Gardens of Sri Lanka

A splendid journey through the complexity of Sri Lankan gardens, past and present.

The rich history of Sri Lankan gardens extends from the early boulder-and-terrace gardens of Buddhist monasteries to the designed landscapes of the 17th to 19th centuries as well as many significant contemporary examples. Gardens of Sri Lanka leads the reader from one surprise to the next. First, there is the world of Sri Lanka’s great royal estates: spatial generosity reflecting a local aristocratic civilization. Another essential tradition presented is that of Sri Lanka’s monastic gardens. The sheer number of Buddhist monasteries scattered all over the island is remarkable. Most of these sites contain gardens rather than buildings. Then there are colonial gardens; visually magical but representing a dark history, these gardens are often forced amalgams between a self-celebrating culture from outside Sri Lanka and the local topography and vegetation within it. Last but not least are contemporary gardens that have, physically and immediately for those lucky enough to walk through them, an extraordinary force and something to teach the world.
The meticulous execution of Gardens of Sri Lanka and the quality of the photographic and textual documentation allows readers unfamiliar with Sri Lanka’s topography to discover, page after page, the existence of a unique and complex world of gardens that they never knew existed.