MATHEMATICS IN

THE GARDEN AND

LANDSCAPING
By Hira Fatima
The Mathematical Garden
The Mathematical Garden is
the Museum of Science and
Technology’s new playground,
where the world of maths can
be explored through play – it is
full of fun, free to use and is
open around the clock.
How do we incorporate mathematics
into our gardens?
The important thing is to make it fun and
to use mathematical language (nothing
complicated, just terms like triangle,
rectangle, symmetry, number, pattern,
estimate).
Mathematics questions: starting points
◦ How many? How far or near?
◦ How long, tall, short, tall, high, deep, heavy? How many
lines? How sharp?
◦ Estimate the size, height, length, weight of…
◦ What kind of pattern? Can you continue this pattern?
◦ What kind of shape? What shapes do you see?
◦ Why do you think lots of triangles have been used?
◦ Why do you think the bridge is arched?
◦ Why do you think the path does not follow a straight line?
◦ What if we add a lines? What if we add a shape? What
difference does it make? Is it still symmetrical?
◦ What if we alter the symmetry?
Mathematics applications in
gardens:
Polygons, tessellations, geometric
solids, symmetries, mappings,
fractals, surfaces, curves and surfaces
of free forms, lights and shadows,
geometrical shapes, etc.
We discuss the following topics:
1. Fractals and its application in garden
architecture and landscape design.
2. Golden section.
3. Symmetries in garden architecture.
4. Surfaces and curves of analytic and “free”
form in gardens and landscape
architecture
5. Polygons and geometric solids and its
applications to gardens architecture.
1. Fractals in garden and landscape
architecture:
The Kaos Garden (Ponte de Lima, Portugal) is an
interpretation of the topic belonging to the Fractal
Geometry. “The Kaos of the Universe” is a fractal
that turns into plants, paths, floors, and globes that
offer, through their apparent confusion, the idea of
a Cosmic Chaos. Aromatic species, herbs and
covering plants are combined with light silver and
colored globes that want to obtain an ideal
representation of the stars and the planets of the
universe
What is a fractal?
It is a natural phenomenon or a mathematical set that
exhibits a repeating pattern that is displayed at every
scale. If the replication is exactly the same at every scale,
it is called a self-similar pattern. An example of this is
the Menger Sponge. Fractals can also be nearly the same
at different levels. It is also known as expanding
symmetry or evolving symmetry. If the replication is
exactly the same at every scale, it is called a self-similar
pattern. Easily said fractals also include the idea of a
detailed pattern that repeats itself.
In mathematics, the Menger sponge is a fractal curve. It is a three-dimensional generalization of
the one-dimensional Cantor set and two-dimensional Sierpinski carpet. It was first described by
Karl Menger in 1926.
2. Golden section
In architectural terms, this ratio generally
takes the form of the golden rectangle – any
shape that can be wholly divided into up into
a square and a rectangle that, when
combined, establishes a ratio, approximately
equating to 1:1.61. Since both the lengths and
widths of these shapes correspond to the
ratio, the theory suggests that it is possible to
upscale or downscale a structure while still
maintaining these golden proportions.
3. Symmetries in landscape and garden
architecture:
Geometric symmetries are often interpreted in the
gardens architecture like:
Point symmetries: e.g. a water fountained in the
middle of the garden, big central pattern made from
plants, a big central geometric shape represented by
plants or trees.
Reflection symmetries: a path in the middle of the
garden, with different colors, materials which produce
contrast in the garden, path from small rocks, from
trees catted and formed trees in special shapes, a
bridge over small river in the garden, path of flowers
of the same colors and high. We also can consider
garden mazes.
4. Surfaces and curves of implicit expression
and also free form in gardens: