Consuming gardens: Representations of paradise, nostalgia and postmodernism

This paper unravels the types of relationships people have with their gardens. This is achieved through a review of previous literature on the topic, coupled with a theoretical contextualisation which utilises postmodern concepts, notably that of Jameson's 'nostalgic return' (1989). To illustrate the relevance of these concepts to an understanding of gardening the paper turns to a number of gardening 'texts' and 'spaces' to decipher the ways in which gardens are consumed within contemporary culture. It argues that representations of gardens cohere around two key motifs: the search for paradise and the imagined return to a long-forgotten past.