History of Gardens – Picturesque

A couple of years ago we explored the Landscape Movement, which was introduced in England and lasted over a hundred years (roughly 1720 – 1810s). The gardens were meant to be indistinguishable from nature, and even to improve on natrue. Landscape characteristics included sweeping house-to-borrowed views, serpentine lines, trees and plants silhouetted against the sky, and the use of eye catchers. Capability Brown was one of its chief promoters and implementers (see Garden History – Landscape Movement, and Elements of the Landscape Movement).

Around 1800, garden design took a turn from the beautiful and the sublime. Critics argued that it was impossible to tell what was designed by man, and what was pure countryside. They felt that that true landscape gardening must show the hand of man. A new movement emerged—Picturesque—in which the garden or landscape was not just wild, but was further refined to emulate a picture that an artist might create. Humphry Repton (1752 – 1818) became the successor to Brown, and champion of the Picturesque.

Red Book: Repton's redesign of a village (see Alchetron)

In 1788, Repton started his gardening career, with little practical horticulture experience, but lots of good ideas. Where he lacked practical gardening experience, he excelled at presentation and salesmanship. For each garden design, he created a Red Book (referring to its binding) that contained a description of the proposal, and watercolor paintings showing the before and after look of the design. This approach helped educate and persuade his clients.

Red Book: Repton's redesign of the estate view from the house (see Alchetron)
Notice the tab in the upper picture that is used to peel away the "before" picture to reveal the "after".

Repton followed many of Brown’s basic design principles, but he started to prettify the areas around the house. Where Brown brought the lawn right up to the house, Repton brought in terraces, balustrades, shrubs, and flower beds around the house. He used long winding roads to make the property seem larger and access to the house more dramatic. He reintroduced the fountain, and used trellises and greenhouses. He designed picturesque themes, such as Chinese, American, arboretum, and forcing gardens. He modified many of Brown’s original landscape gardens with these new ideas, and created new landscapes in the Picturesque style.

Learn More:

• The History of Gardens, by Christopher Thacker
• The Story of Gardening, by Penelope Hobhouse
• Humphry Repton, by Alchetron Free Encyclopedia (watch the videos!)