Tag: garden design

The English landscape

I recently attended a lecture (on Zoom of course!) about Thomas Gainsborough and his connection to the English landscape. Many people will be familiar with his portraits, but the landscapes in the background are not always commented on so widely, unless it is the painting of Mr. and Mrs. Andrews, which seems to be the subject of a huge range of interpretations (not all repeatable in a horticultural blog perhaps).

Heart of Oak - Royal Navy Anthem
Heart of Oak – Royal Navy Anthem

The 18th century was a period of great upheaval – the South Sea Bubble burst in 1720 triggering a financial panic; in 1721 the country had its first prime minister in Sir Robert Walpole; in 1739 Britain declared war on Spain; in 1745 Bonnie Prince Charlie landed in Scotland to claim the British throne; in 1756 the Seven Years war between Britain and France began; there was unrest both in America and at home and throughout this period, there was a Hanoverian king. It is all too easy to forget that two of the great names associated with landscape architecture, William Kent and Lancelot Brown, were working against this background, with Brown finding little favour with the ordinary person by uprooting and moving whole villages when they stood in the way of his designs.

It is also no coincidence that Brown, Kent and their peers were creating landscapes which came to be seen as quintessentially English. Reacting against the formality of the classic gardens which were inspired by those on the continent and France in particular, they designed gardens that were intended to reflect the ‘sinuous curves’ of the English countryside. Ironically, Brown, who never travelled outside the shores of his home island, was inspired by the paintings of French artists such as Poussin.

Nicolas Poussin Landscape with Figures c1646
Nicolas Poussin Landscape with Figures c1646

In the background of Gainsborough’s paintings, this same concern with the natural is evident. Even in his most famous portraits, for example the one of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire and the actress Perdita. Both show an English landscape populated by English trees, most commonly the oak.

Mrs Mary Robinson (Perdita) by Thomas Gainsborough
Mrs Mary Robinson (Perdita) by Thomas Gainsborough
Duchess of Devonshire by Thomas Gainsborough
Duchess of Devonshire by Thomas Gainsborough

Apparently, as Gainsborough was not a ‘plein air’ artist, in order to remind himself of the shape of the oak he would arrange stems of sprouting broccoli in front of his easel!

This tension between what is an English garden and what is from mainland Europe has influenced garden design throughout history.

With the RHS encouraging people to plant a tree in their Roots for Remembrance, a nationwide memorial initiative, it seems an appropriate time to think about the role of the oak in English landscape culture.

Vija

“Opportunities for change” in the garden

A recent article by Nigel Slater vividly describes the various incarnations his garden has gone through in the past twenty years. The first iteration was designed by Monty Don over lunch and on the back of an envelope. The second, many years later, by Dan Pearson. Not all of us are so lucky to have such well-connected friends! But each change was inspired by the need to deal with a problem, whether it was a large family of boisterous foxes or the depredations of the box moth. What Slater points to is that gardens change (obviously) and that sometimes we can be forced into making changes which are an improvement on what we had already. In the business world ‘threats’ are re-purposed into ‘opportunities for change’. I don’t think this is always easy and I have been heartbroken to lose what I regard as old friends, but spaces and areas can be opened up in the garden which give opportunities to be more creative and to introduce something which you might not have tried before.

Many years ago, on one of my visits to gardens in France, I visited Le Jardin D’Agapanthe. I have never seen a garden quite like this anywhere else in the world. It was created by a landscape architect, Alexandre Thomas and includes no lawns, borders or views – the kinds of things you would normally associate with a garden, just winding paths of sand through lavish planting. It is at once romantic and exotic. There is an interesting inclusion of small stands or tables to raise plants above ground level and add interest. For anyone who loves pots, this place is inspirational.

When I have lost something in my garden I trawl back through photographs of places I have visited and loved to find new ideas and ways of using plants and spaces. Le Jardin D’Agapanthe is one that I often return to.

Have you lost a favourite plant recently? What “opportunity” did it open up? Let us know, write to cabahshortisoc@gmail.com

Vija

CABAHS medal-winning Chelsea experiences

As a volunteer at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, I was expecting to be revelling in the uncrowded gardens at Press Day today, prior to going to work in the very crowded gardens later in the week. Very sad. But as I have time on my hands, I have looked into some of CABAHS history at the Show.

On 18th May 1987, CABAHS won a Grenfell Silver Gilt medal at that year’s show, for a window box display. In those days a lot of the Affiliated Horticultural Societies entered exhibits, as the Chelsea grounds were not so pressed for space or so prohibitively expensive. Here is our winning entry (thank you to Joyce and Jane for these photos).

In 1990, CABAHS won a Bronze medal in the hanging basket category. Then in 1991, we really went to town! With the help of sponsors, the Society entered the “City or Town Courtyard Garden” category. The brief was “An interpretation of plants to consider in the lifestyle conditions for the occupants of a property situated in a City or Town, with limited space”. The space given was 14ft x 11ft (4.3m x 3.4m). So here is the Plan:

191Courtyard Design

Here are pictures of the build process. Can you imagine the huge organisation that must have gone on behind the scenes, for our small amateur group! Marshalls (which is still in business) supplied the paving and seats. Members supplied a lot of the plants and organised the collection and transport.

391Courtyard 3

And the finished result:

591Chelsea Courtyard Final

Here are some members (Win H on the left and Marjorie P) relaxing in the garden while the visitors queue around them.

991Courtyard ladies sitting

We were featured on the BBC coverage, Alan Titchmarsh looks very young! He said there were 29 show gardens that year, and marvelled at the idea that some of them cost nearly £65,000.  Those were the days. The presenter for the small gardens was Anne Gregg. She complimented our design for getting a veg bed and herbs into the space, as well as the scented geraniums display.

791Chelsea Courtyard Queue

891Chelsea Courtyard Medal

We even got a mention in Amateur Gardening magazine.

999Courtyard Magazine

CABAHS entered the Courtyard Gardens again in 1992 and won a Bronze medal, and won a Silver in 1994 for its Windowbox and Hanging basket display.

I hope you enjoy this week’s TV coverage of the last decade of Chelsea, and look forward with fingers crossed to next year’s “real” show.

Kathy A

Treasure our Front Gardens!

There are some lovely front gardens in the Westcombe area and they give pleasure to passers-by, as well as to their owners.

There are many reasons why we should value them, the most obvious being that they greatly improve the appearance of the neighbourhood. And of course they increase the resale value of our homes through their kerb appeal.

But that’s by no means all! They help nature to do her work, and thrive; for example a front garden provides nectar for bees and butterflies thereby helping to reverse their decline. They also provide a habitat for birds, and the insects on which they feed.

Less obvious is the fact that they make the air we breathe safer because plants help capture pollutants. They also cool the air in hot weather – and help insulate homes in winter. And for householders who have experienced recent heavy downpours of rain, which seem to occur more frequently, a front garden can reduce the danger of flooding by soaking up rainwater. Unfortunately there is a continuous loss of front gardens as many are being paved over to provide hardstanding for cars.

No matter how small the front garden, with a little imagination it can be both practical and beautiful. Here are some tips to consider:

  • Hedges are better for wildlife than fences or brick walls. They also filter dust from the street. Mixed hedges with flowers and berries are the best.
  • Grow climbers up the front of the house and plant shrubs at the base.
  • Fill up corners where cars cannot park
  • Use all the spare space around the edges for planting shrubs and flowers.
  • Plant a tree. There are many that are suitable even for very small spaces and many have flowers for pollinators and berries for birds.
  • Keep hardstanding to a minimum – just two tracks can be sufficient.
  • Leave pockets in gravel for plants
  • Use containers and pots to beautify areas with no soil.
  • Aim to have plants in bloom from early Spring to late Autumn.

Front gardens can support wildlife, whatever their size!

Ann H

If you enjoyed Ann’s article and are thinking of  re-designing your front garden, the RHS website has some good ideas for planning front gardens:

https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=738