to suit a range of activities. Initially, lower class Romans used kitchen gardens as a source of food to provide for their families and mainly grew herbs and vegetables. In Ancient Latium, a garden was a part of every farm. According to Cato the Elder, in his text De agri cultura every garden should be close to the house and should have flower beds and ornamental trees. Later, the different influences of Egyptian, Persian, and Greek gardens became a part of Roman horticulture, producing villa and palatial pleasure gardens, along with public parks and gardens meant for enjoyment or to exercise in. No type of garden was specifically reserved for wealthy Romans; all a civilian needed was to have their own land or home. Excavations in Pompeii show that gardens attached to residences were scaled down to meet the space constraints of the home of the average Roman. Horace wrote that during his time, flower gardens became a national indulgence. Augustus constructed the Porticus Liviae, a public garden on the Oppian Hill in Rome. Outside Rome, gardens tended to proliferate at centers of wealth. Modified versions of Roman garden designs were adopted in Roman settlements in Africa, Gaul and Britannia. Places for a garden Gardens were usually built in one of six structures: Domus (townhouse) This free-standing structure was usually one story, containing multiple rooms for everyday activities and an atrium toward the front of the house to collect rainwater and illuminate the area surrounding it. Toward the back of the house was often a hortus (garden) or peristylium (an open courtyard). These gardens are common in urban dwellings, such as those within the walls of Pompeii. Roman villa The Roman villa was typically a country house for wealthy people, that was accessible from the city, and served as a retreat from urban living. Villas and their gardens are categorized by location: maritime, suburban, and country villas being the most common kinds. A notable example is the maritime villa at Laurentum, which Pliny the Younger describes at length in his letters. Villa gardens were lavishly decorated, and could include private spaces for exercise, known as gymnasiums, and larger open areas for hunting game. Villa rustica A villa rustica was a villa set in the countryside, often the hub of a large agricultural estate. Gardens at these sites were planted at a large scale, and often are found with processing equipment,