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Changes are nature’s rule and are inevitable. The change in weather, season, climate, human likings is bound to occur. The change in garden style of English gardens with the passage of time and human likings is the best example of changing phenomenon. English gardens are most beautiful gardens amongst all European gardens. There are three main factors responsible for making gardens so beautiful.
They are:
(1) England enjoys the typical grassland climate with showers of rains at frequent intervals. This is highly favourable for the growth of herbaceous vegetation.
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(2) Gardening is the hobby of rich people. Englishmen in due course of time became very rich and were ruling over many countries. With the help of money, collection of valuable plant materials from various countries was done. In making of gardens and maintenance of gardens, good amount of money is spent. Money is also used for various garden ornaments, artificial waterfalls, fountains, statues etc.
(3) Englishmen are very fond of flowers.
In England’s history of gardening, there are three distinct phases after passing through which gardens have reached at its peak stage:
I. Search of Sustenance (1066-1500 A.D.):
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During this period, gardens were attached with monasteries and were planted with fruit crops, vegetables and other shrubs with the sole purpose to provide the food to these monasteries. These gardens were mainly utilitarian type. In these gardens, roses, carnations, violets, lilies, holy-hocks, and other flowers were planted. Amongst fruit plants, these monasteries were planted commonly with vineyard, apple, pear and peaches whereas fruit trees like mulberries, cherries were restricted to the gardens of Nobel persons.
The English gardens during 13th to 15th century were orderly and very formal. Though it looked unnatural. During this period, the population of England was space and mostly big houses were planned in the center of garden, orchard or farmyards.
II. Elizabethan Period (1500-1700 A.D.):
During this period very famous Hampton Court was built by C. Wolsey. It has a geometrical plan and walks were planted with fruit plants. It had resting places. Henry VIII (1509-1597 A.D.) converted Hampton Court into one of the royal palaces and garden was enlarged with fresh plantings. He built a mount of geometrically artificial hill. It had a pavilion, statues and effigies of hearaldic beasts.
Flower gardening got a special stimulus and reached the age of symmetry at the time of Henry VIII. There were symmetrical walks of clipped evergreens, statuary and masonry. Apart from these, metal stags, statues of Greek Goddess and nymphs were scattered on architectural features. Overall, there was only single design followed in making gardens with local variations.
Introductions of various exotic plants took place in the era of Queen Elizabeth (1558-1601 A.D.) when new trading companies were formed. Along with raw goods, plants were also collected in big way from various countries like India, China, Asia Minor, Africa, Mexico, etc.
There was outstanding change in garden style and utilitarian gardens were converted into flower gardens. These flower gardens were divided into rectangles or square by broad walks. Plant material comprised of fragrant herbs like carnation, rosemary, lavender, thyme, lilies etc.
It also had singing birds in cages hanging on the trees. Gardens were decorated with garden ornaments like fountains, sun dials, statues, wooden figures of animals. Topiary was very popular and different images were created. Plants used for making topiary were juniper, yew, rosemary or privet.
Le Notre’s influence:
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English gardens reached at their peak of symmetry and formality under the influence of Le Notre—a French garden architect. According to Le Notre’s method, trees and shrubs were planted very closely and strictly according to geometrical designs. Ultimately these gardens after growth of trees or shrubs looked like rooms or vast halls.
Therefore, they looked dull and monotonous. These gardens were afforded by big land lords. For keeping the plants in formal shapes they were clipped and mostly were not allowed to grow in their natural way and product flowers. Plants were mutilated and tortured.
Ultimately English gardens looked artificial. This forced to generate the new thinking for allowing the plants to grow in natural state and develop gardens in informal style. For this, the landscape painting of Claude Lorrain (1600-1682 A.D.) gave inspiration to many landscape gardeners to develop the gardens in informal style.
III. Return to Nature (1720 A.D. to Today):
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Henry Hoare was the first who started changing the landscape gardens in 1720 A.D. of Stourhead estate according to the taste and skill which became the basis of present day gardens. His son also called Henry worked on the layout and planting of the great landscape gardens from 1741 to 1771 A.D.
During this period, the landscape paintings of Claude, Salvator Rosa and Zuccarelli were getting popular. Painters, poets and naturalists were spreading the message of love and world of nature to their countrymen. All this had the impact, on the art of gardening too.
During middle of 18th century, the English gardens were further redefined under the leadership of William Kent (1604-1748 A.D.), Lancelot Brown (1755-1783 A.D.) and Humphrey Repton (1752-1818 A.D.). William Kent was a painter and sculpturist who worked on stone, wood or plaster.
He modified number of gardens before making a great Rousham garden. Rousham is equidistant from Oxford and Banbury. His object was to create a dream like parkland scene, utilizing existing plantation wherever possible and planting a new wherever necessary linking walks and vistas and eye catchers in the form of statues, garden seat and temple of Mill.
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Like formal gardens, most of Kent’s garden creations i.e. Store clarement, Gunners bury, and Carlton House, etc. have either disappeared altogether or altered beyond recognition. He thought garden as a part of whole landscape view and introduced the concepts of harmony, balance and proportion.
Formal lines were broken into gently curvaceous lines as prevailed in nature. Formal water bodies were converted into lakes of irregular shapes. Straight paths were replaced with winding paths. Instead of clipped hedges, informal groups of shrubs were planted.
The basins of trees were planted with bulbous plants. The lawn was introduced. Major elements of gardens were trees, grass, water and open spaces. Another important garden architect, Lancelot Brown, had a major influence in modifying more than hundred gardens or parks.
His ideas were based on using water to make lakes, walks and paths like serpentine. According to his planning, lawn used to bring upto the house so that the house stood in a grass. This concept was not observed earlier. Brown planted famous garden of LutonHoo covering about 640 ha.
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The main attractions of the garden are the water features in rivulets and waterfalls were so arranged that they could be enjoyed in long sweeping vistas from the window of the country houses. Garden was planted with flowering shrubs and trees like double cherry, Rhododendron, azaleas etc. Bulbous plants were planted in basins of trees. There were forest garden, rock garden, water garden and rose garden.
Humphrey Repton (1752-1818 A.D.) in the contrast of earlier garden architects modified garden designs from picturesque to the natural. This was done by planting trees in group as they would grow if left in the nature.
These groups consisted of combination of trees of different age, size, character, etc.:
i. Herbaceous Border:
William Robinson who is credited with the invention of the herbaceous border (though he did not use the word herbaceous) mentioned in his book, “The English Flower Garden” published in 1893. In this book, he described the arrangement of flowers in borders. By the time of Gertrude Jekyell (1843-1932) the word herbaceous border was accepted and became essential feature of an English garden.
ii. Royal Botanical Garden at Kew:
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Royal Pleasure Gardens at Kew was established in 1757. With the establishment of Royal Horticultural Society in 1804, the royal Pleasure Gardens at Kew assumed the role of botanic garden. Vast number of plants from abroad were brought and maintained. HortusKewensis—a catalogue of plants cultivated at Kew was published in 1789 A.D. in three volumes and 5500 species were listed.
Later on, HortusKewensis was published from 1810-1813 A.D. in five volumes containing the description of 11,013 species for the use of practical gardeners. New palm House was constructed. The garden grew in its size tremendously from 15 acres to 250 acres in five years from 1841 to 1844 A.D. In 1848 A.D. Museum of Economic Botany was opened and in 1853 A.D.
Herbarium and Library were founded. By 1861 A.D. Lake Garden was completed. Rock garden and water garden were also made. Plant materials like Rhododendrons and orchids from India and Sikkim; Chrysanthemum, Lilies, Cherries from Japan brought revolution in English gardens.
iii. Chelsea Physic Garden:
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Every year there is a great spring show for four days in May, organised by Royal Horticultural Society. This show has been held at the Royal Hospital Chelseas grounds since 1913 which covers the area of 11 ha. The RHS renders free guidance to gardeners of every degree. There is a display of vast varieties of flowers like roses, orchids, rhododendrons, daffodils, larkspur, lilies, flower arrangements, apples, tomatoes, asparagus, etc.
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iv. Cottage Gardens:
There are small gardens which are made around cottages of lower and middle class people. Depending upon their economic conditions, planting material differed. Fruit trees and vegetables including potatoes were grown in abundance. These gardens were developed by Gertrude Jekyell by planting shrubs, herbaceous plants, bulbs, rare and common plants together with the main idea of beauty. Hedge of yew and topiary are common features along with fragrant annuals like sweet William, pinks, lavender, tulip, etc. arranged in herbaceous border and roses of different classes.
Gardening Now-a-days:
With the change in political systems there are mainly two types of gardens:
1. Public gardens and parks made by Government agency at city, state and national level. These gardens are maintained by trained personnel’s.
2. Gardens in surroundings of houses, estates and greater residential blocks. Planning and selection of plant material is mainly dependent upon individual choice.
Under the national garden scheme, there are several hundred gardens worth seeing and are open on one or more days in every year, when these gardens are at their best.
Following is the list of gardens and months when to be visited:
April — Three great gardens Kew, Seville, Wisley
May — Bodnant, Ness, Wood Bridge
June — Chatsworth, Harlow car, York gate
September — Stour head, Wilton, Furry, Compton Acres
October — Westonbirt, Westbury, Hideote, Kifts’ gate
In every spring, several thousand persons come to see the parks and gardens to admire nature’s paradise of flowers and foliage with sincere joy.
