English Garden Design

What is the English Garden?

The English Garden design derives from the unpretentious landscape ideas of the rural farmsteads and country sides of Europe. Rolling meadow vistas with homes built of local materials-wood, stone, and stucco surrounded by woodlands, brambles, grasses and perennials weaving in and out up to the homestead. Curvilinear paths of local gravel or just a mowed strip might indicate a pathway between the natural and the slightly cultivated with simple shade trellises and benches built by the local artisans of the time. Unlike formal garden design and modern garden design, English gardens use a scattered “quilting” plant design approach to grasses, perennial, herbs and flowers.

How did this simple and natural English garden design style become popular?
It was most likely the first impressionist painters of the 1850’s such as Claude Monet. As these paintings were purchased through private shows or commissioned for the wealthy, a desire for the natural English garden at the countryside estate became popular. Beauty, simplicity and the untamed world of the natural represented a simple way of life away from the rigors of the city.

How does one design or layout an English garden?
Even in this wild setting it’s important to have definition of space or pathways which can curve around the house defining various gardens-pathways, seating areas, and large open meadows or lawns. Reminiscent of the English garden design are arbors, pergolas and lattices for vines. “Think of your planting design as a patch work of plants,” says Jeff Halper of Exterior Worlds, “spread out and mixed in natural associations.” If you have plenty of sun, dot in Ornamental Grasses such as Miscanthus followed by tall perennials like Hibiscus, Gold Dust Esperanza, Mealy Sage, the bulbs of agapanthus, butterfly iris and blue plumbago. For the ground layer society garlic, bulbine, hints of monkey grass.

English Garden Pathways, Spaces and Plantings
In the English garden pathways and space ramble naturally from one to the other as opposed to the modern garden design were experiences and spaces are very deliberate. Also in formal garden design plant elements are used in a very architectural way as opposed to “managed chaos” approach of the English garden design approach.

Features for the English garden:
Gates, Arbors, Trellises, Pergolas, gazebos and whimsical elements such as sun dials can be used. Landscape lighting can be utilized to uplight garden arbors.

Natural and Local Material Selection:
In English Garden design take cues from the homes material and use that outside especially if its brick stone and gravel.

English Garden maintenance.
Managed chaos is the goal here-deleting and weeding out plants here and there. If you want to keep some of the maintenance down or provide more order plant in organized drifts. Ultimately you still need a landscape maintenance program. In the English garden flowering trees, shrubs, bulbs, annual flowers and other perennials will need a regular feeding program. If your property has large trees, tree preservation methods will need to be employed while installing an irrigation system, you will need to do some hand-digging to prevent tree damage.

If an English garden design is your hearts desire then call Exterior Worlds at 713-827-2255 for its years of professional experience.