"In the time of His Majesty the fort has been built of solid bricks and lime, and as, from time to time, the seat of government was established here, lofty palaces were built, to which additional beauty was given by luxuriant gardens." Ain-i-Akbari, v. 2, p. 317.

The history of gardens in Lahore is as old as the Islamic history of the city itself. In particular, the Ghaznavid period sources of the eleventh century mentioned the fragrance, flowers, and fresh air of Lahore. Malik Ayaz, a slave of the Ghaznavid ruler Mahmood and later governor of Lahore, planned a new city near the existing one in the beginning of the eleventh century. The precise location of the site is not known. After that, the town continued to grow in all directions. During the period 1021-1526 AD, or before the coming of the Mughals, we read about six gardens in the suburbs: Bagh-i Malik Ayaz, Bagh-i Zanjani, Bagh Shah Ismail, Bagh Qutb-ud Aibak, Bagh-i Shah Kaku Chishti, and Bagh-i Daulat Abad; these all became extinct subsequent to the urbanization and urban development of Lahore. The construction and planting of gardens in and around the city started with the arrival of the Mughals on the subcontinent in 1526. The earliest Mughal gardens in Lahore were Bagh-i Mirza Kamran, in the northwest, built by the son of Babur; and Naulaka Bagh and Bibi HajTaj, both on the east side. Among the gardens, only the baradari (pavilion) of Bagh-i Mirza Kamran survives today to any extent.

Few gardens existed along this route before Shah Jahan's time, but with the construction of the canal and Shalamar Garden, the interest in this area increased. The fragments of some Mughal period gardens still survive. These include: Gulabi Bagh, Bagh-i Eeshan, Pervaiz Bagh, Bagh Mahabat Khan, Anguri Bagh, Bagh Fateh Garh, the Bagh around the tomb of Nadira Begum, Bagh Abul Hasan, Bagh Ali Mardan Khan, and Bagh Mulla Shah.

A series of gardens was also built along the Multan road on the south side of the city. The most famous among these were Bagh Wazir Khan, Bagh-i Anarkali, and Chauburji garden or Nawan Kot garden (around the so-called tomb of Zeb un Nisa). These gardens had a variety of landscape features. Some were orchards, others were attached to mansions. Some were walled and had elaborate gateways, walkways, water features, and elaborate plantations. By the end of Shah Jahan's rule, Lahore became the "city of gardens." The garden suburbs extended in every direction for several miles. These gardens were built for the pursuit of pleasure, the extension of residences, as fruit orchards, or were built around tombs. A number of them survived till the middle of the nineteenth century and fulfilled a variety of functions, such as ceremonial centers, official business, pleasure gardens, poetry reading, and meditation. They also served as transit stations during processional journeys. Also with streams of water, wells, mosques, tombs, and mansions, they dominated the land-use plan of the city. The tradition of constructing gardens continues even to this day, and one can find modern gardens spread throughout every part of the city.