History of The Black Garden

The Black Garden lies outside normal space-time: a surreal landscape of red Asphodelia and giant plant bulbs. It birthed the Vex and housed the Black Heart, a failed replica of the Veil meant to weaken the Traveler. "A trillion timelines, and all at war. Like a thousand red flowers growing in a black garden."

Overview

Abstract ideas literally take root there when spoken, and prolonged exposure causes the lore condition called brainstain. In Destiny the Guardian infiltrates the Garden, where the Vex appear to worship the Heart, which summons the three Sol Progeny. Destroying the Heart returned the Garden to Mars and lifted the shroud of Darkness from the Traveler (Wikipedia; Destinypedia). In Destiny 2 Wikipedia only notes the Black Garden quest as a requirement for carrying over character appearance.

Access

Originally via Vex portals needing a Gate Lord's authority; after the Black Heart's destruction it became reachable, with a gateway beneath the Lunar Battlegrounds as the modern entrance. Destinypedia also mentions portals on Mars and the Moon; sources describe the entrances differently, so treat details as approximate.

Regions

Looking Glass, Embrace, Undergrowth, Boundless Horizon.

Enemies

The Sol Divisive Vex, Sol Progeny minds, and Taken with Axis Minds in certain seasons.

Activities

Missions "The Black Garden" and What Remains, the Garden of Salvation raid, Vex Offensive, the Crucible map Pantheon, and the exotic mission Starcrossed.

Lore

The Witness left a seed that became the Black Heart, draining the Traveler's Light. Three Guardians (the Kentarch 3 incident) once entered seeking secrets, lost their Light and made a dark pact; one survived with fragmented memories. Destinypedia also records that the Garden once served as the lair of the Ahamkara Taranis.

Recent events

The Sol Divisive rebuilt the Black Heart under the Witness's direction; Guardians destroyed it again, opening the way to The Pale Heart. During Lightfall and Season of the Wish, Guardians destroyed the Conceptual Mind and recovered Riven's eggs from the Garden (Destinypedia).