North Europe garden property

England, France, Austria, Scandinavia (Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland), Germany, Ireland

The art of making gardens began in West Asia and was brought to North Europe by the Romans. Though warmer than today, the climate was not as well suited to vines and table fruit as South Europe. But the classical Roman courtyard served both climates: it gave protection from the sun in Italy and from cold winds in North Europe. When North European gardening revived, during and after the Middle Ages, courtyards were a valued means of giving safety and security to the two main groups of garden user: ladies and monks. Castle gardens and cloister garths were made for this purpose. Garden design became more ornamental after the renaissance and the art of making gardens to display a wide botanical range of plant material was a North European innovation. Even today, this art is more developed in North Europe than anywhere else. The reasons for this state of affairs still affect people desirous of purchasing garden property in North Europe:

• the climate is temperate
• water is readily available
• an exceptional range of plants can be grown
• the nursery industry is highly developed
• an enormous range of property with gardens is available