Contemporary Garden Decoration: Large Outdoor Water Fountains and their Roots
Contemporary Garden Decoration: Large Outdoor Water Fountains and their Roots A fountain, an incredible piece of engineering, not only supplies drinking water as it pours into a basin, it can also launch water high into the air for a noteworthy effect.From the onset, outdoor fountains were soley there to serve as functional elements. Water fountains were connected to a spring or aqueduct to supply drinkable water as well as bathing water for cities, townships and villages. Up until the nineteenth, fountains had to be higher and closer to a water source, including aqueducts and reservoirs, in order to benefit from gravity which fed the fountains. Fountains were an optimal source of water, and also served to decorate living areas and celebrate the designer. Animals or heroes made of bronze or stone masks were often used by Romans to decorate their fountains. During the Middle Ages, Muslim and Moorish garden planners included fountains to create mini depictions of the gardens of paradise.
Fountains played a significant role in the Gardens of Versailles, all part of French King Louis XIV’s desire to exert his power over nature. Seventeen and 18 century Popes sought to extol their positions by adding beautiful baroque-style fountains at the point where restored Roman aqueducts arrived into the city.
The end of the 19th century saw the rise in usage of indoor plumbing to provide drinking water, so urban fountains were relegated to strictly decorative elements. Amazing water effects and recycled water were made possible by replacing the force of gravity with mechanical pumps.
Embellishing city parks, honoring people or events and entertaining, are some of the purposes of modern-day fountains.
Anglo-Saxon Landscapes at the Time of the Norman Conquest
Anglo-Saxon Landscapes at the Time of the Norman Conquest Anglo-Saxons felt great changes to their day-to-day lives in the latter half of the eleventh century due to the accession of the Normans.
The expertise of the Normans exceeded the Anglo-Saxons' in architecture and agriculture at the time of the conquest. But yet there was no time for home life, domesticated design, and decoration until the Normans had conquered the whole region. Most often built upon windy summits, castles were straightforward structures that allowed their occupants to spend time and space to offensive and defensive programs, while monasteries were rambling stone buildings frequently installed in only the most fecund, extensive valleys. The barren fortresses did not provide for the peaceful avocation of gardening. Berkeley Castle is perhaps the most complete model in existence today of the early Anglo-Norman style of architecture. It is said that the keep was created during William the Conqueror's time. A significant terrace serves as a discouraging factor to invaders who would attempt to mine the walls of the building. On one of these terraces lies a quaint bowling green: it is coated in grass and flanked by an old yew hedge that is formed into the shape of rough ramparts.