Victorian Gardens

The varied tastes of the Victorians extended to their gardens and landscapes, and Victorian Gardens describes the wide range of garden designs and planting styles that were created during Victoria's reign. The Victorians' inventiveness and enthusiasm for technology and industrial developments transformed professional British gardening into a sophisticated and skilled profession. Public parks, carpet bedding, kitchen gardens and glasshouse displays are only a few of the era's innovative horticultural contributions that are still enjoyed today. Many of today's gardeners are rediscovering the vibrant planting schemes popular over a century ago and we can learn much from the detailed plant lists and gardening instructions that are recorded in Victorian books and magazines.

Behind high redbrick walls at Chilton Foliat in Berkshire lies an extraordinary example of a traditional Victorian kitchen garden. This book traces its recent restoration from a neglected patch of weed-choked ground into a productive and well-ordered plot, cultivated with the use of Victorian tools and techniques and planted with 19th-century varieties of flowers, fruit and vegetables. The garden reflects the characteristics of the era - the inventiveness and interest in science, the constant quest for improvement and the strict social hierarchy.

Gardening became a popular pastime in Victorian Britain with the rise of suburban gardens and a passion for the outdoors. New plant introductions from abroad brought a greater variety of plants, while improvements in technology made gardening more accessible. Gardening books and magazines spread the appeal and debate raged over the merits of colour and order versus wild and natural. The large and impressive gardens of country houses were emulated in suburban settings as the appeal of gardens and gardening spread to the masses, while the creation of public parks introduced green spaces to grey cities. As with architecture, Victorian gardens underwent a 'battle of the styles', and an exploration of the period reveals contrasting fashions for garish bedding, ornate Italian terracing, naturalistic planting, cool ferneries, colourful parterres, tranquil Japanese water features, and the occasional eccentric embellishment. The characters involved include such Victorian luminaries as John Loudon, Joseph Paxton and Charles Darwin, alongside the garden designers William Nesfield, Charles Barry and William Robinson, plant hunters Joseph Hooker, Robert Fortune and William Lobb, and the influential women Marianne North, Alicia Amherst and Jane Loudon. The pace of change makes the Victorian era of gardens an exciting time of exotic new plants, fiercely competitive head gardeners, impressive glasshouse engineering, strong personalities and contrasting ideals.

This delightful book presents Victorian gardening style and design using beautiful landscapes lavish with carpet beds, topiary, statuary, sundials, marble and stone walkways, as well as classical architectural ruins, fountains, and pools. Highlights include Osborne House, on the Isle of Wight (Queen Victoria's country home), Biddulph Grange in Staffordshire, and Down House in Kent (home to Charles Darwin). Gorgeously illustrated with over 200 beautiful color photographs plus illustrations, diagrams, and layouts of restorations and recreations, this book is sure to inspire and give the reader confidence to experiment.

A fully illustrated account of the creation and maintenance of Canada’s finest Victorian public gardens, and the story of how severe hurricane destruction led to a beautiful and sensitive restoration. The Halifax Public Gardens are the oldest and finest Victorian public gardens outside the United Kingdom. This is the authoritative visual account of their history including the story of how a destructive hurricane led to a complex restoration project drawing on heritage experts from across North America. This book shares how the Gardens came to be, how they were designed, and how they have been maintained over the decades. Authors Robert Pace, Robert Salah and Peter L. Twohig elaborate on Gardens’ notable features, including the bandstand, memorial fountains, stone bridges, water features and varied wildlife. The breadth and complexity of the Gardens’ botanical and architectural beauty is exemplified in more than 150 archival images and contemporary full-colour photography. When the future of the Halifax Public Gardens was in doubt after sustaining significant damage during Hurricane Juan in 2003, authors Robert Pace and Robert Salah spearheaded the community-led conservation effort that followed. The account of how this was accomplished is illustrated with images of the hurricane’s damage and a portfolio of the project’s breathtaking results. This beautiful book documents an important cultural treasure, and explains how public engagement and support have ensured the preservation of this valued public park.

This insightful book explores the relationship we have with gardens and with the act of gardening, considering in detail the psychological, social and health benefits. From the Garden of Eden and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon to Kew Gardens and the humble suburban plot, it is self-evident that gardens and gardening have an ever-present attraction. This book addresses the appeal of gardens from a psychological perspective: Why do we spend our cash on plants and gardening paraphernalia and give hours of our time to tending our annuals, bulbs and shrubs? Why do we travel to see gardens in our own and other countries? The theme of this book lies in identifying the individual and social rewards to be found in gardens and gardening, particularly within our own private gardens. The Psychological Appeal of Gardens will be of great interest to students and scholars of applied psychology, as well those taking horticultural courses of various levels, from professional horticulturalists to enthusiastic amateurs.

Describes how to create a beautiful garden out of a small plot of land, with tips on ways to visually enlarge a garden.