**5. Guidelines for the Design of Orthodox Gardens**

The places where temples were built in the past were not accidental. Orthodox churches were located in places marked by a miracle, a revelation, and the fervent faith of the faithful. People harmoniously integrated the buildings into nature. Today, the surroundings of old churches are often the last refuge of centuries-old tall trees. Amid numerous modern landscape transformations, ancient churches surrounded by greenery remind us of our desire to preserve harmony with the world [69]. In villages, churches were mostly wooden and built in the highest place. If there was a river or lake nearby, then these were also included in the overall composition [70].

The church garden area is an intermediate zone between the sacred (the temple) and the profane (inhabited areas). Orthodox churches and their surroundings have also been burial sites for the faithful for centuries. It was not until the Edict of Nantes of 1777 that the burial of the dead near churches was banned for sanitary reasons. Following France's example, other countries, including Poland, introduced similar regulations. The effect of these changes was to transform the areas of former church cemeteries into landscaped areas, where votive crosses and rows of trees were located, forming a clear boundary in the landscape [71]. Its architectural enclosure gains a landscape dimension with a row of trees along the church's borders. Practical, aesthetic, and symbolic reasons dictated such a solution, thereby accentuating the separation of the sacred and profane zones. Deciduous tree canopies of lindens, oaks, ash, and chestnut trees usually surround temples [72].

In the Orthodox tradition, green is the color of spring and rebirth. In iconography, green is the herald of the Holy Spirit and the color of John the Evangelist and many prophets. Red symbolizes life, beauty, divine love, and power. However, at the same time, it also signifies martyrdom and blood. The color white in the Orthodox church symbolizes God's revelation and glory. White is also used to represent joy and a festive mood and symbolizes purity, innocence, God's wisdom, joy, and happiness. The color brown represents the material world, humility, and poverty [73,74].

Although this manuscript deals with a small rural Orthodox church, it is worth mentioning the basic principles of the spatial composition of an Orthodox monastic complex. Orthodox monastic gardens were characterized by the social and functional specialization of the garden, unity with the surrounding landscape, traditionalism and canonicity, symbolism, and rituals. The garden of the monastery complex was not limited to the inner part of the monastery walls. It was a multilevel system of greenery inside and around the monastery. The central garden, with a specific layout and planting structure, was located inside the monastery walls near the cathedral church. Smaller gardens were located near other buildings. Utility crops grew on the periphery of the monastery complex. By the 14th century in Russia, the concept had taken shape that only primordial nature was sinless, ordered by God Himself and in harmony with it. Monasteries were placed on hillsides, hilltops, and, if on flat terrain, in the bends of rivers, tributaries, or islands. Thus, the monastic complex was dominant in a given landscape within a radius of several miles. The low density of the monastery, high plantings in the monastery courtyard, and the use of native plant species "dissolved" the monastery into the environment, making it an organic part of the natural landscape. One of the main functions of the garden was to replicate the process of creating the world in miniature.

The entire monastery was conceived as "heaven revealed on earth." The placement of the monastery on a hill was seen as an approximation of heaven, God, and Eden. The axis of the main gate and the temple symbolized salvation. The main cathedral's centrality and dominance in space signified the "One God," the microcosm and heaven. Other buildings around the main cathedral embodied the Righteous around the throne of God [74].

An essential element in the composition of the church's surroundings was to allow a circular route around the main temple and to form a square in front of it. Additionally, the presence of an Orthodox cross was desired on each building, as well as small architectural forms, i.e., an '*istocznik*' spring and *phiale* (a place for water to shine), flower compositions by the main square, the use of white lilies and white flowers in the garden, and the presence of apple trees. If possible, an avenue of linden trees led to the church. The species selection of plants in gardens was made considering the plants' symbolism and their flowering period during the most important religious holidays. Thus, the Orthodox church garden was, in a sense, a metaphor that tells biblical stories and encourages concentration, prayer, and reflection [74].

Orthodox church garden rituals included processions and sanctification of gifts as a common prayer for God's protection, help, and glory. These included:


All of the above rituals, therefore, required a square where people gathered during the ordination of gifts and a circular avenue around the church as a processional route, highlighting the main avenue leading from the gate to the temple, and side paths to the church cemetery, the '*istochnik*', and '*phiale*'.

In summary, in the case of evaluating the greenery system on the territory of a historic religious site, the basic principle of the development should refer to the historical species selection in such sites and plantings should follow the principles of religious symbolism [75–77]. The churchyard garden should be rich in symbolic colors while having a contemplative atmosphere. The designer should consider the patrons of the church and the iconographic program should also appear on the exterior of the building. Physical and spiritual relaxation, concentration, and reflection should be fostered by elements of small architecture, i.e., benches, and commemorative crosses that are adequately integrated into the entire garden establishment. It is worth using species and varieties of ornamental plants, shrubs, and trees with resinous fragrances or fragrant inflorescences (e.g., lindens, larches, pines, spruces, and roses). As Forstner (1990) notes, all of these stimuli, while stimulating the senses and deepening the scale of the experience, primarily point to something extraordinarily subtle and spiritual [78]. Thanks to the vegetation, the church's immediate and distant surroundings should form a spatial and ecological whole [72]. Trees are commonly used to plant the boundaries of church areas. Thanks to the row of trees along the church's borders, its architectural fencing gains a landscape dimension. Practical, aesthetic, and symbolic considerations dictate this solution, in that it emphasizes the separation of the sacred from the profane.

#### **6. Design Concept of the Church Garden**

Finding a balance between natural, historical, and user safety aspects is one of the most critical challenges in the sustainable management of garden monuments. Veteran trees should be provided with adequate living space. Sufficient light and space should reach the trunk and crown, and the extensive root system should have proper soil volume. In this way, the stand should continue to age slowly in peace while remaining in a favorable environment, if possible.

The presented design concept achieved a compromise between tradition and the modern user's needs (Figure 27). The project involved renovation of the fence, the installation of benches, lighting, and construction of a spring. We planted five new trees to supplement the planting in a row along the fence. The senile trees were some distance from the processional road. Flowerbeds surrounded them. This should improve the living conditions of the veteran trees and prevent people from walking under their crowns. We planted shade-loving perennials under the crowns of the trees. The curves of the flowerbeds referred to rural and naturalistic gardens. Considering the plantings used in the project, we suggested their symbolic meaning: periwinkle—fidelity, eternal life; ivy—the permanence of life; boxwood—hope of salvation, immortality; yew—immortality; syringa—kindness; lilac—zeal, diligence; tonsil—vigilance, youth, piety, diligence, new life; quince—marriage; peony—shame; rose—eternal wisdom, martyrdom, transience, mystery, eternity, marriage. In turn, we selected the proposed flower species based on their religious significance and

specific symbolism: marigold—penance, abstinence; pansies—timidity of young girls, faithful memory, the Holy Trinity, faithfulness, envy; violet—love, humility, passing, modesty, a widow, a believer, the earth awakening to life after winter; carnation—love, boldness, kindness; iris—suffering, recklessness, the Passion of Christ, forgiveness of sins, sadness; lily of the valley—the salvation of the world; lily—purity, a soul striving for God, a faithful soul, virginity, royal dignity, transience, the word of God, light, spring; mallow—pain, mercy, request for forgiveness; forget-me-not—sincere love, faithful memory, naive simplicity; fern—modesty, daisy—eternal youth; tulip—goodness [79–81].

**Figure 27.** Project for the development of the surroundings around the church in Horostyta (by M. Dudkiewicz).

#### **7. Conclusions**

This manuscript presents a case study for the inventory and design of a garden at a historic Orthodox church in Horostyta, a village in southeastern Poland. In the church garden, we inventoried 15 trees, among which two species were predominant (*Acer pseudoplatanus* and *Tilia cordata*) and the most valuable ones were a small-leaved linden with a trunk circumference of 672 cm and a sycamore maple with a trunk circumference of 370 cm, which were about 200–300 years old. Plans to fell three trees with disturbing visual assessments were abandoned thanks to detailed acoustic tomography tests. The CT scans revealed some problems and signs of decay, but they did not indicate cutting.

The obtained results made it possible to design a garden adapted to the health conditions of the ancient trees—they were separated from users by flowerbeds, small architectural objects were not located around them, and their trunks were marked with tape informing users about the possible danger of falling branches.

The presented revalorization concept followed the principles of good conservation practice with the needs of contemporary users in mind. The solutions we applied emphasized the historical and aesthetic value of the whole.

At the moment, according to the recommendations, care work on the trees has already been carried out. Fundraising for the project is underway.

Old-growth trees, an integral part of historic establishments, increase the cultural and historical value of sites and maintain the proper compositional arrangement. Using precise computer techniques that make it possible to detect decay and other types of structural defects inside tree trunks ensures proper safety for people and property in the area where historic trees grow. The need for the above research stemmed from the demands of a Polish conservationist and the landscape architect community for new methods and tools to help shape the space. In this case, acoustic tomography revealed the health status of the interior of the trunks of three selected trees. By gaining a better understanding of the internal structure of the trunks, it was possible to more accurately determine the level of risk generated by and around the trees and then choose the best course of action. The information provided by acoustic tomography made it possible to avoid the felling of trees in favor of regular monitoring. The present study confirmed the validity of the chosen method and the apt choice of tools suitable for the study of sacred gardens.

The authors hope that this publication will fill a severe gap in knowledge about the latest available technology in conserving historic gardens. It was an essential and complicated task in which the needs of three parties—the property owner, the conservationist, and the users and tourists—had to be reconciled. It was interdisciplinary research in which we faced the vast area of diagnostics and arboriculture and the entire thematic and formal complexity of sacred gardens. In the presented research, we drew on various fields of knowledge from the natural, regional, historical, civic, or religious spheres. Our activities can serve as a model for garden conservators in Poland and Europe as part of the sustainable management of historical greenery. The case encourages us to consider situations of hasty cutting, which sometimes occur when we embark on conserving a historic garden. This means that when undertaking any new project, we should first aim to identify the health of the trees with the best possible modern methods and equipment and then reduce felling to a minimum while monitoring trees in weaker conditions and marking them with tape, fences, etc. The proposed measures demonstrate new possibilities in garden maintenance, landscape ecology, or landscape architecture.

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, M.D. and W.D.; methodology, M.D. and W.D.; software, W.D.; formal analysis, M.D. and W.D.; investigation, M.D, and W.D.; resources, M.D.; data curation, M.D. and W.D.; writing—original draft preparation, M.D.; writing—W.D.; visualization, M.D. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** The research was financed from the own funds of the Department of Landscape Architecture and the Institute of Horticultural Production.

**Institutional Review Board Statement:** Not applicable.

**Informed Consent Statement:** Not applicable.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.
