A series of archaeological finds indicates the existence of gardens in the Minoan palaces. Fresco representations, such as those of Amnissos, depict decorative plants in vases and flower-pots.
Certain building remains also reveal the existence of gardens between the various apartments of palaces and between other buildings. Gardens were established mainly in light-wells of Minoan buildings, as, for example, in the southeast wing of the Zakros palace, in the room of the double axes at Knossos, in the northern end of the west wing at Mallia, and in between the private buildings of Palaikastro.

A cultivated area recovered in the square of the shrines at Phaistos palace, on the slope facing the valley, is thought to have been a garden. It seems to have been integrated between the courtyard and a lustral basin in line with the planning of the palace. The ground is rocky and appears to have been drilled by tools in many places.

Flower-pots with plants or trees were probably planted in such holes. The smallest openings in the rock were appropriate for the planting of the bulbs of the most finest plants which are often depicted in frescoes, such as the saffron crocus, the miniature iris, violets, ivy and aromatic herbs. The cultivation of these plants may be related to the performance of religious rituals as the vegetation was integral to Minoan religion.
Recent surveys in the palace at Pylos confirm that the palace gardens favoured in Minoan palaces were also common in Mycenaean palaces; certain areas of the Pylos palace are thought to be courts including gardens with plumbing installations.