Primary Sources of Roman Gradening

This week's blog will discuss John Henderson's The Roman Book of Gardening, a very interesting book that discusses primary sources from the the Roman period.  These sources are the works of four of the most notable Roman horticulturalists which include Columella, Pliny the Elder, and Palladius.  Each source is a poem from each of the horticulturalists.  The poems are important in giving us first-hand accounts of how the Romans took care of their gardens, and in many cases there are instructions of what to do in the garden throughout the year.  While each author discusses what he believes is essential for gardens, some of their ideas overlap.  The works that I will specifically discuss are Columella's books Ten and Eleven, 'Nature's Miracles' in Pliny's Encyclopedia, and Palladius' The Work of Agriculture.

The first author I will discuss is Columella and his books Ten and Eleven.  Columella is one of the most important Roman agriculturalists who lived during the 1st c. AD.  Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella was a Spaniard who wrote and farmed near Rome.

A Statue of Columella in Cadiz, Spain, his hometown.

Columella's Ten is a poem's goal is to make the reader create a garden that reflects paradise.  His poem is aimed at giving the reader monthly instructions about gardening, with his sequence starting in autumn. (1)  Columella argues that the 'ancients" did not look into gardening because their diets comprised largely of milk and meat; fruits and vegetables were not necessarily needed.  His first advice is to place the garden somewhere near rich soil; dry soil won't do the job.  He points out that a natural water source, like a river, near the garden is also beneficial because it will keep it hydrated.  If it doesn't rain, then he advises to just wait for the winter because it will rain.  In order to close off the garden, Columella suggests that one may want to use walls or hedges.  Enclosing it is important because it means keeping out animals and thieves. He also makes it clear that art work in the garden should be little to none because the focus should be on the garden itself and not on anything else. (2) 

Important in gardening to Columella (and all Roman gardeners) was cultivation, specifically the times of the year to sow (plant seeds).  Columella believed that the stars were associated with the different times of the year one sows plants.  He says that it is important to create paths around the garden that are at a right angle, and to leave space between the plants or herbs that have a strong scent (mint, dill, mustard, and onion).  He also mentions that it might be ideal to ship in onion seeds from Megara (Greece) and Sicca (Tunisia).  This is important in showing that the Romans traded and wanted the best varieties for their garden.  Before ending his poem he mentions his "first commandment" which is to bring in plenty of spring water to water the garden, but also warns us to be careful while watering, forking, or weeding the garden. (3)

Columella's book Eleven discusses the job of a "farm manager" and the general things to do to take care of the garden.  He argues that Romans began gardening to make it easier to feed themselves.  In the garden it is essential to have a wall; early on, the Romans preferred walling of their gardens with small hedges.  He advises his readers to choose an area next to a villa that has rich soil and a stream or well.  If there is a drought then dig the soil extra deep.  He says that one must prep ht e soil and dig over it twice a year because there are two primary seasons for sowing: spring and autumn.  Columella lists the following plants as some that can be sowed twice a year: cabbages, lettuces, artichokes, rockets, cress, coriander, chervil, dill, parsnip  rampion, and poppy.  Lastly, and most importantly, gardeners must strip the garden from any grasses and spread muck over it four days before sowing, in order to prep it. (4)

The next source I will discuss is 'Nature's Miracle' from Pliny the Elder's Encyclopedia.  Pliny was a Roman agriculturalist who lived during the 1st c. AD and died from the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD.  He began 'Nature's Miracle' in 77 AD, but was unable to finish it before the eruption.

Portrait of Pliny the Elder.

Pliny mentions that gardens are not a Roman thing, but have been utilized by other cultures during antiquity.  Some people he lists as examples are the Garden of Hesperides, the Garden of King Adonis, and of King Alcinous.  He also mentions the Hanging Gardens of Babylon (shown below). (5)

Reconstruction of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

In his work, Pliny mentions the Twelve Tables (Roman Law) and how gardens, referred to as 'villa', were not mentioned in them, but gardens were referred to as 'hortus' or 'heredium' (estate).  Going along with this, he mentions that gardens are now used for pleasure purpose, as oppose to reasons of simply providing for the family.  He adds that in earlier times, the garden was important to the poor man, the rest of the citizens shopped their produce at the market. (6)

In terms of taking care of the garden, he advises to place the garden right next to the farmhouse and that it should be frequently watered.  For the latter, he  (like Columella) says that it's best to place the garden near a river.  Then he continues by discussing the various vegetables grown in Roman gardens.  One vegetable he discusses is the cucumber and mentions that throughout the Roman Empire, cucumbers of different shapes were grown.  The Greeks recognize four types in particular: Corinthian, Cleonaean, Liothasian, and Boeotian.  Corinthian grows the largest, while the Liothasian type is the most tolerant of winter.  Pliny notes that the ones with smoother leaves tend to be sweeter. (7) 

The second vegetable he mentions is radishes and says that the thicker their skin is, the more bitter they are.  Once again he mentions the Greeks and how they identified three types of radishes: the ones with curly leaves, smooth leaves, and leaves that are smooth and short.  (8) 

Another plant he discusses in abundance is lettuce.  The Greeks also knew of three varieties of this type.  The first having a broad stalk, with narrow leaves. The second having a round stalk, and the third being squat (short and broad), also known as 'Spartan'.  The other type Pliny discusses is 'Greek', which has a long and broad stalk with smooth leaves.  The worse kind is called 'pikris' because it is very bitter.  The most common type of lettuce in Italy is known as 'mekonis'.  It is from this particular type that the word lettuce derived from.  This type is very milky, and therefore we use the word 'lettuce' because of their 'lac-tic' milk.  (9) 

He also discusses beet and notes that they tend to be the smoothest plants in the garden.  A piece of advice he offers is that beet should only be consumed by the "fit and well" because it is difficult to consume and even does more hard than cabbage. (10)

The final author I will discuss is Rutilius Taurus Aemilianus Palladius, the Roman writer who lived during the 4th c. AD.  Like the authors mentioned above, he also discusses the location and set up of gardens.  Unlike the previous authors, he discusses how to rid the garden of predators (insects and animals).  He also differs from the other authors in that he gives instructions as to what plants to sow during which months.

The Rustic Calendar at Saint-Romain-en-Gal from The Roman Book of Gardening by John Henderson.

Palladius advises his readers to locate their garden, or orchard, close to home and near running water.  If there is not a natural source of water then put a well near it.  If it is not possible to build a well near the garden then he advises his readers to build a fish pond above the garden so when it rains, the water from the pond will run down to the garden.  In order to border off the garden, he says to use clay or stone (or even both) to build a wall. (11)

He then lists various pests that can harm the garden and discusses how to rid of them.  I will list ones he pays more attention to:
-gnats and slugs: spray them with fresh olive dregs or soot from the ceiling.
-ants: attach a bat's heart to their hole if it is located on the inside of your garden.  If they are coming from the outside then mark the entire garden with ash or white chalk.  
-caterpillars: burn a headed stock of garlic throughout the garden and the scent will ward them off.
-mice: pour thick olive dregs on a dish and they will stick to it.  One can also mix cheese, bread, lard, or barley-meal with dark hellebore (which contains poison) and they will die from it.
-snakes: ward them off by "acridity smelling smoke drives of harmful spirits." (12)

Next Palladius lists the vegetables that need to be sowed in accordance with every month.
-January: lettuce, rocket, cabbage, garlic, and wild garlic.
-February: lettuce, onions, dill (tolerates any whether but likes warm weather the most), mustard, cabbage, mallow, mint and beet.
-March: wild garlic, garlic, onions, dill, lettuce, beet, radish, melons, cucumbers, asparagus, thyme, anise, and cummin.
-April: cabbage, parsley, and basil.
-May: parsley, melons, radishes, and rue.  Keep in mind this is a good time for building trenches.
-June: cabbage, parsley, beets, radishes, lettuce, and coriander.
-July: onions (on watered or cool spots), basil, mallow, beet, lettuce, and leek.
-August: this is the final month to sow radish (like rich soil that is loose, and dreads tufa and gravel.
-September: poppy, cabbage, and thyme.  This is also the time to prepare the garden for the following spring by building a 3 foot deep trench around the garden.
-October: mustard, mallow, dill, onions, thyme, and beet (in dryer spots).
-November: garlic, wild garlic, and onions.
-December: lettuce, garlic, wild garlic, onions, and mustard. (13)

These three authors are useful in discussing early Roman garden and many of the plants used in these gardens.  Henderson's book differs from previous works I've used in that it directly used primary sources and the sources discuss various vegetables in great detail.  I enjoyed reading these primary sources, however, I did have to look up certain words to see exactly what they meant because I was unfamiliar with them.  I also had to re-read a few of the sentences here and there because again the language was a little more complex.  Overall this will be useful because it is direct evident of gardening form the Roman period.


1. John Henderson, The Roman Book of Gardening (New York: Routledge, 2004), 11-12.
2. Ibid., 51-53.
3. Ibid., 53-56.
4. Ibid., 33-37.
5. Ibid., 67.
6. Ibid., 68-70.
7. Ibid., 72-75.
8. Ibid., 75-76.
9. Ibid., 86-87.
10. Ibid., 88.
11. Ibid., 103-104.
12. Ibid., 105-107.
13. Ibid., 109-123.