Walled garden
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A walled garden is a garden which is surrounded by high walls. Whilst these walls may now serve a decorative purpose, their original purpose was to shelter the plants within the garden from winds and frosts. The shelter provided can raise the ambient temperature within the garden by several degrees, thus permitting plants to be grown that would not survive in the natural climate of the location. To add to this, differrent materials were used when constructing the walls. Most walls were constructed from stone, being less expensive, but by lining south facing walls with brick the temperature against that wall was raised allowing peaches, nectarines and grapes to be grown against them as espalliers as far north as the British Isles. The traditional design of a walled garden, being split into four main quarters disected by paths and with a pool at the centre dates back to the very earliest gardens in the middle east. Examples of elaborate walled gardens are Shugborough (England), Bodysgallen Hall (Wales), Alnwick Castle (England), Luton Hoo (England), Myres Castle (Scotland) and Muchalls Castle (Scotland). In the United Kingdom many country houses formerly had walled kitchen gardens, that were separate from and performed a different function from the decorative gardens around the house. Many of these fell into decay in the 20th century, but in recent decades large numbers have been revived as decorative gardens, some of which also produce fruit, vegetables and cut flowers. In modern day, walls can be used to keep people out of gardens, such as the elegant Gramercy Park in New York City.
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