Form and Content
The
Victorian villa garden typically was comprised of three major components: the
formal garden, the pleasure grounds, and the productive or kitchen garden. The
formal garden typically included geometric bedding arrangements and a
conservatory (greenhouse) to house more exotic collections of plants. The
pleasure grounds were more removed from the house, and had a more blended,
natural feel. These grounds, typically categorized as gardenesque, often
included collections of plants, paths, water features, and rockeries. The
productive garden was located closer to the house than in prior eras, and was
walled, with four large open plots utilized for seasonal and annual crop
rotation. Advances in technology led to centralized water sources, and new
plant collection and discovery encouraged the creation of orchards and ranges
of greenhouses to further expand kitchen production. Worldly plant collections
were also coveted in the other aspects of the villa garden, with some plants,
such as varieties of orchids, being acquired for more than the entire yearly
salary of a head gardener.
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| Victorian Villa Garden Map, Chatsworth http://travelsplanet.blogspot.dk/2011/04/chatsworth-house-greatest-of-all-great.html |
Inspiration and Influences
There
were several key sources of inspiration and influence for the Victorian villa
garden. Sir Joseph Paxton (1801-1865) was the head gardener at Chatsworth, one
of the most influential Victorian villa gardens. Under Paxton, Chatsworth
became an innovative and leading example for future villa gardens, introducing
features such as its Arboretum (containing a massive collection of both
deciduous and coniferous trees), Great Conservatory (a heated massive
greenhouse that inspired the greenhouses of other gardens), Rockery, and
Emperor Fountain.
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| The Great Conservatory, Chatsworth http://www.victorianweb.org/art/architecture/iron/21b.html |
In
1840, James Bateman began designing the gardens of Biddulph Grange, another
essential influence for the Victorian villa garden that drew highlight between
the contrast of art and nature, rather than the fluidity between the two
suggested in Chatsworth. Biddulph Grange contained a series of compartments,
each with its own theme or influence, and each divided from the others through
rocks and shrubberies. The gardens at Biddulph Grange contained inspiration
from cultures all over the world, and displayed new acquisitions in foreign
plants amongst architectural features.
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| Partitioning Hedges, Biddulph Grange https://ntpressoffice.wordpress.com/tag/biddulph-grange/ |
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