2019 ASHS Annual Conference

Buddhism was introduced to Zhejiang (China) nearly 1800 years ago in the Eastern Han Dynasty and it played an important part in the Chinese Buddhism history. Plants are the most important components of the buddha landscape architecture around the temples. We systematically examied the characteristics of landscape plants in buddha temple gardens in Zhejiang and classified them into 1) related to Buddhist legends and created a religious atmosphere, such as Aesculus chinensis, Nelumbo nucifera, Ginkgo biloba, Sapindus saponaria, Podocarpus macrophyllus etc.; 2) long-lived native plants that resembled significant influence of Buddhism forever, such as Pinaceae, Cinnamomum camphora, etc.; and 3) aromatic plants, such as Chimonanthus praecox, Gardenia jasminoides, Osmanthus fragrans, symbolized the fragrance and solemnity of the Dharma. Different plants were also carefully selected for the functional zones of the Buddha temples. The leading space area was often planted with pine, bamboo, camphor and other evergreen plants. Simple and spectacular way of planting design was used to create the secluded space for expressing religious emotions among visitors. Plants in the religious activities area were designed symmetrically to highlight the solemn religious environment of the Buddhism. In front of the temple hall building, taller evergreen trees were arranged symmetrically. In the garden area, numbers of the evergreen trees decreased, while the deciduous trees and flowers shrubs increased. Planting design was changed from formal to natural style, such as specimen, grouping and mass planting. The living area was the living space for monks, as well as guest rooms for pilgrims and visitors. Plants were mainly arranged in a natural way. Economic important plants, such as fruit and tea, were also cultivated for consumption in the temple. Plant diversity with small status and Buddhism culture should be increased.

Keywords: Buddhist temple garden, landscape, plant design

*Presenting author (donglin@uga.edu)