ХУ centuries were not preserved. There are only data of archeological researches and annalistic data. It has allowed to establish cultural image of Moscow of the first half of the KhUP in. It was a very beautiful city, buried in greenery. Almost every town manor house had its own garden. Numerous green arrays in combination with golden domes of churches distinguished the Russian capital from the European medieval cities with their narrow streets and narrow buildings. Even near the walls of the Kremlin there was a huge meadow, from which up to 600 hayfields were collected annually.
The estate of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich (1645-1676) in Izmailovo became famous near Moscow. Izmailovskie gardens - a great example of a combination of aesthetic and practical purposes in the composition of the Russian pre-Petrovsk estate. Decorative amusement gardens of Izmailovo with fruit trees and shrubs, flower beds, pergolas, ponds and groves were as if embedded in the untouched suburban landscape. The beauty of the surrounding landscape did not cause the need to improve large areas. The small gardens were created gradually, as needed. Izmailov's organizers also did not set the task of creating a single park ensemble. A fruit garden adjoined the palace itself. There was a birch grove nearby. To the north-west of the palace complex was located "Grapes Garden", which had a peculiar layout. Here they tried to breed grape vines. To the south stretched an array of protected forests, to the west adjoined the menagerie, which contained bears, leopards, lynxes and other animals. In different parts of the Izmailovskaya residence in the woods there were also Round, Prosyansky, Mulberry, Crimson Gardens, Strawberry Grove and, finally, a wonderful garden, which was called "funny rooms with a garden". The most interesting device of the garden of pre-Petrovsk times. It shows a peculiar interpretation of the methods of planning Western European Renaissance gardens. The composition of the Poteshny Garden was strictly balanced. It consisted of a system of squares planted with ornamental and fruit-bearing plants. In the center was a labyrinth, on the roads of which were planted currant bushes, and in the middle of the "key, from which the water runs". Placing a labyrinth in the center of the garden is an interesting interpretation of this technique in Russian gardens. On the four sides of the maze there were parterres made of low shrubs and flowers. Their drawings were completely different. Directly to the parterres, at the corners of the garden, adjoined four squares of fruit trees: "Garden and all sorts of apples", "Garden and all sorts of pears", etc.
"to be continued in the next part"
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