自荷据以来(1624年)的台湾园林中，有资料可考的私家园林约有45座。本研究广泛收集相关文献，探讨其兴造历程、造园意匠与园居生活。并针对台湾全岛现存或留有遗迹，包括晚清(1830-1895)兴造的七座私家园林：吴园、归园、潜园、北郭园、林园、筱云山庄北园、莱园等，以及日治时期(1896-1945)兴造的五座私家园林：陋园、固园、默园、筱云山庄南园、省园等，以文献探讨及实地勘察方式，深入分析其历史沿革、园林布局以及造园意匠。在造园意匠方面主要元素则分析其选址、布局、建筑、掇山、理水、匾联、杂类、动植物、借景等。在内隐文化形式上，则分析其园居生活及其文化内涵。并列举台湾汉人私家园林相关案例作为比对对象，包括闽南文化、客家文化、日式和风与洋风文化，对台湾私家园林的风格形式及生活机能产生的影响与转变因素等。研究发现仅有晚清潜园主人曾经游历北京与江南，以及林园主人与留园主人有交往，引进了中国大陆园林的造园布局形式，其他园林主人则学习自台湾官署园林或其他私家园林的经验，以及自我文化底藴创造出来的形式，多数建筑形式亦受制于工匠的技术经验，如此造就出台湾特有的晚清传统私家园林形式。日治时期因日本殖民政权统治，带来的现代洋风与日式传统和风文化影响甚巨，从布局到建筑的形式的外显文化符号，到园居生活等的内显文化内涵均受影响。园林建筑中的家祠及园居生活中诗会、祭祀、生活礼仪等尚保留汉人文化形式，其余皆为现代化或日式文化所取代。台湾园林主人因应当时环境的文化抉择有三种方式，在外显文化符号方面，其一直接横向移植外来文化，纵向调整传统文化，其二摹仿外来现代文化，其三将传统形式与外来形式混合在一起。但在内隐的文化内涵方面，则仍尽其可能保持传统。由此显示日治时期台湾私家园林在文化内涵上以传承与创新并行的方式转型。
This research gathered data extensively relevant to extant gardens or those with remains in Taiwan and explored their construction history, gardening artistic conception, and garden living. Those gardens, seven from late Qing Dynasty (1830-1895) and five from Japanese colonial period (1896-1945), included in this research are listed as below: Wu Garden, Returning Garden, Latent Garden, North-Gate Garden, Lin Garden, Xiao-Yun Village North Garden, Pleasure Garden, Humble Garden, Firm Garden, Mute Garden, Xiao-Yun Village South Garden, Introspect Garden. Literature review and field work were the two methods applied in this research to present in-depth analysis of the significant cultural symbols, including history, landscape, and garden layout artistic conception. Regarding the garden artistic conception, the researcher analyzed gardens’ locations, layouts, constructions, stacked stone mountains, water management, couplet, scenic framing, plants and animals, and miscellaneous. Further analysis of their garden living life and cultural connotations manifested their implicit cultural forms. Moreover, comparison between Taiwan Chinese private gardens and those in southern Min area, the eastern Guangdong and western Fujian area, Japan, and western countries reveals factors affecting and changing the form and style of Taiwan private gardens.The research discovered only Latent Garden whose owner had traveled between Beijing and the southern part of China and Lin Garden whose owner was the acquaintance of the owner of Lingering Garden introduced the layout of Chinese garden. Other Taiwan private gardens were the creation of learning experiences from the construction either from Taiwan official gardens or other private gardens, accompanied with their unique style from individual underlying culture. In general, the majority of architectural forms were also hampered by technical experiences of craftsmen. All these contributed to the traditional unique Taiwan private garden forms during late Qing.During Japanese colonial period, the impact of modern Western style and Japanese cultural on Taiwan private gardens was tremendous. From the explicit cultural symbols, e.g. the layout of the building, to the implicit underlying culture, e.g. garden living life, were all influenced by modern Western style and Japanese culture. The family temple, garden living life, poetry gathering, ritual, and liturgy still retained Han Chinese culture, while the rest were modernized or replaced by Japanese culture. Three approaches were adopted by Taiwan's garden owners to face the changes: one is horizontal transplant of foreign culture and vertical adjustment of traditional culture, another is imitation of foreign culture, and the other is mix of traditional forms with exotic forms. However, their implicit cultural still maintains tradition. Thereby the transformation of Taiwan's private gardens was in a form of keeping heritage and innovation in parallel.
