A Potted History Of Garden Design
The Timeless Gardens : RHS Wisley, Surrey, England by ukgardenphotos
Water in English Gardens: RHS Wisley, Surrey, England by ukgardenphotos
The dream of a romantic country garden is an enduring one; a soft heaven of tumbling flowers in a resplendent verdant lawn, a sunken garden on one side with a kitchen garden on the other for an idyllic cottage or farmhouse. The yearning for the effortless drifts of perennials in herbaceous borders and acres of flowers for cutting alongside a manicured sculptural topiary is fairly universal. As both a Bath and London based Interior Design Practice, WOOLF Interior Design & Interior Architecture are endlessly influenced and inspired by garden design and the interface that exists between outdoor and indoor spaces. In this Journal we start from the beginning of what we recognize today as ‘garden design trends’ seen throughout history.
C. 43–410 Roman Garden Design
Roman Forum II by AdeRussell
Roman Garden - Getty Villa by Slices of Light
C. 43–410 Roman Garden Design
It is thought that the Romans brought their garden designs with them from Italy, undoubtedly having to adapt them to suit the British climate. Archaeology in Italy reveals that gardens were typically laid out in an enclosed courtyard. They included spaces for dining as well as statues, fountains, pools and plants. In the wider landscape there were productive areas which may have included orchards, vineyards and olive groves.
Illustrations of idealised medieval gardens such as this one provide insight into how such gardens might have looked. Detail of Emilia in her garden from La Teseida by Giovanni Boccaccio
15th-century unknown painters - Grimani Breviary - Mystical Attributes of the Virgin
C. 1066–1485 Medieval Gardens
Medieval gardens were not only used as places to grow fruit, vegetables and medicine but also as places for recreation and contemplation. Small gardens could be found within castle walls with lawns, arbours and flower borders. Outside the castle large areas were designed for entertainment and hunting, often including large buildings to host the festivities. In monasteries the monks grew plants for food, medicine and use in their church services.
Elizabethan Garden : Kenilworth Castle by Pete Reed
Kenilworth Castle by johnmuk
C. 1485–1603 Tudor Garden Design
Tudor gardens were designed to impress. They often comprised of a network of walled compartments each containing a different type of garden. This could include knot gardens, labyrinths, fish ponds and viewing mounts. Architectural features such as banqueting houses and fountains were also included. Tudor gardens continued to use medieval features but were increasingly influenced by ideas from Renaissance Italy.
Kirby Hall by hillcroftdave
Kirby Hall - one of England’s greatest Elizabethan Houses by John D Fielding
C. 1603–1714 Stuart Garden Design
By the end of the 17th Century fashionable estates often included vast formal landscapes which reflected the power of the owner and were influenced by the gardens of France and Holland. These huge landscapes would usually have included a parterre – a flat terrace laid out in a decorative pattern meant to be seen from above. Often they also incorporated long avenues of trees, statues, formal watercourses, mounts and a wilderness, together with new exotic plants.
‘Capability Brown’ : Harewood House, Leeds by Tips For Travellers
‘Capability Brown’ : Harewood House and gardens, Leeds by tricky (rick harrison)
C. 1714 – 1780 Early Georgian Garden Design
The 18th Century was a period of dramatic change in English gardens and interior design. In the first half of the century owners and designers were inspired by the idealised landscape of antiquity. Early Georgian gardens often included temples, statues, grottos and lakes designed to be visited on a circular walk. Later, Capability Brown designed large parkland views with grass, serpentine lakes, tree clumps and long carriage drives. His style would influence hundreds of gardens across England at that time.
Kenwood House, Hampstead In Summer by canonsnapper
Humphry Repton at Kenwood House in Autumn by Garry Knight
C. 1780–1837 Late Georgian & Regency Gardens
Towards the end of the 18th Century, Capability Brown’s designs were going out of fashion and a new aesthetic idea, known as the ‘picturesque’, was introduced. It favoured wild and untamed landscapes and criticised Capability Brown’s landscapes for being bland, repetitive and artificial. Humphry Repton, another landscape gardener of the period, initially followed Brown’s style but later he explored the ideas of the ‘picturesque’ and discussed them in his writings. Repton’s new approach to design revived formal flower gardens and terraces near the house while keeping Brown’s approach to the parkland beyond.
Water in English Gardens - The Long Pond at Forde Abbey, Somerset, UK by ukgardenphotos
Forde Abbey Gardens by Doolallyally
C. 1837–1901 The Victorian Garden
In this period there was an explosion of innovation and interest in gardening and plants. Parterres were filled with intricate patterns of multi-coloured gravel or brightly coloured exotic plants grown in technologically advanced greenhouses. Italian style balustrades and terraces surrounded country houses, creating places to walk and view the surrounding landscape and parkland. Plants and trees were being collected from all over the world and gardens were designed to include these new introductions, from rockeries to arboretums. Sir Francis Gwyn created the beginnings of the modern garden during the early 18th-century. Gwyn used the water from the Great Pond to create the connecting three lower ponds while also laying out the lawns and drives and, in keeping with the design principles of the day, incorporating great yews and limes to lead the eye along significant views and vistas.
Witley Court by Rictor Norton & David Allen
Witley Court gardens by informationtakesover
C. 1901–1999 20th Century Garden Design
By the 20th Century garden trends had become heavily influenced by the aesthetic of the Arts and Crafts movement, which had been popularised by figures such as William Morris. Arts and Crafts gardens combined structured layouts and architecture with more informal, natural looking planting. Designs included long borders with exuberant, colourful planting and pergolas covered with climbing plants. Many of these Arts and Crafts elements are common in gardens today and often associated with what is considered a traditional English cottage garden. Watch Monty Don in the film below as he explores the fascinating history and evolution of the British garden, from the seventeenth and eighteenth century through to the modern day.
