<P> Vitruvius, a Roman author and engineer, wrote the oldest extant design manual in 27 BC . De architectura libri decem (Ten Books on Architecture) addressed design theory, landscape architecture, engineering, water supply, and public projects, such as parks and squares . Vitruvius asserted that firmitas (firmness, durability, strength), utilitas (commodity, convenience, utility) and venustas (delight, loveliness, beauty) were the primary objectives of design . Some still consider these elements essential to quality design of landscape . </P> <P> After the emergence of the first civilizations, wealthy persons began to create gardens for purely aesthetic purposes . Egyptian tomb paintings of the 16th century BC are some of the earliest physical evidence of ornamental horticulture and landscape design; they depict lotus ponds surrounded by symmetrical rows of acacias and palms . Another ancient tradition is of Persia: Darius the Great was said to have had a "paradise garden" and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were renowned as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World . Persian gardens were designed along a central axis of symmetry . </P> <P> Persian influences extended to Hellenistic Greece after Alexander the Great . C. 350 BC there were gardens at the Academy of Athens, and Theophrastus, who wrote on botany, supposedly inherited a garden from Aristotle . Epicurus had a garden where he walked and taught, and he bequeathed it to Hermarchus of Mytilene . Alciphron also referenced private gardens in his writing . </P> <P> The most influential ancient gardens in the western world were those of Ptolemy in Alexandria, Egypt and the horticultural tradition that Lucullus brought to Rome . Wall paintings in Pompeii, Italy attest to later elaborate development . The wealthiest Romans built extensive villa gardens with water features, including fountains and rivulets, topiary, roses, and shaded arcades . Archeological evidence survives at sites such as Hadrian's Villa . </P>

In 2000 bc which culture established gardening developing sustainable forest gardens