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Britain has an enviable reputation in
the world for its gardens. The development of European garden design
may be traced back to Persia, the Mogul Emperors and Asia Minor. The
Moslems took their ideas to the south of the Mediterranean, along
the coast of North Africa to influence the Moorish gardens of Spain.
Around the north of the Mediterranean, the Greeks developed design
concepts which then moved on into Europe. The Romans, the
Renaissance architects and then the French had their day before
leadership passed to Britain in the 18th century.
The most famous gardener in British
history is undoubtedly 'Capability' Brown, who was responsible for
sweeping away many formal French-style garden designs from stately
homes of the aristocracy during the second half of the 18th century.
However the fashion for landscaped estates which he encouraged had
its beginnings under the earlier influence of Charles Bridgeman,
George London, Henry Wise and the painter and architect William Kent.
These men had a hand in creating many of the great garden estates
which may still be seen today, such as Claremont, Stowe, Stourhead,
Rousham, Blenheim Palace, Chatsworth, Hampton Court Palace and many
others.
In the late 18th century and early
19th century, the great plant hunters, many from Scotland,
introduced thousands of new plants to Britain. This resulted in a
growing interest in flower gardens and the planting of rare trees
and shrubs from many parts of the world. It also lead to the
development of the nation's Botanic gardens, arboreta and many
municipal parks and gardens. Humphrey Repton replaced 'Capability
Brown as head gardener at Hampton Court and was the first to call
himself a landscape gardener. William Gilpin introduced a romantic
picturesque landscape style which may still be seen at Scotney
Castle in Kent. Joseph Paxton in his time was famous for his
high-technology cast iron and glass structures which secured him a
knighthood by his creation of the famous Crystal Palace.
W.A.Nesfield has lovely rose gardens to his credit which may still
be seen at Kew, Inverary, Balcaskie and at Castle Howard. Besides
the British Houses of Parliament the architect Charles Barry
designed terrace gardens at Harewood House in Yorkshire and at
Dunrobin Castle in Scotland, and Italian gardens in Staffordshire
and Suffolk.
Other legacies of plant hunting
expeditions were the collections of their patrons, who had first
pick of their new botanic discoveries. Most significant among these
are in the woodland gardens of western Scotland and the south west
of England. These were designed to mirror the landscapes of the
lands of origin of their contents - mainly the Himalayas. Today some
of these temperate rain forests in the damp acid soils of Scottish
glens like Crarae and Cornish ghylls like Trebah have matured for
over 150 years. They are a wonderful sight and a plantsman's delight
in early spring. There are tree rhododendrons, many camellias,
asiatic magnolias, eucryphias and other plants brought to the
country by the Hookers, Farrer, Forest, Frazer, Sherriff, Ludlow,
Kingdon Ward and their colleagues, all under planted with wild
Himalayan flowers including the blue mecanopsis poppy and candelabra
primulas.
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The wealth
which accumulated from Britain's Industrial Revolution before the
turn of the 20th century was followed by the construction of many new
large private houses and gardens. This increased the interest in
garden design. The architect Edwin Lutyens together with Gertrude
Jekyll created masterpieces in many parts of the country, but their
garden at Hestercombe in Somerset is a classic. Harold Peto is
remembered for Italianate masterpieces at Buscot Park, Heale House,
Iford Manor and on the island of Ilnacullin in Bantry Bay in Ireland.
William Robinson, born in Ireland, was the leader of a new 'Landscape'
school of gardening, teaching the nation to appreciate hardy plants
and herbaceous borders at their true value at Emmetts, his own home
at Gravetye Manor, and at Killerton and Nymans gardens. Reginald
Blomfield urged a return to simpler formality of Renaissance and
seventeenth-century gardens, demonstrated at Mellerstain in the
Scottish Borders and Sulgrave Manor, the ancestral home in
Northamptonshire of George Washington. Lawrence Johnson developed the
concept of the 'garden room' at Hidcote Manor, his home in the
Cotswolds. The American garden designer Lanning Roper contributed to
the garden designs at Wisley, the home of the Royal Horticultural
Society in Surrey, Scotney Castle and Claverton Manor. Russell Page's
work may be seen at Leeds Castle and Port Lympne in Kent. At East
Lambrook Manor you can visit Margery Fish's garden, made famous by
her books on the abundant style of cottage gardening.
Today's trend-setters of gardening are
strongly influenced by the media and are more focused on popular
gardening. Resisting the commercial temptations of the suppliers of
timber, stone, brick and glass, gardening authors and plantsmen
Christopher Lloyd, Beth Chatto, Rosemary Verey and Penelope Hobhouse
still rely on plants for their effects in their gardens. However a
strong new school of 'hard' garden design is emerging with emphasis
on technology as well as materials. Anthony Paul's design at Hannah
Peschar's Sculpture Garden uses electronics to generate surprises
based on Renaissance principals of hydraulics. John Chambers, who has
inherited the garden at Kiftsgate Court, has introduced a double row
of slender metal stems, holding aloft gold-plated casts of
Philodendron, dribbling water into a still, reflective, rectangular
pool.
Besides the better known gardens in
Britain, there are also over 3,000 private gardens in the Open
Gardens Scheme, which may be visited by appointment during the summer.
Among these are many gems carefully tended by their owners, who are
always pleased to share the pleasure of their creations with
enthusiastic visitors.
Garden visiting is a fascinating
pastime, with many facets. While generating enthusiasm for
discovering new plants, seeing design ideas, appreciating colour
combinations, creating photography, following history or just soaking
up the pure romance of gardens, it supports absorbing hobbies at any
level of expertise. The gardens in Britain's beautiful countryside
are without doubt the best in the world, are well worth visiting,
will fill you with wonder and appreciation, and will surely tempt you
to return.
(This article is contributed by Sisley
Garden Tours - Editor. For more interesting travel articles,
please visit InfoHub Specialty
Travel Guide)
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