PARADISE GARDENS 
.

Gardens aren't just a form of landscaping. To some, they're a refuge and a retreat from the hassles of everyday life, a physical embodiment of beauty, relaxation and abundance. This sentiment is echoed by the form of garden known as a paradise garden, an embodiment and reminder of heaven on earth.

Functionally, a paradise garden is an enclosed garden. The word “paradise” is derived from a Persian word meaning “walled garden.” The enclosure keeps out unwanted plants and blocks the outside world from view. Strong geometric motifs, specifically rectangles and squares, are common stylistic features of paradise gardens. Many paradise gardens showcase water with pools, fountains, ponds or streams. Fragrance and fruit trees and shrubs are often planted to attract birds.

The Moghuls adapted the Persian form of Charbagh garden since it was well suited for the climatic conditions of India. A Charbagh is a style of garden that originated in ancient Persia. This type of garden is generally very regular in design and layout, and is often split into geometrically identical portions, as evidenced by the fact that the term charbagh roughly translates as "a garden in four parts."

A Charbagh is typified by a careful and meticulously ordered layout. In a Charbagh, the space is typically divided evenly into four parts, with pathways or water used to divide up the garden. Any formal structures included in the Charbagh are usually located at the center of this organizational pattern or on the periphery. In larger examples of this type of garden, each quadrant may be further divided, yielding sixteen smaller gardens of identical size.

Normally these gardens are laid out at a lower level and have a Pavillion at a higher level from where the entire garden can be seen. An example of this is the Brindavan Garden of Mysore. This garden is laid on a North South axis and has three levels descending from the South to a large lake, and three ascending levels towards the North.