English Classic

One of my personal favorite garden design styles is English Classic. Gertrude Jekyll, one of the first women talents in our field to become famous, is given credit for creating this design theory. She took the formality of Italian and French renaissance, that was not uncommon in England at the time, and mixed it with the playfulness and horticultural explorations from the peasant cottage gardens of the population. Like sweet and sour, this had formal ‘bones’ in a landscape, typically of clipped evergreens, filled with the messy colorful bounty of cottage perennials.

Jekyll lived from 1843-1932; she often worked with the starchitect Sir Edwin Lutyens; she wrote thousands of articles in gardening magazines, and was influenced by the arts and crafts movement, even designing the personal home to Charles Holme (a leading figure in the Arts and Crafts movement).  Holme’s home, now open for the occasional guest, is a restored version of her work.  And its 25 miles away from Newbold College where I taught History of Landscape Architecture in the last half of May.   This along with 15 other sites filled the student’s touring schedule.  We shared many photos from this trip to England. Follow us on Instagram if you don’t already.