Terraced gardening is one of the important and unique branches of Armenian agriculture. Based on the relief features of the Armenian Highland, the possibilities of using water resources as well as historical and political events, for centuries, the Armenians, in addition to the flat areas, have used the slopes, creating various agricultural terraces. Armenians also created the terraced settlements, where the roof of one house served as a courtyard for the upper house. The panorama of similar settlements resembles an amphitheater․
The development of terrace gardening in some Armenian settlements is connected with conflicts between Armenians and Turks. Armenians, trying to avoid attacks from the Turks, tried to establish their settlements in mountainous, hard-to-reach places, where they also created terrace gardens. Except for this presented reason, the development of terrace gardening is also associated with the efficiency of using slopes. There are many slopes in the Armenian Highlands, and their use was a vital necessity since flat areas did not meet the needs of people. The use of slopes is characteristic of many peoples of the world, and Armenians are no exception in this regard.
Terraced gardening was widespread in many regions of Armenia. It is a typical feature of Alaverdi, Dilijan, Ashtarak, Yerevan, Yeghegnadzor, Goris, Berdzor, Akn, Arabkir, Zeytun, Hachn, Amasia, Ardvin, Meghri, Getashen, Baberd, Arduin, Akhaltsikh and other settlements. To make gardens on the slopes, they have built strong stone retaining walls, sometimes using mortar. The retaining walls collapsed from time to time and needed repair. The walls have a height of 1–3 m and are built with 2‒3 rows of stones. The retaining walls were generally inclined slightly towards the slope. In general, the garden was established in such a place where it was possible to make an irrigation system. Mainly on slopes near river valleys or in places where there are natural sources of water. There are also cases when stone retaining walls were built even in the case of arable land. This means how important was the land for the Armenian peasants.
In Armenian culture, terrace gardening is distinguished by its diversity of manifestations and originality. At the same time, differences in construction techniques, land use methods and forms of labor organization are noticeable between different regions.