| All landscape gardening essentially makes reference | | | | vegetables and pleasure gardens. Lord Cobham, the |
| to the great English maestro "Capability" Browne's life | | | | estate owner, was very up-to-date both politically |
| work. Lancelot "Capability" Brown introduced a style | | | | and socially and encouraged the introduction of all the |
| of gardening in the 1750's which became known as | | | | latest techniques. Top names such as Vanbrugh, |
| "serpentine" gardens. Perhaps the best known | | | | Bridgeman and William Kent had contributed to work |
| example of this style is Hyde Park, in London, | | | | on the grounds. Their influence was classical and they |
| England, which although not actually designed by | | | | tended to include follies, or sham ruins and attempted |
| Capability Brown, was certainly influenced by his | | | | to perfect nature. Large-scale landscaping was |
| work. As the style caught on, it began to be known | | | | introduced, using water, trees and mossy caverns, to |
| as "English Landscape Gardening", which in one form | | | | create a classical but natural effect. |
| or another came to influence the grounds of every | | | | Lancelot, undoubtedly influenced by this trend, |
| stately home in Britain. | | | | moved it into another dimension by increasing the |
| Capability Brown's basic philosophy was that a park | | | | scale and taking the whole estate as a theme. The |
| or estate should be a heightened reflection of the | | | | grounds became huge woods and lakes, more rivers |
| glories of nature. Plants and lawns should be arranged | | | | were introduced and spectacular views brought right |
| in a harmonious, natural setting. This was in direct | | | | up to the doorstep of his client. Clever use of |
| opposition to the French style of garden, such as at | | | | proportions and enhanced perspective gave the |
| Versailles, which aims to trammel nature into formal, | | | | effect of rolling hills falling away from the main |
| abstract - and for Capability Brown ultimately sterile - | | | | buildings. |
| formations. | | | | This was a revolutionary approach and contrasted |
| The great master's influence is still strong today. The | | | | strongly with other styles of gardening of the times. |
| ideal of a garden is to bring out the best in nature | | | | Italian Renaissance, Tudor knot gardens and the |
| and give it an idealised setting to shine. The | | | | French and Dutch influences, with formal fountains |
| "serpentine" which tended to form the backbone of | | | | and canals, and constrained-looking, clipped |
| the garden is a winding or naturally formed body of | | | | evergreens and concentric circles, aimed to dominate |
| water or lawns. In Hyde Park, the artificial lake is | | | | nature, instead of working with it. You can visit for |
| actually called The Serpentine. Lancelot was born and | | | | more information about garden landscaping. |
| grew up in Northumberland, in a labouring family, and | | | | The ideals which Lancelot spent a lifetime developing |
| his first work was as a gardener of an estate, where | | | | have stayed with us until modern times. His influence |
| he was in charge of vegetables. This proved to be | | | | has been so profound that his harmonious ideals are |
| an invaluable early education into plants and how to | | | | to this day those which the makers of gardens, no |
| take care of them. | | | | matter how big or small, adhere to. On a smaller |
| In 1739 he moved to an estate in Walton, where he | | | | scale, the owner of any garden or plot of land can |
| caught the eye of the owner of Stowe Park, in | | | | take his basic tenets to create a harmonious space in |
| Buckinghamshire, one of the country's great estates. | | | | which to relax and feel part of nature. |
| Here he learned the art of growing exotic fruit and | | | | |