Three views of the evolution of an early 1500s country Dutch garden over a span of years

Jacob Grimmer (Dutch, 1525-6-1590) Early view of house without formal garden walks or walls or fences or parterres. Here the fields falling from the house are used for producing food.   

Attributed to Jacob Grimmer (Dutch, 1525-6-1590) Landscape With Peasants Walking along a Road with horse-drawn carts while others plant in the garden

Able Grimmer (Flemish artist, c.1570–c.1619) Four Seasons - Martivus  A copy of the above painting with the addition of a fence around some of the garden & with more highly developed parterres.

One observer commented, "In all 3 pictures, the people seem to be hauling cartloads of household goods rather than food for market sale which would be the norm. Time period looks (from costume) like 1580s and location is Southern Netherlands. At that period there was a lot of warfare with plunder and pillage by unpaid troops."