Facts about garden gazebos
A gazebo is a roofed belvedere that is often octagonal and is open on the sides. Common places where you can spot a gazebo are gardens, parks, and other spacious public areas. These structures are often freestanding, but they can also be built as an attachment to a garden wall. Gazebos are popular for the ornamental features they provide in a landscape, although they serve many other functions as well. They can provide shade and shelter and can be a place of rest. There are even gazebos that can be used as a bandstand.
Alhambras, belvederes, follies, kiosks, pagodas, pergolas, and pavilions are some structures that can be associated with a gazebo. These are popular in areas where the climate is warm and sunny. Records of the gazebo can also be found in the literature of some classical civilisations, including China and Persia. These date back several millennia.
The etymology of the word ‘gazebo’ is still unknown, although there are a lot of false explanations. One is the alleged French origin, from the phrase ‘que c’est beau’, which means ‘how beautiful’. Another is the Latin word ‘gazebo’, which translates to ‘I shall gaze’. There are also proposals that the word ‘gazebo’ was derived from ‘casbah’. The ‘casbah’ is a Muslim quarter found in Algiers. A poem by Ibn Quzman also recounts the origin of the word gazebo, with the Hispano-Arabic term ‘qushaybah’.
In the architectural sense, British architects William and John Halfpenny used the term ‘gazebo’ in their book ‘Rural Architecture in the Chinese Taste’. This was published in 1750.
