Hungary
peasant’s garden: Mentha, Lavandula, Santolina,
Salvia, Thymus and Rosmarinus. Further away from
the house, a greater proportion of the more com-
mon and native species are planted, including
Corylus colurna, Syringa vulgaris, Viburnum opulus,
Amygdalus nana, Cotinus coggygria, Sambucus
nigra, Euonymus europaeus, Lonicera japonica and
Spiraea x vanhouttei.
Perennials are particularly important in such a young
garden, where they provide the main ornamental
interest. They are planted here in great numbers.
There are rich flowerbeds forming a riot of colour
around the house and along the main roads; they
are planted with Iris, Campanula, Centrantus ruber,
Solidago aurea, Rudbeckia, Phlox, Achillea and
Lilium. The intensive use of flowerbeds is less and
less evident as one moves away from the house
and the main picnic areas. There are perennials not
only along the garden paths, around the bushes and
in certain parts of the grass-covered areas, but also
along the roadside and opposite the gate to empha-
sise arrival. The driveway is lined with a welcoming
avenue of maples (Acer campestre) while a pleas-
ant sycamore in a round flowerbed radiates a sense
of calm from the centre of the front garden.
The English yew (Taxus baccata), which used to be
typical of this landscape, plays an important sym-
bolic role. While the yew is considered the symbol
of death in many cultures, it is also regarded as the
symbol of life. The ancient Celtic warriors honoured
it as a holy tree. The most effective bows were
made out of yew and, according to historians of
ecology, the huge number of war bows made dur-
ing medieval times caused the extinction of English
yew in many parts of Europe, including Hungary,
where only some small yew forests survived in the
Transdanubian region. In Hungarian culture the yew
carries complex meanings. It is regarded as the root
of history and the temple of wisdom, and it helps us
to restore and to purify ourselves. Because of these
strong associations, it was chosen to create a frame
at the main entrance to the guest-house, bringing
the ‘energy of life’ into the building.
The European white elm (Ulmus leavis) is another
symbolic tree in Hungary. According to ancient
traditions, the elm was the most significant saint’s
tree and was able to create a connection with the
sky, therefore all the most important decisions
were made beneath the elm tree. It was therefore
essential that this species should be represented in
the garden.
On the lower terraces there is a fruit garden planted
with the varieties of fruit trees found in traditional
peasants’ gardens. On the middle terrace the fruit
trees are next to the retaining wall and are grown on
cordon, utilising the heat stored and re-radiated by
