A Quick Look At Regency Gardens

I’m going to celebrate the launch of my website—and finally getting the chance to show off my English garden pictures—with a short article. I love gardens and one of my favorite parts of visiting England is the chance to explore the outdoor settings I imagine my characters in. I imagine myself there pretty often, too, don’t get me wrong. One of my most beloved and anachronistic daydreams is a mental image of myself surrounded by the peace and lush beauty of an English garden, pounding away on my laptop. :)

Throughout much of the eighteenth century, one particular type of landscape style held sway. Men like Lancelot “Capability” Brown, William Kent and Humphrey Repton gave us an ideal that still lives on. Brown in particular left his mark on the look of the English countryside, landscaping more than a hundred parks in his career. He was ruthless in pursuit of his vision; moving entire villages, creating hills in a flatland, building lakes in a dry landscape and transferring fully grown trees to just the perfect spot. His distinctive designs erased the rigid formality of elegant terraces, clipped topiary and spectacular fountains.

 

Instead he embraced a more natural look and usually included smooth lawns stretching away from a house, past distinctive clumps of trees to a tranquil lake or pond, all encircled by a thick belt of trees.

 

In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century there came the Picturesque Movement in landscape design. Instead of smooth tranquility, designers such as Uvedale Price and Payne Knight brought the idea of intended irregularity in style. Architecture became an important part of their style, and in some cases the more fanciful the better. Here is where we begin to see small houses and cottages built into the design, usually in an artificial rustic manner. Thatch, timber, overhanging eaves, and rustic porches graced a woodsman’s cottage here, an ornamental dairy there, and a gamekeeper’s hut round every corner. The cottage orné became popular as a rustic retreat away from the complications of urban life. The Prince Regent’s Royal Pavilion in Brighton is an example of this taken to the extreme!

 

One of my very favorite English gardens is the park at Bowood House, home to the Marquis of Lansdowne. It incorporates both of the above styles beautifully. It is a gorgeous example of Capability Brown’s ideal of sweeping lawns and shimmering lake, complete with a Doric temple. It also includes a Picturesque addition of a rock landscape, including a beautiful cascade, grottoes and a hermit’s cave. I spent a beautiful afternoon there, wandering the grounds, envisioning a Regency couple strolling across the lawn, taking the rocky steps down to the hidden Cascade to steal a kiss. You can see more of it here: http://www.bowood-house.co.uk 

 

 

I plan to keep adding to my collection of pictures here. I hope you enjoy them and they spark your imagination next time you find yourself in the garden with a Regency Miss and her beau!