Gardens are an inseparable part of the design of every Mashriqu'l-Adhkar.  'Abdu'l-Baha specified that a series of nine gardens, each with a pool and fountain, was to encircle the Temple in Wilmette, Illinois. Years later, Shoghi Effendi said construction was incomplete until the gardens were developed.  Time has demonstrated that wisdom.

 The gardens provide a transition from the outside world, a meditative space amid natural beauty, a fitting adornment for the Dawning-Place of the Praise of God.  But when the first two renovated gardens at the Baha'i House of Worship were officially opened April 21 at a celebration of the First Day of Ridvan, what did visitors appreciate most?  Very simple. A place to sit.  
"The flowers and foliage have always been beautiful," said Jim Polley, a longtime Baha'i from Antioch, Illinois, "but I like the fact that there are benches now." Gently curved concrete benchwalls now bracket each garden space -- a new feature introduced as part of Kingdom Project-funded Temple restoration, which was begun in summer 2000 with leveling of six sections of gardens and terrace decks. 

Before renovation the lawn sloped up toward the outer edges of each garden, but the only place visitors could sit in prayer or meditation was grass. Richard Hill of Evanston echoed his appreciation of the new seating. "It will encourage people to linger," he said.  Added Sandra Egerer of Des Plaines on a practical note: "It's just exactly what aging Baby Boomers need."  Though the benchwalls are a novelty to those who have visited the Temple over the past few decades, landscape architect Carol Yetken said they are actually an element of the original garden designs the Guardian approved.