Backrooms Wiki
Advertisement

"Life and death are all but one, and their balance must be maintained above all else. The dead shall nurture the newborn, that shall rise from this soil. Those born in the Land of Predators fought for dominance, for their lives, as the strong shall eat the weak. That's how our world should be. That's how everything should be. That's the law of nature, the cycle of lives ruled under our Mother Green, the Verdant Queen."

Words from an unknown believer

Description

An infamous depiction of the Gardener (Artwork by Aleksi Briclot)

The Gardener is a boss entity that reigned over the Land of Predators and followed by many sects. She's known by many names, including Mother Green and the Verdant Queen, implying connection with the Verdant King and the Verdant Children, although no concrete evidence to confirm the theory.

The existence and identity of the Gardener has been a debate for many communities across the level and beyond. Unlike the Storyteller that is incomprehensible, the Gardener has actually revealed itself to many wanderers, but there are conflicting accounts regarding her appearance, personality and capability. Some theorized that she's a spirit of nature, and her physical form is nothing but a temporary corporeal body. Some suggest that the "Gardener" is not an individual entity, but many spirits that assume the same identity. The Verdant Church however, believed that she is an embodiment of the whole world, the entire land, the continent of the level and beyond. Thus, she's part of every lives born on this earth, and also the bringer of death, similar to the concept of yin and yang, but as a sentient force. According to this theory, the Gardener is also practically omnipresent and omniscience on this level, as she's part of every lives connected to the level.

A possible sighting of the Gardener (Artwork by Tithi Luadthong)

The most popular depiction of the Gardener is a goddess of nature, similar to elves and fairies. However, there are many accounts of the Gardener appearing in nonhuman forms, usually as animals or mythical creatures. Outside of her humanoid depiction, many portrayed her as a deer in mysterious, enigmatic atmosphere. Some seen her as a ghastly shadow, but some viewed her as a shining, glowing deer instead. Apparently, her spiritual nature means that she's not chained to the physical realm, thus may appear and disappear as she please. Several eyewitnesses said that the Gardener manifest as ethereal butterflies or fireflies that then merge to one, and vanished into myriads of such creates too. This seems to tied with the theory that the Gardener is not a singular entity, but many spirits under the same identity. Either that, or the Gardener is truly one, but she can spread herself to multiple lifeforms.

Overall, the Gardener is best described as a spirit of nature rather than an individual. She's more like an intangible force that flows through the earth and every living things that's born into the land, and thus connected to all of them.

Behaviors

A painting of the Gardener that the Verdant Church mostly use (Credit to Sandara)

The Gardener seems to be representation and manifestation of mother nature, which mean, her action is will of nature itself. Most believed that the Gardener is not only a force of nature, but caretaker of the living, much like a goddess would be. She nurture denizen of the land from their birth to their end, which makes her symbolize not only life but death. She seems to dedicate herself on managing the level, maintaining everything there, which results her namesake as the Gardener.

Unlike most entities in the Backrooms, the Gardener is mostly seen as benevolent, gentle, caring and loving goddess. There are many accounts of her saving the lives of wanderers and other lifeforms on the level, which earned her quite of followers. The Verdant Church is one of her biggest sect, seconded only by Monkhood of Mountains that coexist in rivalry due to their clashing belief, despite the fact that they worship the same entity. The Verdant Church consider themselves as missionaries, even prophets to deliver her messages, and her agents to do her bidding, all for the sake of the world. The Monkhood of Mountains however, sees the Gardener not as a deity but force of nature, as part of the cycle of life. Between the two, the Verdant Church tend to commit the most atrocities, meanwhile the Monkhood of Mountains is more peaceful and only willing to fight if necessary.

A shining yet wicked beauty of the Gardener (Credit to Kadricemiloglu)

Despite how many viewed her as a goddess, there are many signs that the Gardener is not a harmless entity. After all, if she's truly the one who maintained the level, then she's responsible for countless monsters preying on the weak, and horrible diseases that killed many or even caused fate worse than death. This align with the belief that nature is not always kind, as natural disasters has caused countless of destruction through the world. For some, such as the Monkhood of Mountains, this is a necessary part of nature and the cycle of life to maintain balance of the world. The Verdant Church however, consider her as a goddess that created and owned every lives here, thus has the right to decide who shall lives and die.

There are however a less accepted portrayal of the Gardener, and the most infamous theory says that she's not a force of nature, but independent individual with her own personality and preference. This theory goes against both the Verdant Church and the Monkhood of Mountains, as the theory imply that she's a narcissistic, selfish and vain entity with little to no empathy to the suffering of the living. This theory depict her as a cruel and ruthless entity willing to cause the horrible deeds for the beauty of the living. This depiction of the Gardener painted her in a more wicked manner, prioritizing beauty above compassion. This faith painted the Gardener more brightly than any others, and flowers often used to represent her wicked beauty. Rose is a popular choice to symbolize her thorny love, and cherry blossom is sometimes used to symbolize death and rebirth. Additionally, butterfly is a popular theme, portraying the transition of life from young to old, or just to shows the concept of evolution through metamorphosis.

Regardless, any of the portrayal mentioned above suit her role as the Gardener; as the one who trims the garden from what necessarily need to be cut away.

Capabilities

The Gardener depicted as the ruler of the wilderness (Credit to Ivan Sevic)

Due to the mysterious nature of the entity, then there's little to no confirmed information about its capabilities, especially considering the fact that we cannot even determine her appearance, let alone her physical property. Nevertheless, there are many interesting notes regarding the Gardener, collected from both evidences and beliefs of her followers.

According to most sources, the Gardener is capable of controlling nature in general, from the ecosystem to the weather of the world. Most translate this to elemental abilities, but some consider it as spiritual power instead. Both theories are possible to be true, considering that she's strongly tied to not only the land but also the living within. It's possible that she could manipulate not only living beings, but anything with semblance of "life force" such as spirits. Because of this, her power seems spiritual in nature rather than mental, which mean, she does not manipulate mind, but the actual essence of life.

Currently, we can only collect data from speculations, so the sections beneath would be the capabilities of the Gardener according to her different sects;

Verdant Church's Theory

  • The Gardener is depicted as a goddess, the mistress that controls the world and all the living within. This means, they portrayed her as a nearly absolute being; immortal, almost omnipotent, practically omniscience and omnipresence. According to this belief, she could manipulate anything in nature, from the land to the sea, even the atmosphere and its climate.

Monkhood of Mountain's Theory

  • The Gardener is depicted as a force of nature, a spirit of the wilderness that represent the cycle of life and death. This is the most benevolent portrayal of the Gardener, as they seen her as an entity of balance, that nurture the living and tend the dead for everlasting peace. Even though she's considered harmless here, she's still seen as a powerful entity, similar to concept of deities in Hindu and Buddhism.

The Gardener according to the Wicked Beauty Theory (Credit to Seryeon Jung)

The Wicked Beauty Theory

  • The Gardener is depicted as a godlike entity but not necessary a deity, as her portrayal is more similar to an elven queen. Regardless, she's still practically a goddess of nature here, just much more malevolent, cruel and ruthless to both the living and the dead. This theory is believed by none of her cultist, and instead by conspiracy theorist that doubted or at least be skeptic against her. In this theory, the Gardener is basically a parasitic monster preying on others, spreading diseases, experimenting on flora and fauna for her warped view of beauty, disregarding their feeling and freedom, and thus, she's an apathetic and narcissistic evil creature.

The Gardener according to the Primordial Beast Theory (Credit to Kaiju Samurai)

The Primordial Beast Theory

  • The Gardener is depicted not as a deity but an ancient creature that exist ever since the dawn of life. This theory mostly believed by those who had a neutral view of the Gardener, that does not consider her good or evil, neither benevolent or caring, but not narcissistic, as they instead seen her just like any mythical being out there. This theory often portrays her like a dragons, titans, behemoths and leviathans alike. This theory portrayed her as a supremely powerful being, and physically speaking, she's the strongest in this portrayal.

The World Core Theory

  • The Gardener is not as a deity, monster, spirit or force of nature, but an embodiment of the level itself. This theory is rarely believed unless by those with scientific mindset, that does not believed in mythology and instead see her as the core of the level. This theory rooted from the analysis of the World Tree as a nexus of the environment, that regulate the ecosystem and all lives within.

This section should be updated as we understand more of the Gardener.

Relation to Entities

The Gardener is exclusive only to the Land of Predators, which limits her interaction to other entities across the Backrooms. However, she seems to have a complete (or nearly complete) over any entities in the level, save for entities that are not native to her world.

However, the Crimson Wanderer and the Storyteller seems to have a unique relationship with her. The Storyteller is not to be trusted, so his portrayal of her was never been accurate, though nevertheless interesting. Meanwhile, the Crimson Wanderer is especially adamant that she's a dangerous monster. According to him, the Gardener is not as powerful as the Storyteller, but still MUCH more powerful than most of entities in the Backrooms. Considering the theory that the Storyteller could rewrite reality, then it's possible that the Gardener could at least manipulate the world to a degree.

This section should be updated as we understand more of the Gardener.

Advertisement