Short answers, pulled from the story.
The word garden traces its roots to the Middle English gardin and the Anglo-French jardin. These terms originate from a Germanic source akin to Old High German words like gard or gart, which meant an enclosure or compound.
The earliest recorded Chinese gardens emerged in the valley of the Yellow River during the Shang dynasty between 1600 BC and 1046 BC. Kings and nobles used these large enclosed parks to hunt game or grow fruit and vegetables.
The architect Philibert de l'Orme designed the gardens of the Château d'Anet following Italian rules of proportion in 1536. These gardens became one of the earliest and most influential examples of the classic French style.
A garden is fundamentally defined as a planned space set aside for cultivating plants and enjoying nature. Even the wildest wild garden shares one identifying feature: control, which distinguishes it from untamed wilderness.
Gardeners may cause environmental damage through direct destruction of natural habitats when creating new spaces. Indirect habitat destruction occurs by providing materials such as peat or rock for rock gardens and using tap water to irrigate gardens depletes local resources.