As a creative endeavour, a garden could be considered a work of art. Roogulli, a bold, contemporary ten-hectare residential garden near Canberra, is a project that may well achieve such a classification as it matures. The field of art, however, is highly contested in Australian culture, where an implicit hierarchy pervades and two-dimensional visual art is the starting point. Other creative arts such as poetry, music, the performing arts and architecture jostle for recognition and gardens are rarely mentioned in this context, except perhaps as settings for sculpture or theatre. This is despite a long international history of extraordinary gardens that are widely recognized as art and manifest aesthetic sensibility, symbolism and meaning. These gardens speak not only of their creation, but also of their time, place and culture. They continue to be revered, cared for and discussed, and influence other art forms such as painting, writing and film.
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