Can We Interpret Gardens?

Abstract

Abstract Chapter 7—“Can We Interpret Gardens?”—examines arguments for gardens being interpretable, or being bearers of meaning, and arguments that claim that gardens cannot or do not possess meaning. Some of the arguments against interpreting gardens do not focus on the impossibility of gardens bearing meaning, or garden enthusiasts finding meaning in gardens, but rather that gardens are simply not particularly good about bearing or conveying meaning and that there are more profitable ways to appreciate gardens. More has been written on this topic in garden philosophy than perhaps any other, and so a full chapter is devoted to exploring the topic. Our view is that if a garden can be a work of art, and works of art are typically interpretable, then a garden that is a work of art should be interpretable, as well.