PERTANIKA JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES

Gardens are natural and cultural artifacts presenting both natural and man-made beauty through their natural images. The collection of these representative images or iconography forms the particular identity of a garden. Hence, different gardens present a variety of iconographies, which could affect people preferences for them. For the purpose of this study, four well-established gardens in the world were selected as case studiesand their images were used to represent their iconographies. A photo-questionnaire survey was employed to elicit preferences for garden iconographies and to determine factors influencing their preferences. Factor analysis was used to reveal preference dimensions and stimuli in each category or groups of garden scenes based on preference ratings. Dimensions were qualitatively analyzed and were discussed in terms of their contents and spatial organizations. The study found that garden elements, axes, direction, focal points, and their particular arrangements influence preferences of garden iconographies. The findings from this study will help to inform Landscape Architects the choice of iconographies in the development of new garden identities.