Before the Renaissance, in the West fruitful gardens with medicinal herbs were established often near the monasteries. The gardens were not considered as a cultural and subjective product because the idea drawn from monasticism and avoidance of the fascination of the world became dominant as the motto of Christianity in the Middle Ages. In this philosophy, the earth and all elements were a rival to understand the truth and supernatural elements. As a result, medicinal plants were the product and the cause of such gardens. The garden designers used geometric designs to divide the area and create more plots for cultivation. They did not attempt to consider a new dimension for the order of their gardens. Therefore, the main concerns in the gardens were limited to a variety of plants, properties, and methods of cultivation. In contrast, in the East at the same era, plant-related knowledge and their health properties were more common and thorough. The gardens were considered as spatial and cultural elements. Eastern believed that the earth is in a solid bond with the heaven, and reuniting with the earth and the universe was a prerequisite to go to heaven and reap its benefits. Therefore, in the Eastern mindset, the desire for knowing the truth and the heaven required establishing the gardens and using the elements of nature such as the plants as the tool to fulfill this goal. From this point of view, the gardener's product as a symbol of peace and tranquility was required to ascend to heaven. The same mindset with also minor differences can be found in the Muslim world. In the eastern territories, whether in China with the Taoist and Shinto rituals, or in Hinduism in India, or in Muslim countries, both nature and its elements, such as the plant, are mediators to discover the truth. For this reason, the Taoist temples lie in the heart of nature and the temples of Hindus are under the trees and temple of the Muslims, the mosque, are established in an intact nature devoid of man-made add-ons. Due to cultural exchanges throughout history and across geographical boundaries, the acquired concepts of one culture have gradually found their way to another culture as an element of the landscape. One of these elements is sacred plants. Although in Islam the sacred plants cannot be pleaded to intercede with God and receive the divine grace, they turned to a symbol of the intercession with God as soon as ancient Iranian religions and the common beliefs of the adjacent territories were treated leniently. In Quran, they are also explicitly referred to as the intercession with God. For this reason, in the Islamic land of Iran, there are many trees in the sacred tombs and ritual places. They are referred to as the sign of the intercession with Imam or prophets. People plead the tree not only for conveying their message to him but also for showing their spiritual connection to God and honoring their solemn promise gave themselves. In such a view, the physical aspect of the healing garden turns into an objective- subjective system in which plants and other natural elements play a key role in healing human beings’ physical and mental problems.
)