From very early times flowers and plants have been admired and cultivated in India. There are many references to gardens in the old
Buddhist literature and the Sanskrit plays. The sacred groves round the Buddhist shrines were no doubt among the earliest forms of gardening, which in later times and in moister climates developed into the well-known charming landscape styles of China and Japan.
But it was from the North, from Central Asia and Persia, that the splendid garden traditions were introduced into India, taking root there under the various Mohammedan conquerors and developing into a native style which culminated in the beautiful Kashmir Gardens built by the Mughal Emperor Jahangir and his Persian wife, the Empress Nur-Jahan.
