and ornament in architecture, such as the column and round arch, the tunnel vault, and the dome.Ornamental gardens exemplified by the Italian Villa Transformation of the small courtyard garden into an area of magnificent splendor. Typical components of an Itallian Villa indigenous evergreen shrubs and trees stone walls and buildings sculpture and water featuresSupreme blend of architecture and the landscape: the merger of geometric form with natural setting --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Beyond the RenaissanceThe Renaissance, with its expanding economic activity, increase in wealth by more people led to a renewed interest in horticultural activities, such as gardening, as a form of creative display and not just for utilitarian purposes. The resurgence in recreational gardening coincided with increased interest in the plants themselves. This led to the initiation of modern botanical science.An important contributor to knowledge of and interest in plants was Carolus Clusius (Charles de l'Ecluse) who introduced the tulip and other bulbous plants to Holland. From these beginnings, The Netherlands has become now a premier producer and exporter of horticultural products.As interest in plants grew, both from a botanical and horticultural perspective, exploreres throughtout the known world sent new and interesting plants to Botanical Gardens in Padua, Italy; Oxford and Kew, England; Edinburgh, Scotland; and Leiden, Holland. These gardens became great centers of scientific learning and as well as of horticultural practice. These explorers represent a major movement that grew out of the Renaissance and that transformed Western Europe and the world: The Age of Discovery.Many new plants in Europe came from the New World; some, such as Virginia creeper, goldenrod, Sweetgum, Staghorn Sumac, and flowering Dogwood came from the American Colonies. ----------------------------------------------------------...
